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'Mother ship' behind pirate raids
Okay. Who called it?Pirate attacks off Somalia's coast are being organised from command vessels, or "mother ships", the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has said. It says speedboats are being launched from ships that prowl the routes of the Indian Ocean, searching for targets. Last week, a luxury cruise liner off Somalia's coast was attacked by pirates with rocket-propelled grenades. The IMB says pirates are still holding seven ships and their crews, seized in the world's most dangerous waters. In the past few days, at least four other vessels are reported to have been attacked. Captain Pottengal Mukundan, director of the IMB, says pirate attacks are being launched from at least two "mother ships". Real simple solution to that... Capt Mukundan says speedboats carry out the attempted hijacks before returning to the larger vessels floating at sea. This means even ships sailing far off the coast are vulnerable to attack. He says the situation off the coast of Somalia appears to be completely out of control. Ya don't say? The IMB has recorded more than 30 hijack attempts in the region since March. These latest attacks follow a thwarted attempt by pirates in small boats to commandeer the luxury liner, the Seabourn Spirit, which was steaming some 100 miles (160km) off the Somali coast last week. But the liner's crew took evasive action, repelling the attackers without returning fire. Might be time to return fire, perhaps? Posted by: tu3031 2005-11-11 |
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