Posted on 04/04/2008 10:10:42 AM PDT by presidio9
Pirates seized control of a French cruise ship Friday off the coast of Somalia, France's Foreign Ministry said.
A ministry official said details about the attack were scarce, and it was not clear how many crew members were on board the ship or if there were any passengers.
The ship is in the high seas in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean.
The official declined to identify the vessel or its owner.
The ministry has set up a crisis center to deal with the situation, said the official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Pirates seized more than two dozen ships off the Somali coast last year.
The U.S. Navy has led international patrols to try to combat piracy in the region. Last year, the guided missile destroyer USS Porter opened fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied to a Japanese tanker.
Wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have its own navy and
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Somewhere between the Halls of Montezuma, and the Shores of Tripoli ?
They are dealing with Sarkozy now, it will be interesting to see how he handles this.
Maybe they were just representatives from the “Pirates ARRRRRRR Us” store....
Evil Americans. Trying to infringe upon the sovereignty of peace-loving pirates who are just trying to make a living to feed their children and provide medical care to their people.
They should surrender before someone gets hurt.
ANY cruise line that would allow a ship anywhere within speedboat range of the Somali coast is out of its collective cotton-pickin’ mind!
Man. Those passengers must be terrified.
Prayers up for the folks on that ship.Of course the press refuses to identify the ‘pirates’ as the Islamists that they usually are in that part of the world.
We won't know about it, unless some brave reporter or seaman speaks up ... but I'll still betcha'.
For all the ridicule the French get, deservedly, for their military, I hear they have a pretty salty elite anti-terrorist unit. Maybe they will get some practice.
I knew Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche were up to no good...
Don't worry. He's one of them.........
Truly.
What the pirates do is have a “mothership” bring the speedboats out to sea, so it’s not a function of being in proximity to the coast. That may have happened here.
What, and miss out on the bargain shopping and cafe-hopping in downtown Mogadishu?
Didn’t cruise ships used to keep an armory?
LOL!
Reading le figaro now - apparently no passengers - only crew - 30 of them or less depending on whose account you wish to believe.
I'd consider my tax money well spent.
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