calls for ‘no concessions’ policy

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• Chen Somali pirates free Malaysian tug after ransom

     Somali pirates have released a Malaysian-owned tugboat that had been held for more than seven months and its 11 Indonesian crew after a ransom was paid, a maritime official said. The tugboat was towing a barge back to Malaysia from Mukallah in Yemen when it was seized off the Yemeni coast

• Ransom paid for oil tankers, Somalia pirates clash

     (Reuters)  The largest ransom ever paid to Somali pirates was dropped on Sunday onto a Greek-flagged oil tanker with two million barrels of oil on board, pirates and maritime officials said.  Source

• Ransom paid for oil tankers, Somalia pirates clash

     (Reuters)  The largest ransom ever paid to Somali pirates was dropped on Sunday onto a Greek-flagged oil tanker with two million barrels of oil on board, pirates and maritime officials said.  Source

• Paid a ransom for cargo ship held by Somali pirates

    A ransom for the release of the cargo ship MV Filitsa has been delivered to pirates on board the vessel off the Somali coast, a regional maritime official and pirate sources said on Monday. Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme said helicopters dropped the agreed ransom,

• Stronger legislation against piracy in Somalia needed: UN

    UN Security Council members on Wednesday called for intensified efforts to fight piracy off the Somali coast and criticised the practice of paying ransom. The members said during a session on piracy and the situation in Somalia that the coordinated fight by navies from several countries failed to deter pirates.

• Somali pirates quarrel about the Greek-flagged oil tanker

    Rival Somali pirate gangs fired shots at each other on Sunday in a dispute over how to split any ransom for a hijacked Greek-flagged oil tanker with two million barrels of crude oil aboard. Pirates from the semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland, who seized the Maran Centaurus in November, say

• Somali pirates a ransom

    A senior Nato adviser on piracy has criticised the government for failing to investigate adequately whether ransom payments to Somali pirates fund Islamist groups including al-Qaida.

• Pirate attacks raise risks for oil tankers

    The number of pirate attacks and attempted hijackings of oil tankers hit a high in 2009, an industry group reported, highlighting a geopolitical risk in the global oil market that could increase this year and push crude prices higher.

• No report of injuries or losses of the two abducted ships: IMF Officer

    There was no report about any injuries and casualties so far on the two ships kidnapped by Somali pirates on Monday, an officer of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said here on Wednesday.

• Women in demand in the shipping and pirates

    Somali pirates who seize ships for ransom hold more than 100 captive mariners, including a rarity in the male-dominated shipping industry — a woman officer, reports Associated Press. Women like Aysun Akbay, a 24-year-old Turk, are slowly making inroads into… Read at Women in demand in shipping and by pirates

• Somali pirates said a ransom for ship Greece agreed

    Somali pirates said on Thursday they had agreed a ransom for a Greek ship hijacked in May and expected to release the vessel soon. “We’ve agreed to take a $3.5 million ransom to release a Greek ship

• Somali pirates hijack-flagged vessel in Kenya

    Pirates have seized a Kenyan-flagged fishing vessel off the Somali coast for possible use as a “mother ship” to launch more attacks, a maritime official said yesterday. Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme said pirates captured the Spanish-owned FV Sakoba last week. “I think the pirates have

• Pirates Release Thai ship after payment

     (CNN)  Pirates released a Thai-flagged fishing vessel Sunday after a ransom was paid, a European Union anti-piracy force said. It did not say how much money was handed over.  Source

• China willing to pay ransom for the freedom of Cosco Bulk Carriers

    China has begun “secret” negotiations to free the cargo ship De Xin Hai and its crew from the clutches of Somali hijackers, the South China Morning Post reported, as relayed by Bloomberg. Chinese Shipowners’ Association secretary general Zhang Zuyue confirmed that the Chinese side is willing to pay a ransom.

• German Ship Ransom at $ 4 million, the Somali pirates Says

     Somali pirates holding a German container ship for ransom increased their demand to $4 million from $3 million after the raiders disagreed among themselves on how to divide the money, a member of the gang said.  The German-flagged Hansa Stavanger has been held since early April, when it was seized between