ARRRRRRR! Avast ye, mateys!


Somali pirates hijack Greek ship with 19 crew members

NAIROBI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Armed Somali pirates hijacked another Greek ship with 19 crew members off the coast of Somalia in the latest attacks along the world's most dangerous waters, a regional maritime official said on Sunday.

Andrew Mwangura, the coordinator of the East Africa Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP), said the vessel flying Bahamas MV CAPT, STEPHANOS was carrying coal when it was seized off the eastern coast of Somalia, the 15th such seizure by the pirates since July 20.




US Navy Fires Warning Shots Off Coast of Somalia

The U.S. Navy says a security team fired warning shots Wednesday at two small boats that tried to approach a naval supply ship off the coast of Somalia.

The Navy's Fifth Fleet says the shots were fired after a number of "defensive measures" were taken to deter the boats from approaching the USNS John Lenthall.

A naval statement says the shots landed about 50 meters from the closest boat and resulted in both small boats ending their pursuit. There were no reported casualties.



Pirates seize Ukrainian ship off Somalia coast: official

NAIROBI (AFP) — Pirates on Thursday seized a Ukrainian cargo ship off the coast of Somalia while it was en route to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, a maritime official told AFP.

The hijackers commandeered the Belize-flagged Faina to a yet unknown location, said Andrew Mwngura who runs the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme.

"It was sailing from the Baltics and was expected in Mombasa on September 27," he added. "As usual, the pirates were armed on a speedboat when they seized the ship, but we do not know where they have taken it."



Russia warship heads to Africa after pirate attack

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian warship on Friday rushed to intercept a Ukrainian vessel carrying 33 battle tanks and a hoard of ammunition that was seized by pirates off the Horn of Africa — a bold hijacking that again heightened fears about surging piracy and high-seas terrorism.

A U.S. warship is tracking the vessel but there has been no decision about intercepting it, U.S. Defense Department officials said.

"I think we're looking at the full range of options here," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
...
Ukrainian Defense Minister Yury Yekhanurov, meanwhile, said the hijacked vessel Faina was carrying 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and a substantial quantity of ammunition and spare parts. He said the tanks were sold to Kenya in accordance with international law.

Ukrainian officials and an anti-piracy watchdog said 21 crew members were aboard the seized ship, including three Russians. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko ordered unspecified measures to free the crew, but it was unclear whether any of the former Soviet republic's naval vessels had been dispatched.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-72



Somalia is a bad place to be.

Getting food ships past Somalian pirates

HMCS Ville de Québec, NEAR SOMALIA - On the bridge of the HMCS Ville de Québec, Cmdr. Chris Dickinson keeps a watchful eye on his charge.
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As the MV Golina, filled with food for Somalia's poor, approaches the port city of Mogadishu, he remains alert. The Canadian naval frigate gently rocks two miles off the coast. His crew scans for fast-moving skiffs that could launch a suicide attack; the ships' guns are armed and ready.

Until last month, Commander Dickinson's 47,000-ton frigate was stationed in the Mediterranean. His crew is trained to hunt subs. But at the request of the United Nation's World Food Program (WFP), his assignment now is to keep the pirates at bay. He shadows cargo ships full of grain and other supplies as they make the 510-mile journey from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Somalia.



Thousands of Somalis flee capital after fresh fighting this week – UN agency

25 September 2008 – At least 12,000 civilian residents of Mogadishu have fled their homes in the Somali capital since last weekend because of a surge in fighting between Islamist insurgents and Government forces backed by the Ethiopian military, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

Half of the newly displaced have found shelter in different neighbourhoods within Mogadishu, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), while the remainder have escaped to the town of Afgooye, about 30 kilometres away.

Afgooye is already home to an estimated 350,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), mostly from Mogadishu, where the fighting between the Government forces and the Islamists has been particularly intense over the past year.