"set sail from Djibouti and was headed to Mogadishu. This was alleged to be the first ""successful"" hijacking of a large vessel since 2012. While initially the pirate crew demanded a ransom, the ship and its crew were released with no ransom given after the crew learned that the ship had been hired by Somali businessmen. Piracy off the coast of Somalia Piracy off the coast of Somalia has been a threat to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War, around 2000. Fishing communities responded by forming armed groups to deter the invaders by hijacking commercial"
"petroleum tanker, MS ""Feisty Gas"", was hijacked and ransomed for $315,000 after being held for about two weeks. In 2009, pirate income derived from ransoms was estimated at around 42.1 million euros (about $58 million), rising to $238 million in 2010. The average ransom had risen to $5.4 million in 2010, up from around $150,000 in 2005. However, by 2011, pirate ransom income dropped to $160 million, a downward trend which has been attributed to intensified counter-piracy efforts. Besides the actual cost of paying ransoms, various attempts have been made at gauging indirect costs stemming from the piracy; especially those"
"these criminals not only on the high seas, but also on terra firma"". The Somali government has not gone after pirates because pirate leaders currently have more power than the government. It has been estimated by piracy experts that in 2008 the pirates gained about $80 million through ransom payments. On 2 May 2009, Somali pirates captured MV ""Ariana"" with its 24 Ukrainian crew. The ship was released on 10 December 2009 after a ransom of almost US$3,000,000 was paid. On 8 November 2009, Somali pirates threatened that a kidnapped British couple, the Chandlers, would be ""punished"" if a German"
"we shall hunt the ship wherever she sails, and free it."" ""Sirius Star"" was freed On 9 January 2009 after a US$3 million ransom payment. Five of the ""dozens"" of pirates drowned after their small boat capsized in a storm after leaving ""Sirius Star"" with their share of the ransom. The body of one of the pirates that drowned later washed ashore with US$153,000 in cash in a plastic bag. After her release, ""Sirius Star"" sailed to the port of Fujairah in the UAE, and the crew was replaced. The attack came soon after naval forces from NATO, Russia, and"
"was confirmed that it had been hired by a local trader. The second attack was 8 November 2009. The ship was held off Garacad and released on 19 November 2009, after a ransom of $15,000 was paid. The ship was believed to be carrying small arms, ammunition, rockets, and rocket-propelled grenades, as well as armoured vehicles, but this was later denied by the owners. The ship was again attacked on 20 March 2010, while on its way to Mogadishu. The attack was repelled by a private security guard convoy, and one pirate was killed. Six suspected pirates were captured by"
"had the authority to do so under international law. After much negotiation the pirates finally released the ship and crew to the French vessels ""Commandant Blaison"" and on 22 August 2007. The pirates had demanded 1.5 million dollars ransom in exchange for the release, but it is unclear what amount was actually paid. The crew returned home safely to Denmark on the twenty-eighth after 83 days of captivity. Action of 3 June 2007 The Action of 3 June 2007 occurred after a United States Navy dock landing ship attacked pirates hijacking a freighter. The rise of the Islamic Courts Union"
"of the suspects were later convicted of piracy, while the other two were acquitted. Another pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden occurred 12 days before the assault on the ""Carré d'As IV"", when the Iranian-owned cargo ship MV ""Iran Deyanat"" was hijacked on August 21 by 40 pirates and held for 50 days; the ship and its 25 crew were released in November after the IRISL Group allegedly paid $2.5 million in ransom. On September 2, 2008, the , twin-masted yacht ""Carré d'As IV"", which had been sailing from Australia to La Rochelle, France, was attacked and captured by"
"in 2008. Accordingly, insurance premiums for shipping in the Gulf of Aden increased ten times from 2007 to 2008, from $900 to $9,000. The pirates frequently targeted yachts or commercial ships, which are unarmed and may hold valuable cargo. They sometimes targeted ships bearing humanitarian aid, such as the MV ""Semlow"" and MV ""Miltzow"" in 2005, which were hijacked while delivering food to Somalia under the UN World Food Programme. Despite international naval patrols working to curb piracy, ""The Telegraph"" noted that the region remained ""the most dangerous in the world for pirate attacks,"" with 24 attacks between April and"
