Off of the Somalian coastline, on its way to deliver aid to Africa, Danish owned vessel, The Maersk Alabama, with its U.S. flags and 20-man American crew, was seized by pirates this morning. Though the 6th vessel seized in a week, it's the first U.S. flagged ship to be attacked by pirates in more than 200 years. When the opportunity arose, following 12 hours of captivity, the Alabama's crew overpowered the pirates and regained control of their ship. The hijackers fled to a life boat, taking the captain with them. And, unfortunately, the captain is still being held hostage. Prayers are up for him. Reportedly, the pirates are in it for the ransom. Last year alone, they are said to have collected ransom payments topping $50 million U.S. $'s. That ain't chump-change.
We find this interesting, per the article in the L.A. Times:
The ship's owner, Norfolk, Va.-based Maersk Line Ltd., is a U.S. subsidiary of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk. The shipping giant is a longtime Pentagon contractor, according to security analyst firm Globalsecurity.org, operating vessels with "top security clearance." But the Maersk Alabama was not sailing under a Defense Department contract at the time of the attack, according to company and U.S. military officials.
Sooo, if the ship was Pentagon protected would they have ever been hijacked? Was there a "lesson" to be learned here about Pentagon protection vs. Not "insured" while traveling in Somalian waters? Jus' sayin!
Article in the Trunk: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-somali-pirates9-2009apr09,0,4104857.story
Pic lifted from L.A. Times/AFP/Getty Images
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