Pirates in the News, RIGHT NOW.

The Maersk Alabama was boarded earlier today by 4 Somali pirates, but the 20 Americans aboard who had been transporting relief supplies, managed to overcome the pirates and retake their ship. This whole thing happened over the course of a few hours and is considered "under control." Three of the pirates escaped but one is in custody.

The escaped pirates took the ship's captain hostage and coalition forces are following the lifeboat with pirates and hostages

Somalia's Fishermen

A Prelude to Piracy: Somalia's Poor Fishermen

The outcry, addressed to the United Nations and the international community, was loud and bitter. "Help us solve the problem," said professional fisherman Muhammed Hussein from the coastal city of Marka, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the Somali capital Mogadishu. "What is happening here is economic terrorism."

Jeylani Shaykh Abdi, another Somali fisherman, added: "They are not just robbing us of our fish. They are ramming our boats and taking our nets -- including the catch."

It wasn't long ago that Somali fisherman were loudly complaining about the poor state of their lives and livelihoods. About 700 ships from other countries, they said, were casting their nets along Somalia's roughly 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) of coastline, using practices that showed little consideration for the fish stocks or local fishermen. None of the trawlers, the Somali fishermen claimed, had a license or an agreement with the government in Mogadishu. Of course, that government has wielded practically no influence over the past 15 years.

James Madison, Hater of Pirates

James Madison, Fourth President of the United States of America would be 257 this year and his positions on foreign policy are seminal in the United States early diplomatic history and the United States first interactions with the Muslim World.

Madison, serving as secretary of state under President Jefferson, advocated waging war against the brutes. In 1801, the U.S. refused to hand over any more money, and battles ensued, according to the Montpelier Foundation, whose mission is to preserve Madison’s legacy. By 1805, the Marines had successfully defeated the pirates and the payoffs ceased.

European nations had entered into treaties with the Barbary States whereby they were at peace, but the European nations paid a yearly tribute to ensure the safe release of any hostages taken. The United States chose to not pay, and sent the first marines to battle the corsairs into submission and to release their hostages in the First Barbary War. In the end, the United States won handily and came to a treaty with the Bashaw of Tripoli that ended the war in exchange for ransoming the hostages. The treaty was a questionable triumph for the Jefferson administration and after the war of 1812 a Second Barbary War that included a coalition of European forces along with the US changed the acceptability of the Corsairs in the Mediterranean.

James Madison's is considered the loudest hawkish voice in Jefferson's cabinet that pushed the young country into this battle. His position eventually led to the downfall of the Corsair empires of North Africa.
Today, "the shores of Tripoli" are immortalized in the U.S. Marine Corps's anthem and in monuments such as the Tripoli Monument at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Pirates in the News! February 29, 2008

Ahrrrr, News.

Since I am writing to all of you from America, in the grand tradition of American news outlets I'll lead with the Oscars.

Best Actor Winner, Daniel Day Lewis sets new Pirate Earring Trend.

Ok, now to harder news,

Nigeria, how pirate your news is, The Nigerian Navy has been assuring the world that they have their pirate problem under control, and in recent weeks, there have been many reports of pirates killed and captured in raids. Despite these reports, the Lagos newspaper, Vanguard, is suggesting that all these assurances are simply politicking to comfort the business sector. Some of the pirate attacks in Nigeria's Bonny Channel have been attributed to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

According to a statement from the official address of MEND, signed by Gbomo Jomo, MEND's "freelance fighters" carried out the attack.In another response to THIS DAY inquiries, MEND said it was true that it has acquired sophisticated weapons with which it hopes to battle the Nigerian State to a standstill and promised to hit only military targets.

A Russian-British Tugboat, the Switser-Korsakov is being held by pirates in Mogadishu with its entire crew. Many are worried about the state of the crew:

The situation is even more complicated as the age of the tugboat’s captain is 70 years, chief engineer – 67 that may negatively affects their health in case of long captivity.

Many questions surround the ship's capture, including, what will the Russian Federation do to help?

Meteorologists are concerned about pirates stealing high-tech and highly important Tsunami Warning Buoys near Indonesia. They have been working with the Indonesian Government to increase patrols in the area. If the buoys are stolen then millions are at risk, early warning being humans' only defense against Tsunamis.

The Cougar Ace, a deep sea cargo transport capsized off Alaska and was the subject of rescue attempts documented in Wired. The story is great, and so are the images.

Pirates in the News! January 14, 2008

The statistics are in and

Pirates Attacks have Increased for the first time since 2003

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) These increases are seen mostly around Africa where pirates have gained a significant foothold in recent years

Two crew men were injured on Wednesday when gunmen attacked four supply ships near Bonny Island, Nigeria, an export point for about 400 000 barrels of oil per day. A ship watchkeeper was tied up and severely beaten when pirates boarded a chemical tanker at anchorage near Lagos. The ship lost valuable equipment. Four armed robbers in a small rubber boat attempted to board a bulk carrier at anchor in Lagos harbour using a grappling hook. The alarm was raised but the robbers escaped. Seven pirates armed with knives used a wooden boat to board a large container ship while it was anchoring at Haiphong, Vietnam. They attacked three sailors and stole ship stores. There were 263 reported attacks on ships in 2007 compared with 239 attacks in 2006. In total 64 sailors were assaulted and injured and 292 held hostage, compared with just 17 injuries and 188 hostages in 2006.

Also, not exactly pirate news, but worth reporting, The United States' Pirate Party (related to Internet freedoms) has thrown its support behind Barack Obama.

What Have Pirates Done For Me Lately? -Bicameral Legislature

The Pirate Utopia of Salé on the Moroccan coast was a truly independent state for decades in the 16th century. While the rest of North Africa was being carved up among the Ottomans and various Sufi princes, democracy of a kind was flourishing.

Salé was ruled by the Taiffe Reisi or Council of Captains and the Divan, which was populated by former commander-in-chiefs. Becoming a voting member of the legislature was as simple as staying alive long enough to rise through the ranks of corsairs. Every two months a new commander-in-chief, "Agha of Two Moons," took over as head of the corsair fleet. This gave an unprecedented level of opportunity to men who took up the vocation of corsair. A man, regardless of birth, could rise to the highest levels of government.

This form of government was the first democratic government after Greece and heavily influenced European Democracies that would follow it.

Modern Salé and Rabat