There is an interesting discussion thread running now in Sailing Anarchy on a recent report on the ‘truth’ about piracy in SE Asia, often regarded as one of the worst places in the world for this sort of thing. The report is described as “A tourism and yacht industry report”, and it is unclear who commissioned it — so you may want to read with a grain of (sea) salt.
3.2 A tourism and yacht industry report - Part 1
Imagine ghosting along at sunset far from civilization on an extended cruise of Southeast Asia and the tranquility of twilight is shattered by the distant whirr of a powerful outboard engine. Within moments a high-speed boat emerges from the shadows of a hidden cove on an intercept course with your own hopelessly becalmed yacht. As the vessel closes in, you see the silhouette of a group of men and they’re holding what look like assault rifles. It’s every cruiser’s worst nightmare. But how real is the threat?3.3 Piracy in modern Southeast Asia, Setting the record straight. Part 2 & 3
Bianca Hein and Scott Neuman are both sailors and journalists - who are addressing the piracy issue in Southeast Asian waters. An ambitious report that covers all aspects of piracy as it relates to the modern day tourism and yachting industry. The ancient mariner Warren Blake who has sailed throughout the archipelago for over 40 years provides an interpretation of their findings in Piracy Against Yachts…an Overblown Fear is worth a read at the end of Part II as it contains some good advice for yacht skippers and crew worried about cruising through the region. This three part report is the definitive word on the subject. It is available for reading online at: http://www.biancahein.com/projects.html
- Links to report (three parts in .pdf and online reader)
- Asian Yachting newsletter for November 2007
- Related thread on Sailing Anarchy
- Totally unrelated: Curse of the Butt Pirates
A U.S. Navy destroyer helped sailors who retook control of their vessel Tuesday in a deadly battle with pirates after the North Korean-flagged ship was hijacked in the piracy-plagued waters off Somalia, the American military said. The Navy also confirmed that other American warships sank two pirate skiffs late Sunday after answering a distress call from a hijacked Japanese chemical tanker and said U.S. ships were still monitoring that vessel.
Britain is being urged to do more to tackle the problem of pirates after they carried out a record number of violent attacks. In the first six months of this year, there were 238 attacks against seafarers, compared with 198 in the same period in 2006 and 48 in 2005.
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