"a pirate attack. Beira-based Vega 5, owned by Spanish company Pescamar Lda, had been captured on 27 December 2010 by pirates who were demanding US$1.8 million in ransom.[15] INS Kalpeni intercepted the pirated ship about 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) off Kochi on India's west coast. A fire broke out on the vessel when Kalpeni returned fire after being fired upon by the pirates. 61 pirates were rescued and arrested after they jumped into the Arabian Sea to escape the fire. The crew of Kalpeni put out the fire on board the Vega 5, rescued her 13 crew members and escorted"
"US$16 billion per year in 2004), particularly in the waters between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, off the Somali coast, and also in the Strait of Malacca and Singapore. Today, pirates armed with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades use small motorboats to attack and board ships, a tactic that takes advantage of the small number of crew members on modern cargo vessels and transport ships. They also use larger vessels, known as ""mother ships"", to supply the smaller motorboats. The international community is facing many challenges in bringing modern pirates to justice, as these attacks often occur in"
"violent methods used by these groups is believed to be part of a conscious ""business model"" adopted by them, in which violence and intimidation plays a major role. By 2010, 45 and by 2011 64 incidents were reported to the UN International Maritime Organization. However, many events go unreported. Piracy acts interfere with the legitimate trading interests of the affected countries that include Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. As an example, trade of Benin's major port, the Port of Cotonou, was reported in 2012 to have dropped by 70 percent. The cost of"
"such as the RGD-5 or F1. The funding of piracy operations is now structured in a stock exchange, with investors buying and selling shares in upcoming attacks in a bourse in Harardhere. Pirates say ransom money is paid in large denomination US$ bills. It is delivered to them in burlap sacks which are either dropped from helicopters or cased in waterproof suitcases loaded onto tiny skiffs. Ransom money has also been delivered to pirates via parachute, as happened in January 2009 when an orange container with $3 million cash inside was dropped onto the deck of the supertanker to secure"
"the release of ship and crew. To authenticate the banknotes, pirates use currency-counting machines, the same technology used at foreign exchange bureaus worldwide. According to one pirate, these machines are, in turn, purchased from business connections in Dubai, Djibouti, and other areas. Hostages seized by the pirates usually have to wait 45 days or more for the ships' owners to pay the ransom and secure their release. In 2008, there were also allegations that the pirates received assistance from some members of the Somali diaspora. Somali expatriates, including some members of the Somali community in Canada, reputedly offered funds, equipment"
"though an improvement from the same nine-month period of 2006. While there has been a drop in South East Asia there has been a rise of acts of piracy with groups based out of Somalia attacking many ships. In the 1980s and 1990s while operating out of Manila Bay, Changco and his men used the area's thousands of islands and many small ports to their advantage. They specialized in targeted piracy where a client would pay $US 300,000 and then tell the gang which ship was to be targeted. The ship would be raided by the gang and then the"
"warship did not release seven pirates. Omer, one of the pirates holding the British couple, claimed the seven men were fishermen, but a European Union Naval Force spokesman stated they were captured as they fired AK-47 assault rifles at a French fishing vessel. The Chandlers were released on 14 November 2010 after 388 days of captivity. At least two ransom payments, reportedly over GBP 500 000, had been made. In April 2010, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) alluded to possible covert and overt action against the pirates. CIA officials had been publicly warning of this potential threat for months. In"
"had died from a hypertension-related stroke. On 5 February 2009 it was announced that a ransom of US $3.2 million had been paid to the pirates, and the ship was released the next day. On 25 September 2008, the ""Faina"" was hijacked by approximately 50 Somali pirates calling themselves the Central Regional Coast Guard. The ship was allegedly heading to Mombasa, Kenya, from Ukraine with 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, weapons (including rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns) and ammunition on board, when it was seized. The pirates said they were unaware of the ship's cargo before they captured it. However, the"
"and especially remittance funds sent by the sizable Somali diaspora. The latter contributions have been estimated at around $1.3–$2 billion a year, exponentially dwarfing pirate ransom proceeds, which total only a few million dollars annually and are difficult to track in terms of spending. Additionally, impoverished fishermen in Kenya's Malindi area in the southeastern African Great Lakes region have reported their largest catches in 40 years, catching hundreds of kilos of fish and earning 50 times the average daily wage as a result. They attribute the recent abundance and variety of marine stock to the pirates scaring away predatory foreign"
