Pirates storm French yacht off Somalia

[nivi]

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gC9E3n5nDa1cJ9IAnkN-ikfw9SfQ

Pirates take French yacht crew hostage off Somalia: French army

2 hours ago

PARIS (AFP) — Pirates boarded a French luxury cruise yacht off the coast of Somalia and took its entire crew hostage on Friday, a French military spokesman said.

The yacht, the Ponant, "was the victim of an act of piracy early this afternoon as it was sailing between Somalia and Yemen," spokesman Christophe Prazuck said.

The 850-tonne three-masted yacht was carrying around 30 crew but had no passengers on board at the time, Prazuck said.

"As far as we know, no shots have been fired," he said.

French military forces and a US-led task force, both present in the area, "were able to confirm the situation and are following its evolution," he added.

France has a patrol aircraft based in Djibouti, as well a dispatch boat.

French cruise operator CMA-CGM confirmed one of its boats had been seized in the Gulf of Aden, on its way from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean, and that "the majority" of its crew were French nationals.

"The ship is indeed the Ponant, property of the CMA-CGM group. We were informed that there were pirates on board," a company spokesman said.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon's office said the government had launched a piracy alert plan.

The foreign ministry said it had made contact with the ship's owner and was trying to reach the crew's relatives.

The 32-cabin Ponant, fully equipped with lounges, bar and restaurant, is one of three operated by the Marseille-based firm, which describes itself as France's leading cruise provider.

With a capacity for 64 passengers, it offers several cruises in the Gulf region, including between Egypt and Aqaba in Jordan, and off the coast of Oman, according to the company's website.

Pirate attacks are frequent off Somalia's 3,700-kilometre (2,300-mile) coastline, prompting the International Maritime Bureau to advise sailors to steer clear.

The French navy was called on in recent months to escort World Food Programme boats through Somali waters, after two of the agency's boats were stolen.

Ah Somalia, no where else can you get the excitement of pirates.

 

[Julian Delphiki]

Why in the first place where they sailing there, is it on their common route? Found a map, seems to be..

Ain't coast of Somalia the most dangerous area in the world pirate-wise?

 

[Godwynn]

Jesus, we still have pirates?

Do they have wooden ships? Send an aircraft carrier over there and watch those blow up boats sail back to land.

 

[downtown]

Thank God there are still some pirates left. Otherwise, global warming could be out of control

 

[Julian Delphiki]

Jesus, we still have pirates?

Do they have wooden ships? Send an aircraft carrier over there and watch those blow up boats sail back to land.

Like this?

 

[Patroklos]

We used to run into these guys off in the Red Sea, Gulf Of Aden and such. They would always radio "we are so happy to see you" or some such. All we could do was shake our head at their stupidity.

As long as you hug the coast of Yemen you will be fine. If you are close enough to Somalia for pirates to get you, your fault.

 

[ArneHD]

Jesus, we still have pirates?

Do they have wooden ships? Send an aircraft carrier over there and watch those blow up boats sail back to land.

Too expensive, besides, it's a Somali problem and in their territorial waters. Even if you did send it over for a short amount of time piracy would probably pick up again afterwords.

 

[bhsup]

Territorial waters is moot if the government is unable to deal with pirates operating there. Any nation is justified to send in its own navy to deal with it. Sink the ship, pick up the survivors, hang all pirates immediately.

 

[ArneHD]

Territorial waters is moot if the government is unable to deal with pirates operating there. Any nation is justified to send in its own navy to deal with it. Sink the ship, pick up the survivors, hang all pirates immediately.

If it is worth the cost, which, judging from the fact that nothing has happened, I would say it isn't. The loss from piracy is apparently less than the cost of patrolling the Somali coastline.

In the end it is a question of money and politics.

 

[Ansar]

Like this?

Nah, today's sea travelers look more like this:

 

[bigdog5994]

i want to fight pirates

that would be a awesome job in the navy

 

[Masquerouge]

Like this?

Nice! First time I see that one in English...

In French the guy says "Je suis meduse", which translates as "I'm bewildered", but the drawing refers to "Le radeau de la Meduse", a painting by Gericault, and hence the pun...

 

[Julian Delphiki]

That made me wonder if the Finnish translation does catch that at all (i wasn't aware of the painting).

 

[jessiecat]

Territorial waters is moot if the government is unable to deal with pirates operating there. Any nation is justified to send in its own navy to deal with it. Sink the ship, pick up the survivors, hang all pirates immediately.

Great plot. I want the film rights.

 

[Holycannoli]

i want to fight pirates

that would be a awesome job in the navy

My brother just did that last year, chasing and fighting them on the Arleigh Burke. They were asked to intervene. Pirates captured a Japanese ship and a Korean naval ship among other ships. He said it was the most fun he's ever had.

He's not allowed to say what exactly they did, but he did say they used those automated gatling guns (don't know what they're called officially) on quite a few pirates. He even got a medal for something during it all, and he won't tell us what it is. One more thing he mentioned: They were about to open fire on the coast, at all the pirates anchored there just watching them on the horizon. It came down to a phone call to the bridge.

I think next time they should launch some missiles. The biggest reason these pirates are so bold is because they know they're safe.

 

[bigdog5994]

My brother just did that last year, chasing and fighting them on the Arleigh Burke. They were asked to intervene. Pirates captured a Japanese ship and a Korean naval ship among other ships. He said it was the most fun he's ever had.

He's not allowed to say what exactly they did, but he did say they used those automated gatling guns (don't know what they're called officially) on quite a few pirates. He even got a medal for something during it all, and he won't tell us what it is. One more thing he mentioned: They were about to open fire on the coast, at all the pirates anchored there just watching them on the horizon. It came down to a phone call to the bridge.

I think next time they should launch some missiles. The biggest reason these pirates are so bold is because they know they're safe.

wow thats awesome, i didnt even know that the navy had any ship to ship action any more

 

[Cutlass]

The US Navy is operating troop ships with helicopters in the area with French Navy warships in support. Other navies also patrol the region. Piracy has been an issue there for a long time.

 

[Sharwood]

i want to fight pirates

that would be a awesome job in the navy

I want to BE a pirate. I could wear an eyepatch and say "Arrrgh" all the time, without getting the weird looks I do now.

 

[Elrohir]

I wholeheartedly agree with VRWC. Board 'em, sink the pirate ships, and hang the pirates.

My brother just did that last year, chasing and fighting them on the Arleigh Burke. They were asked to intervene. Pirates captured a Japanese ship and a Korean naval ship among other ships. He said it was the most fun he's ever had.

He's not allowed to say what exactly they did, but he did say they used those automated gatling guns (don't know what they're called officially) on quite a few pirates. He even got a medal for something during it all, and he won't tell us what it is. One more thing he mentioned: They were about to open fire on the coast, at all the pirates anchored there just watching them on the horizon. It came down to a phone call to the bridge.

I think next time they should launch some missiles. The biggest reason these pirates are so bold is because they know they're safe.

Phalanx's?

 

[Tasslehoff]

All hope is not lost! Pirates still exist! The Earth won't die in a huge escalation of global warming!