Somali Pirates Kill Four US Captives

A Somali pirate.

Four Americans were killed after their yacht was taken by Somali pirates. Murder is not swashbucklin’. The Americans were in Somali hands for over a week as the US military tailed the vessel after it discovered the yacht had been boarded. US forces heard gunfire and moved quickly to overtake the ship. They discovered that all four captives had been shot and they died of their wounds in moments. The US Navy had a portion of a task force dedicated to following the ship, including an aircraft carrier and two destroyers. Three of the four Somalis were killed, the fourth being taken prisoner and sentenced to 30 years in prison. To leave you on a more positive note, here is a fake pirate, not a blood thirsty one.

Avast, and also, when you have the time, batter the hatches…

Pirates: Greece Falls Victim to Swashbucklin’

You all know the Bohunk’s attachment to the word swashbuckling and this story offers a prime example to use it. The Greek government announced that a tanker it owns was attacked and seized by swashbuckling pirates Wednesday morning, and have lost all contact with the ship shortly after the attack. The tanker was carrying 266 tons of crude oil and 25 crewmen, seven of them Greek, seventeen Filipino and a Ukrainian. The ship was on course for the Gulf of Mexico.

The Somali version of the Black Pearl…

As noted in earlier Updates, the pirates have seized ships worth hundreds of millions of dollars, held hundreds of crewmen hostage, some for years, and have effectively shrugged off some of the world’s most powerful navies for years now. All because the world failed to enforce their right to exclusive fishing rights in their own waters, where Somalis have been fishing for thousands of years. Here’s to their big swashbuckling “Screw you, International Community”.