Published: March 04, 2011
49 Foreign Vessels Plus Two Barges Still in The Hands of The Somali Pirates
By ecop-marine
Today, 22h00 UTC, at least 49 foreign vessels plus two barges are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 784 hostages or captives, including a South-African yachting couple. They are waiting to be released.
But even EU NAVFOR, who mostly only counts high-value, often British insured vessels, admitted now that many dozens of vessels were sea-jacked despite their multi-million Euro efforts to protect shipping.
Having come under pressure, EU NAVFOR's operation ATALANTA felt now compelled to publish their updated piracy facts for those vessels, which EU NAVFOR admits had not been protected from pirates and were abducted.
EU NAVFOR also admitted in February 2011 for the first time that actually a larger number of vessels and crews is held hostage than those listed on their file.
Since EU NAVFOR's inception at the end of 2008 the piracy off Somalia started in earnest and it has now completely escalated. Only knowledgeable analysts recognized the link.
SOURCE: ECOTERRA Intl.
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