Pirates hijack ship off Somalia
Why
A U.S.-flagged cargo ship that routinely works under contract to the Department of Defense and its all-American crew were hijacked today by pirates operating off the Horn of Africa. The crew of 20 is believed to be safe and the vessel is heading toward the coast of Somalia, maritime officials said. The early-morning attack of the Danish-owned cargo ship occurred about 240 nautical miles southeast of the Somali port city of Eyl in the Indian Ocean, according to U.S. naval officials. The ship's owner, Norfolk, Va.-based Maersk Line Ltd., a subsidiary of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk, is a longtime Defense Department shipping contractor, operating at times with top security clearance. But the hijacked vessel, the Maersk Alabama, was not sailing under a Defense Department contract at the time of the attack, according to Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman from the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain. A Maersk spokeswoman in Copenhagen said the ship was carrying food and "relief aid," but she did not know the final destination of the cargo. The attack marks a rare hijacking of a U.S.-operated ship in Africa, where piracy has been surging along Somalia's coast and in the Gulf of Aden. "Every indication is that this is the first time a U.S.-flagged ship has been successfully seized by pirates," Christensen said. According to Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program in Nairobi, Kenya, the last pirate attack of an American vessel by African pirates was reported in 1804, off Libya. "It's been a very long time," he said. It remained unclear who seized the vessel, and there were no reports of ransom demands. Over the last three years, Somali pirates have typically anchored hijacked vessels off the coast and negotiated ransoms of from $1 million to $3 million. U.S. warships, joined by several other foreign navies, have been patrolling the region since late last year, attempting to fill the security gap left by Somalia's weak transitional government. The last functioning government was toppled in 1991. At the time of the attack today, the closet U.S. warship was 300 miles away and unable to respond. "We are covering 1 million square miles," Christensen said. "It's a vast area, four times as big as Texas." He declined to comment on how the U.S. would respond to the attack. Last year, when a Ukrainian ship loaded with 33 tanks and other military hardware was hijacked, U.S. warships and helicopters provided 24-hour surveillance to ensure none of the weapons were off-loaded to terrorists. After a $3-million ransom payment was made, the crew and cargo were released safely. A military intervention would be a mistake, maritime officials warned. "That would just put the crew at risk," Mwangura said. U.S. officials said they were monitoring the situation. "Most of the time, negotiations take place with the shipping company," Christensen said. "But individual nations have the absolute right to take action." After improving slightly in recent months, pirate attacks have surged again in the last week, moving from the Gulf of Aden to deep in the Indian Ocean. Over the last week, attacks have targeted a British-owned ship with a Bulgarian crew, a French yacht and a German container vessel. At least 16 ships and their crews are currently being held off Somalia's coast, maritime officials said.
Search Terms:
somali pirates, somalia, somali, somalia pirates, maersk alabama, somalie
References:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-somalia-hijack-americans9-2009apr09,http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKL8265901,http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/08/content_11151600.htm,http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gwdtzbCcB7_w2pvF4-D4IPl9qWiQ,http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MzdmNDI5OWQ0YjZjMjQ5OGE3MzkwYmZjMmYyYjU1ZmI=,http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/08/somali-pirates-hijack-shi_n_184536.html,http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/197160.php
