Chemical tanker falls to Somali pirates – the 83rd vessel to be taken in 2008
Pirates hijacked a Philippines chemical tanker with 23 crew near Somalia, bringing the total number of attacks in waters off the African nation this year to 83, a maritime official said today.
The tanker was heading to Asia when it was seized in the Gulf of Aden by pirates armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.
In Manila, Foreign Ministry spokesman Claro Cristobal said the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi and the ship’s operator identified the chemical tanker as the MT Stolt Strength.
FPI COMMENTARY – THE STORY ABOVE IS A SCAM AND HERE’S WHY!
Cruise lines turn to sonic weapon against Somalia pirates NOV 8, 2005
Passengers travelling on luxury cruise liners usually expect to be looked after by their ship’s crew.
Yet pirates who tried to hijack a liner off the coast of Somalia met something a little more sophisticated than a warning shot across the bow.
The crew of the Seabourn Spirit quickly changed course and headed out into open water to evade the attackers in small boats who had raked the vessel with rockets and automatic weapons fire.
They also deployed a military-grade sonic weapon.
The long range acoustic device, or LRAD, is a high-tech loudhailer capable of causing permanent damage to hearing from a distance of more than 300 metres (984ft).
