The southern Caribbean has seen a significant increase in piracy of late, at least partially related to the economic and political turmoil in nearby Venezuela. Commerical ships, local fishermen and visiting yachts have all fallen prey to attacks from pirates. Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP), a … Continue reading
Tag Archives: piracy
A video producer who produced video of the excavation of a pirate ship is now suing the State of North Carolina and others for piracy. Nautilus Productions, which served as a videographer for the Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck project, is charging … Continue reading
This week, Book Expo America and Book-Con, collectively among of the largest book publishing events in the world, are being held in New York City, on the Hudson River in the Javit’s Center. (My novel, The Shantyman, is one of seemingly countless books … Continue reading
Piracy off the coast of Somalia last year dropped to the lowest level since 2004. In 2012, Somali pirates hijacked 14 ships, whereas in 2013, they successfully hijacked two, both of which were released in a day’s time as a … Continue reading
For thirty years, Greenpeace has used “non-violent direct action” in their environmental protests. In recent years, Greenpeace activists have boarded drilling platforms to disrupt operations. In most cases, the protesters involved were arrested, made to pay fines for trespass and were … Continue reading
Late Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the anti-whaling extremists and reality TV show stars, the Sea Shepherds, are indeed pirates. In his ruling, Judge Alex Kozinski wrote: ” When you ram ships, hurl glass containers of acid, drag … Continue reading
Today is the official “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” Time to celebrate murderous thugs and to imitate characters from Disney amusement park rides. Oh goodie. Or maybe not. Today is also an excellent time to consider the very real … Continue reading
Just over a week ago we posted about the hijacking of the product tanker 45,000 DWT tanker, Mattheos I, with a crew of 23, off Benin in the Gulf of Guinea. Last Saturday, the ship and crew was released. No ransom … Continue reading
The battle against piracy in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea may be changing. This week Japan announced that it would try four suspected pirates being held by the US Navy after they were captured attempting to hijack the Japanese owned tanker MV … Continue reading
Piracy in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean can be wildly profitable and is relatively risk free. If a pirate is caught by any of the multinational naval task force, chances are that they will simply let the … Continue reading
Every year the International Maritime Organization (IMO) observes World Maritime Day during the last week of September. The IMO headquarters is celebrating today, Thursday, September 24th, though in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Vancouver, Canada, they will be celebrating the event on … Continue reading
The US Naval War College has published a collection of essays on Piracy and Maritime Crime: Historical and Modern Case Studies, edited by Bruce A. Elleman, Andrew Forbes, and David Rosenberg. The essays look at piracy around the world and throughout history … Continue reading
This week HMS Bounty, the replica ship built for the 1960 movie, “Mutiny on the Bounty,” will be the centerpiece of the “Pirate Weekend” in Newburgh, New York, on the Hudson River, sixty miles north of new York City. The Bounty … Continue reading
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) issued a statement which we think is right on target. The current policy of disrupting but not consistently apprehending pirates has been a failure. The unacceptable situation prevailing now, with seafarers lives being threatened … Continue reading