Pirates at Sea – A Concern?

PIRATES

Four Americans taken hostage by Somali pirates off East Africa were shot and killed.  This happened Tuesday when captors acted.  This marked the first time U.S. citizens have been killed in pirate attacks. These attacks plagued the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

SHOULD YACHT CHARTER GUESTS BE CONCERNED?

On the contrary 

WRITER COMMENTS 

Travel writer K Kavin wrote how rare it is for pirates to attack charter yachts. “Piracy,” Kavin wrote, “simply is not a major concern among charter yachts operating in traditional cruising destinations, including the Western Mediterranean and Caribbean.”

Kavin is correct.  The events taking place this week aboard the private sailing yacht Quest have nothing to do with what charter guests can expect to experience. Why?  For example, because crewed sail boat charters and super yacht charters are not offered anywhere near the coast of Oman.

SOMALI PIRATES

Hijackings off the coast of Somalia accounted for 92% of all ship seizures in 2010 (source: International Chamber of Commerce). Somali pirates routinely attack yachts and commercial ships off the coast of Yemen and Somalia. This is very far from the traditional cruising grounds. These grounds include Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Italy and France.  They are a world away from the islands of the Caribbean.

INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Where to turn for information regarding incidents of piracy?  The International Chamber of Commerce issues reports about incidents of piracy on a worldwide basis.

CARIBBEAN MARITIME INFORMATION

For information more specific to the Caribbean, we recommend that you check out the Caribbean Maritime Mobile Net. The Net is essentially an informational service for cruisers in the Caribbean.  Caribbean cruisers run this.  The Net operates daily on 7.241 MHz from 1100Z to 1200Z. If anything is going on that cruisers need to know about in the Caribbean, for instance, this is where you turn.  This includes events in the Gulf of Mexico.

CARIBBEAN PUBLICATION

There’s also a fairly useful monthly publication entitled the Caribbean Compass.  You can find their online information at www.caribbeancompass.com.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO REDUCE PIRACY?

In conclusion, what to do to reduce or eliminate incidents of piracy at sea?  Please share your comments on our blog entry.

This entry was posted in News and tagged piracy, somali pirates

About admin

Ms. Jana Sheeder is President of 1-800 Yacht Charters. Providing The Superyacht Experience(tm) since 1976. Private luxury yacht charter vacations in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Bahamas, South Pacific, South Florida, Miami and The Florida Keys, Italian Rivera, Belize. Megayacht charter company focused on generosity, Pay It Forward, Random Acts of Kindness, Giftivism, giving back to the ocean, to the needy, and the environment with every superyachting charter. Providing eco-friendly alternatives while on yacht charters and known for 6-star customer service, experience, and generosity.
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