Skip to content

Piracy Doesn’t Always Pay

While more than 150 people and 15 ships are being held hostage by Somalian pirates, two French yachties are now free. Jean-Yves and Bernadette Delanne were delivering the 50-ft Carre d’As from Australia to France when they were attacked by pirates on September 2. Their captors demanded $1 million and the release of six Somali pirates who were arrested in a similar raid earlier this year. Instead of rewarding such bad behavior, the French government sent in an elite team of commandos on Monday to rescue the couple. During the raid, one pirate was killed and six others were arrested. They’re now on their way to France to stand trial with their comrades.

On Monday, European Union foreign ministers agreed to coordinate warships to more effectively patrol the Gulf of Aden, enlisting the navies of 27 nations. There have been 54 reported pirate attacks in the area this year — thankfully not all are successful.

Leave a Comment




One of the big lessons that Vik learned during his summer of cruising in the Med and Adriatic is that Eastern European girls “love to pose.”