Dec 24th, 2012 at 10:00AM: I'm the kind of person who can conjure up an excuse to visit just about any place. I grew up in Buffalo, America's most unfairly maligned city, and so I identify with underdog destinations – places with bad weather, crime, ugly people, rude people, you name it and I probably still want to go there.
But there are some places on this planet that even I do not want to visit. Places where you ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
somalipirates posts
World's Worst Places: Top 10 Places In The World You Do Not Want To Visit In 2013
Dec 24th, 2012 at 10:00AM: I'm the kind of person who can conjure up an excuse to visit just about any place. I grew up in Buffalo, America's most unfairly maligned city, and so I identify with underdog destinations – places with bad weather, crime, ugly people, rude people, you name it and I probably still want to go there.
But there are some places on this planet that even I do not want to visit. Places where you ...Interview With Paul And Rachel Chandler: British Couple Taken Hostage By Somali Pirates
Sep 13th, 2012 at 10:00AM: Nearly two years after being released by Somali pirates who stormed their sailboat and held them hostage for 13 months, Paul and Rachel Chandler are finally ready to get back on their boat, the Lynn Rival. This time they won't be going anywhere near Somalia, but they refuse to rule out a return visit if the situation there improves.
The Chandlers have spent much of the last two years writing a ...Blackbeard's pirate ship gives up its anchor
May 28th, 2011 at 12:00PM:
A pirate ship owned by the notorious Blackbeard is being investigated by archaeologists, who have just retrieved one of its anchors.
The Queen Anne's Revenge, was grounded in 1718 while trying to enter Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. Blackbeard had just come from blockading Charleston until he received a ransom. Currently the wreck lies in only 20 feet of water, as easily accessible to ...How to pirate-proof a ship
Apr 19th, 2011 at 12:00PM: Razor wire, Gurkhas and sonic weapons are being routinely deployed on ships sailing in the pirate-infested waters off the Horn of Africa in an attempt to pirate-proof ships of all kinds. While ships try to go through the Suez Canal, pirate attacks on pretty much anything sailing off East Africa are rising and extra measures are being taken to protect the ships and their passengers.
A 25-nation ...Dubai tour company offers pirate hunting cruises off horn of Africa
Apr 1st, 2011 at 10:30AM:
After years of murders, kidnappings, and heists, the lawless sea near the horn of Africa seems to be getting worse. A Dubai firm is capitalizing on these pirate infested waters with a strange new form of pirate tourism. The tour company, Dubai based Seahunters LLC, sells both 7 and 14 day cruises embarking from Salalah, Oman and Abu Dhabi, UAE. Unlike the quintessential cruise, the cruisers ...It's time to end Indian Ocean "Adventures"
Mar 24th, 2011 at 1:00PM: With news that seven Danish sailors, including three children aged 12 to 16, had been captured by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, February, 24, it's time to reevaluate the legacy of four Americans shot to death by pirates in those same waters off eastern Africa just two days before the Danes issued their distress call.
In the obituaries of the four Americans killed aboard their ...Somali pirates anchor Danish family yacht, threaten death
Mar 2nd, 2011 at 11:30AM:
Now it's a Danish family of five, including three children, that has been taken hostage by Somali pirates who vow to kill them should a rescue attempt be made. The pirated yacht, taken last week, was anchored off the shore of Somalia today.
The 43-foot sailboat was being piloted by Jan Quist Johansen along with his wife, their three children, ages 12 to 16 and two Danish crew members.
A ...Somali pirate ordeal ends with death of religious Americans
Feb 22nd, 2011 at 4:00PM: They were on year seven of a ten-year around-the-world voyage, passing out bibles from New Zealand to Alaska to Fiji and all points in-between. Their voyage came to a tragic end today as Somaili pirates shot and killed captives Jean and Scott Adam of Southern California and Phyllis Mackay and Bob Riggle of Seattle.
US forces had been trailing the captured m/v Quest when shots were heard on ...10 breeds of pirate - Somalis to Vikings to Japanese Pirate Ninjas
Feb 21st, 2011 at 11:00AM:
A yacht carrying a quartet of Americans was recently seized by Somali pirates, the latest in a string of hijackings that reaches back millenia. According to MSNBC, the seized yacht, the "S/V Quest," is owned by Jean and Scott Adam - a couple on a worldwide quest distributing bibles. While they no doubt expected to spread the word far and wide, they were certainly not expecting to be boarded by ...Piracy reached record levels in 2010
Jan 18th, 2011 at 9:30AM:
Pirate hijackings in the Red Sea and nearby waters reached their highest levels ever, the Associated Press reports.
Pirate hijackings worldwide claimed 1,181 hostages and 53 vessels, a rise of ten percent since 2009. Of these, 49 ships were taken by Somali gunmen in the Red Sea or nearby waters in the Indian Ocean. Somali piracy has been the biggest problem area despite an international fleet ...What to do if pirates board your cruise ship
Jan 16th, 2011 at 4:00PM: It's not often that we get stories of pirates boarding cruise ships. Our friends at AOLTravel had one the other day though that caught our attention. When Somali pirates stalked a cruise ship in the Indian ocean recently, we're told that "Passengers decked out for a black tie dinner on a British cruise ship on the Indian Ocean were told to hide below decks when a speed boat allegedly carrying ...British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates
Oct 30th, 2009 at 2:00PM: A British couple sailing from the Seychelles to Tanzania was kidnapped by Somali pirates and is now being held for ransom.
Paul and Rachel Chandler, both in their late 50's, had been sailing since March on their 38-foot sailboat and keeping a blog about their journey. Last week family and friends alerted authorities that they had not heard from the couple in several days, and shortly after, ...Russian yachts to offer "pirate hunting" cruises off Somali coast
Jun 29th, 2009 at 9:30AM: Please let this be a joke. According to several news sources, Russian yacht owners will begin offering "pirate hunting" vacations to those interested in wielding AK-47's and shooting at pirates off the coast of Somalia. Tickets aboard the ocean liners, which will cruise at about five miles per hour in an attempt to attract pirates, will cost about US$5,000, with AK-47's and ammunition available ...Somali pirate talks: "We consider ourselves heroes running away from poverty."
Dec 8th, 2008 at 10:30AM: No doubt you've already heard about all the trouble on the high seas off Somalia's coast. Armed-to-the-teeth pirates have been boarding ships and demanding hefty ransoms from their owners, which are often paid in full for the ship's return.
The Guardian recently allowed one Somali pirate named Asad Abdulahi to tell his story, and the results were quite interesting. He says that he began hijacking ...Australian cruise ship mistakes tuna fishermen for pirates
Dec 5th, 2008 at 9:00AM: Everyone was on edge aboard the MV Athena as it passed through the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday night, local time. The gulf has become a hot spot for pirate activity. Earlier in the week a large cruise ship on its way from Rome to Singapore, outran pirates after they opened fire from their skiffs. So when a group of boats surrounded the Athena, the captain ordered passengers off the deck as crew ...The Pirate Life on Somalia's Coast
Oct 30th, 2008 at 12:00PM: The BBC recently ran a feature about the pirates who have been terrorizing ships off Somalia's coastline. These pirates make their money by capturing ships of all sorts, from cruise ships to freighters, and demanding a ransom. Are these guys modern day eye-patch-wearing rum-lovers? According to BBC reporter Robyn Hunter, they are ambitious young men who have found a niche and are exploiting it to ...