"GSG-9 unit returned to their base of operations at the airport of Mombasa, Kenya. Among the captured sailors held hostage were eleven Tuvaluans and one Fijian. A ransom of $US 15 million had been demanded. The government of Tuvalu indicated it was incapable of paying, and expressed great concern for its citizens. On 3 August 2009 the ship was released after a ransom of two million dollars was paid, and was escorted into port in Mombasa, Kenya by the German frigates ""Brandenburg"" and ""Rheinland-Pfalz"". MV Hansa Stavanger MV ""Hansa Stavanger"" is a German container ship, captured by Somali pirates on"
"especially noted for their violent modus operandi, which frequently involves the kidnapping, torture and shooting of crewmen. The increasingly violent methods used by these groups is believed to be part of a conscious ""business model"" adopted by them, in which violence and intimidation plays a major role. By 2010, 45 and by 2011 64 incidents were reported to the UN International Maritime Organization. However, many events go unreported. Piracy acts interfere with the legitimate trading interests of the affected countries that include Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. As an example, trade of Benin's"
"June 2008. In addition, 94 mariners were captured in the Gulf of Aden in the first half of the year. On April 4, 2008, pirates seized the yacht MY ""Le Ponant"" in the Gulf of Aden, capturing 30 crew members. The craft was then moored near Eyl in Puntland, and the owners paid a $2.15 million ransom for the captured crew; the hostages were released unharmed after a week of captivity. The French military captured six suspected pirates and part of the ransom in an April 11 helicopter assault on Jariban, sending the suspects back to France for trial. Four"
"pirates refused an offer of US$1.5 million ransom. With Buchanan's health declining, U.S. officials decided to launch a raid against the pirates using several different United States special operations forces, including elements of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Early on January 25, 2012, two dozen Navy SEALs parachuted from a C-130 Hercules 2 miles north of the Somali town of Gadaado, where pirates had held the pair of hostages in hopes of ransoming them. The SEALs then traveled by foot from their drop zone, attacked the compound, and engaged the pirates, killing all nine of them. After"
"pirates claim that documents found on board indicate that the arms cargo was destined for Juba, Southern Sudan, instead of Kenya, as originally understood. The claim was confirmed by U.S. Navy and several other intelligence groups, although the Kenyan government denies the allegation. The pirates demanded a ransom and had threatened to blow up the ship, along with the pirates themselves and the ship's crew, if the ransom was not paid. The ransom amount was reported as US$35 million, US$20 million, US$8 million, and US$5 million in the weeks following the capture. The threat was later withdrawn. The pirates initially"
"them were convicted and sentenced to four to eight years in prison, while a sixth was acquitted. The incident marked the second French counter-piracy commando operation of 2008 (after the recovery of the MY ""Le Ponant""), as well as the first-ever French trial of Somali pirates. From 2003 to 2007, the number of piracy incidents worldwide declined from 452 to 282; however, piracy increased by 100% in Somalia, which suffered from severe poverty and lacked an effective central government since the 1991 ouster of Siad Barre. By 2005, the International Maritime Bureau advised ships to stay 200 nautical miles off"
"in the Seychelles. According to Sky News, around 50% of the world's containers passed through the Horn of Africa coastline as of 2012. The European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) has a yearly budget of over 8 million Euros earmarked for patrolling the . A 2011 report by Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) suggested that the indirect costs of piracy were much higher and estimated to be between $6.6 to $6.9 billion, as they also included insurance, naval support, legal proceedings, re-routing of slower ships, and individual protective steps taken by ship-owners. Another report from 2011 published by the consultancy firm"
"vessels which pass through that area. The rate of attacks in January and February 2009 was about 10 times higher than during the same period in 2008 and ""there have been almost daily attacks in March"", with 79 attacks, 21 successful, by mid-April. Most of these attacks occurred in the Gulf of Aden but subsequently the pirates increased their range and started attacking ships as far south as off the coast of Kenya in the Indian Ocean. Below are some notable pirate events which have garnered significant media coverage since 2007. On 28 May 2007, a Chinese sailor was killed"
