Red Sea 7 Pirate Attacks A white skiff that appeared to have two men on board rushed the Pacific Galaxy, seen here, in the early morning hours.
Two outboard motors pushed the skiff at more than 25 knots. As it closed in, crew members warily watching the small craft saw five more men rise up from where they had been lying flat on the floor of the vessel. The master of the Panamanian tanker gave his armed, on-board security team permission to fire warning shots.
The security team let loose with a volley of bullets. The pirates promptly called off the attack. About an hour and a half later, however, pirates returned, this time in two skiffs.
When the pirates drew within meters, the security team opened up with rifle fire and shot rocket flares. The pirates retreated—this time for good.
Bangladesh 7 Pirate Attacks Five men armed with long knives scrambled up the anchor chain of the Diana Bolten, seen here, at 3 a. Three of the pirates threatened the watchman as he approached through the darkness, and the second mate directed a spotlight onto the men. The pirates fled back down the anchor chain, taking as much ship property as they could carry with them.
Calls went out to port control authorities and the Bangladeshi coast guard, which scoured the area in search of the robbers. It was too late: They escaped. Ivory Coast 6 Pirate Attacks The Gascogne, pictured, was underway 70 nautical miles south of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, when 12 pirates with firearms boarded the French-owned tanker just before 7 a.
The pirates sailed the hijacked ship to Nigeria, where they siphoned off its cargo of crude oil. Nobody was harmed. Only a few short years ago the international community was celebrating the end of maritime piracy.
Worldwide in , there were fewer attacks and attempted attacks on ships than there had been in 25 years. But as the Guayaquil attack hints, pirates may be getting more active. As a scholar of sea piracy , I worry that the coronavirus pandemic may make piracy even more of a problem in the coming months and years.
Modern sea piracy often involves pirates in small fast boats approaching and boarding larger, slower-moving ships to rob them of cargo — such as car parts, oil, crew valuables, communication equipment — or to seize the ship and crew for ransom. Beginning in , the greater Gulf of Aden area off the coast of East Africa became the most dangerous waters in the world for pirate attacks. Three international naval efforts , and industry-wide efforts to make ships harder to attack and easier to defend , helped reduce the threat — as did improved local government on land , such as enhanced security and better health and education services.
The explorer Christopher Columbus established contact between Europe and the lands that were later named America at the end of the 15th century. As he was working for the Spanish monarchy, these 'new lands' were claimed by the Spanish, who soon discovered them to be a rich source of silver, gold and gems. From the 16th century, large Spanish ships, called galleons, began to sail back to Europe, loaded with precious cargoes that pirates found impossible to resist.
So many pirate attacks were made that galleons were forced to sail together in fleets with armed vessels for protection. As Spanish settlers set up new towns on Caribbean islands and the American mainland, these too came under pirate attack.
Corsairs were pirates who operated in the Mediterranean Sea between the 15th and 18th centuries. Both used to swoop down on their targets in oar-powered boats called galleys, to carry off sailors and passengers. Unless these unfortunates were rich enough to pay a ransom, they were sold as slaves.
Buccaneers lived on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and its tiny turtle-shaped neighbour, Tortuga, in the 17th century. At first they lived as hunters, but later the governors of Caribbean islands paid the buccaneers to attack Spanish treasure ships. Although raids began in this way, with official backing, the buccaneers gradually became out of control, attacking any ship they thought carried valuable cargo, whether it belonged to an enemy country or not.
The buccaneers had become true pirates. Privateers, meanwhile, were privately owned rather than navy ships armed with guns, operating in times of war. The Admiralty issued them with 'letters of marque' that allowed them to capture merchant vessels without being charged with piracy.
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