Tag Archives: piracy

Ten pirates get 12 years in prison for kidnapping 18 crewmen from the F/V Hailufeng II

A court in Lagos sentenced 10 men to 12 years in prison on Friday for kidnapping the crew of a Chinese-flagged merchant vessel last year, the navy said, a verdict that officials hope will help tackle piracy in the waters off Nigeria’s coast. Federal high court Justice Ayokunle Faji, who also fined each man 250,000 naira ($608) for each of the three counts for which they were charged, said their actions in kidnapping 18 crew from the FV HAILUFENG II in May 2020, were “an embarrassment to the nation that has impacted the economy negatively”. >click to read< 22:36

We Are Not Pirates, Just Hard Working Fishermen Holding Oil Tanker Crew Hostage For Money

The hijackers who seized an oil tanker and its eight-man crew off Somalia are demanding “compensation” for a rise in illegal fishing in Somali waters. VOA’s Somali service spoke by phone to one of the hijackers Tuesday, a day after men boarded and seized the ship about 30 kilometers off the Somali coast, then anchored off Alula, a town in Somalia’s Puntland region. The hijacker said seven men took part in the raid. He asserted that he and his colleagues are fishermen, not pirates. “We have decided, as local fishermen, to resist illegal fishing. We have taken arms to defend ourselves, and we will continue,” said the man, who declined to give his name and did not suggest any dollar figures. continue reading the story here 18:11

Flag hopping fishing companies drive small fishermen to piracy. – The link between illegal fishing and piracy

Government authorities and shipping industry insiders are increasingly concerned that maritime piracy will rise globally as huge, commercial fishing firms—especially the ones that operate illegally—drive fishermen from poor countries out of business. “When people don’t have any way of feeding their families by fishing, they don’t have many options,” Read the rest here 16:44