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In September, Somali pirates made headlines when they captured a
Russian-flagged Ukrainian cargo ship bound for Kenya. This hijacking
made news because the vessel was filled with Russian-made weapons on
their way to Kenya's military.
The pirates from Somalia have found their pot of gold. Merchant
vessels are extremely vulnerable as they pass through narrow strait
that leads from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea. Somalia's long coast
borders this strategic international sea-lane.
This has enabled Somali pirates to attack at least 77 ships this
year. The vast majority of merchant ships are not armed or prepared to
defend themselves against pirates. The raiders have very fast small
rubber boats that are invisible to radar.
The pirates are well-trained terrorist-types. They're heavily armed
with compact, but very destructive and lethal weapons. Once they
capture a merchant ship or freighter, they offer it up for ransom. The
average ransom collected per ship is about $2 million.
But of even more interest than the Russian arms freighter is another
hijacking that occurred in roughly the same time period. This incident
involved an Iranian freighter: the MV Iran Deyant. The mystery is why
this hijacking has been almost completely unreported, especially in the
U.S. media. Somali pirates captured this state-owned Iranian merchant
ship in August. It sailed from Nanjing, China, on July 28. |
