It is great fun to think about pirates in the fictional sense - a bunch of carefree adventurers who wear patches and talk funny. The parrot doesn't hurt, either. But the real life misadventures of pirates of old cost many people lots of money. They were known to hold up ships of medicine and goods that law-abiding citizens needed, all for a ransom; or they would simply steal these items and sell them off for their own profit. Although they have long since been romanticised, rarely were the pirates' intentions good. And that is still true today.
Within the last year, the modern day pirate has taken front page on multiple occasions. There is a small strip of water
that connects the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean called the Red Sea, and at the bottom of that strip is the Gulf of Aden. It is this water that is bordered by a country called Somalia. Ships from all over the world have to pass through this bit of water to get their goods from anywhere in Europe to anywhere in Asia and from Asia and the Middle East to anywhere westward. It is part of the Suez Canal transportation system. And it is from Somalia that the modern pirate has taken a nasty turn. These pirates, armed with various weapons, are holding ships for ransom in these seas. Although this is not a new problem, the tactics have become more brutal and the ransom quantities have become much higher, particularly in the last year or so.So far, no one has been able to effectively stop completely the abuses of these people, but in an artilce posted by the Associated Press on Dec. 25th on the MSNBC.com website, a German military helicopter was able to chase would be pirates away. Forces from all over the world are now gathering their defenses to put an end to this problem. Let's hope they can end it soon, because it effects all of the law-abiding citizens of the world when this vital passageway is so dangerous. The article is included below:
CAIRO, Egypt —A German military helicopter chased away pirates who were trying to board an Egyptian ship Thursday off the coast of Somalia. One of the ship's crew was shot in the attack.
The bulk carrier with 31 crew was passing through the Gulf of Aden on its way to Asia when gun-toting pirates in a speedboat began pursuing it, said Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center.
A passing ship alerted the Kuala Lumpur-based bureau, which asked a multinational naval coalition force in the area to help, said Choong.
In response, the German navy frigate Karlsruhe dispatched a helicopter, a military spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
The pirates fled as the chopper reached the vessel, according to a statement from the German military, but not before shooting and injuring one the ship's crew.
A second helicopter, carrying a medical team, retrieved the injured crewmember, who is now receiving treatment on the Karlsruhe, the statement said.
Increasing problem: After the attack, the vessel, the Wadi al-Arab, continued on its way to South Korea, where it was delivering a shipment of wheat from Ukraine, said Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmed Rizq.
Piracy has taken an increasing toll on international shipping this year, especially in the Gulf of Aden — one of the world's busiest sea lanes. Spurred by widespread poverty in their homeland, Somali pirates have made an estimated $30 million hijacking ships for ransom this year.
More than a dozen warships are now patrolling the vast gulf. Countries as diverse as Britain, India, Iran, America, France and Germany have naval forces in the waters or on their way there.
"Despite increased naval patrols, pirates are continuing to attack ships because the warships cannot be everywhere at the same time. But we are pleased with the quick assistance by the coalition force," Choong said.
Choong said there have been 110 pirate attacks this year in the Gulf of Aden, including 42 hijackings. Most were released after a ransom was paid, though 14 — with more than 240 crew — are still being held.
Another emergency: A second German frigate responded to another emergency call Thursday from a different ship in the gulf, the military said. The statement gave no other details on that incident.
Japan said Wednesday it is considering sending military ships to join the coalition. China is scheduled to send warships on Friday. In November, Cairo hosted a meeting of senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Somalia, Sudan Yemen to coordinate efforts of their nations to combat piracy.
Somalia, a nation of about 8 million people, has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 and then turned on each other.
In another article dated Jan. 9th, 2009 that was published on the gardian.co.uk website, the US has created and launched an anti-piracy naval force. This force will be made up of the US and 23 other countries to help protect the region and will begin work in the region by mid January. This will be in addition to other forces already in the area. As of the most recent count, 13 ships are still being held for ransom.
For extra credit, take a moment to look up the recent history about Somalia and see the events on land that are having such an impact at sea.The word for today is pirate: der Pirat (pee raht).
The question for today is "What is the BigBox?"
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