"piracy in the Gulf of Guinea due to stolen goods, security, and insurance has been estimated to be about $2 billion. By mid-November 2013, pirates in the Gulf of Guinea had launched around 100 attacks during the year. By 2017 it became apparent that the problem of kidnapping had been increasing with 96 seafarers taken hostage that year versus 44 in the year prior. At the same time, incidents in the region range from violent kidnappings of crew members to petty thefts from ships at berth or at anchor. Navies and law enforcement agencies trying to tackle problems with piracy"
"million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008. These payments were made almost exclusively by European governments, which funneled the money through a network of proxies, sometimes masking it as development aid. There is an issue caused by the fact that some Western countries such as the United States, Canada, Israel, and Britain tend to not negotiate/pay ransom to terrorists, whereas other Western countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland are more open to negotiation and ransom payment. This creates tension between governments with opposing policies. Another area of criticism is that, even though not negotiating with terrorists is the"
"pirate mother ship. The warship deployed its helicopter, which quickly arrived on the scene, to deter the hijacking and shadow the mother vessel until the frigate arrived. On 26 May 2009, the EU Naval Task Force vessel HSwMS ""Malmö"" responded to a distress call from the European cargo vessel and apprehended seven suspected pirates. From 5 to 7 March 2010, forces from France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Sweden were in action; the French frigate ""Nivôse"" (F 732) secured its ""biggest seizure"" to-date in a vital shipping lane off the coast of Somalia, with 35 pirates arrested and four mother ships"
"for piracy is mandatory life in prison. The U.S. government appealed the ruling. In March 2011 the five Somalis were sentenced to life for piracy to run consecutively with the 80-year term. In the same month 13 Somalis and one Yemeni suspected of hijacking and killing four Americans aboard a yacht made their first appearance in federal court in Norfolk. On 28 January 2011, pursuant to the naval engagement of the pirate mother vessel MV ""Prantalay"" (a hijacked Thai trawler) by INS ""Cankarso"", the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard killed 10 pirates and apprehended 15, while rescuing 20"
"harbours rather than in the high seas. This incident pattern has hindered intervention by international naval forces. Pirates in the region operate a well-funded criminal industry, which includes established supply networks. They are often part of heavily armed and sophisticated criminal enterprises, who increasingly use motherships to launch their attacks. The local pirates' overall aim is to steal oil cargo. As such, they do not attach much importance to holding vessels for ransom. Additionally, pirates in the Gulf of Guinea are especially noted for their violent modus operandi, which frequently involves the kidnapping, torture and shooting of crewmen. The increasingly"
"failed to secure the fishermen's release after the pirates, originally demanding 800,000 to $1.5 million, rejected a ransom of $200,000. The fishermen rose against their captors on Thursday, August 13. They were being held on their vessels in Las Qorey, a pirate stronghold located on the coast in northern Somaliland. Despite being held on both ships and thus separated, the fisherman coordinated their actions against the captors, using the tools and machetes they were able to get hold of against the pirates, before seizing their guns and using it against them. At least two pirates were killed and an unknown"
"major port, the Port of Cotonou, was reported in 2012 to have dropped by 70 percent. The cost of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea due to stolen goods, security, and insurance has been estimated to be about $2 billion. According to the Control Risks Group, pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea had by mid-November 2013 maintained a steady level of around 100 attempted hijackings in the year, a close second behind Southeast Asia. Piracy in the Indian Ocean has been a threat to international shipping since the second phase of the civil war in Somalia in the early"
"against the men behind the Pirate Bay started in Sweden on 16 February 2009. They were accused of breaking Swedish copyright law. The defendants, however, continued to be confident about the outcome. Half the charges against the Pirate Bay were dropped on the second day of the trial. The three operators of the site and their one investor Carl Lundström were convicted in Stockholm district court on 17 April 2009 and sentenced to one year in jail each and a total of 30 million SEK (3.6 million USD, 2.7 million EUR, 2.4 million GBP) in fines and damages. The defendants'"