Somali (muslim) Pirates are still going strong. Raking in the money!
British Couple Hijacked by Somali Pirates
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Somali pirates said Tuesday they have seized a British couple and their yacht in the Indian Ocean during their round-the-world voyage. The couple had been missing for four days.
Fears for the safety of Paul and Rachel Chandler from Tunbridge Wells have been mounting since the emergency beacon aboard their 38-foot yacht the Lynn Rival went off last week.
“We have captured two old British [people], a man and woman in the Indian Ocean, they were on a small boat that we have hijacked,” a pirate called
Mohamed Shakir told The Times of London by phone from Haradheere in Somalia.
The pirate added that the two were “healthy and in our hands” but would not say where they would be taken. Ransom demands are likely to follow.
The U.K. Foreign Office said they have been in touch with the couple's family in England, and have contacted the Coast Guard in Seychelles, who continue to monitor the situatiion and search of the area.
The office is reportedly treating the disappearance as a missing persons case, and have two British Navy ships searching the area. It could be 18-24 hours before they have a fix on the yacht.
The Chandlers left the Seychelles on Thursday, heading for Tanzania via the Amirante Islands. Their emergency position-indicating radio beacon was activated on Friday.
Click to view Paul and Rachel Chandler's blog.
Andrew Mwangura, head of the East Africa Seafarers’ Assistance Programme based in the Kenyan port of Mombassa, confirmed that the Lynn Rival was missing with two British crew on board.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are aware of the report. We are investigating urgently.”
The couple, both in their late 50s, have been sailing around the world. The last message on their blog, entered shortly before the distress signal was sent, reads simply: “PLEASE RING SARAH”.
The previous entry, written before leaving the Seychelles, was full of preparations for their voyage. “We’ll be at sea for 8 to 12 days, maybe 14 as we are now getting into the period of transition between the south monsoon and north monsoon, so the trade winds will be less reliable and we may get more light winds," they wrote.
In the past two weeks there have been at least five ships seized by pirates in the waters off the Seychelles. Activity has picked up in recent weeks as Monsoon winds and rains have died down.
This year there have been some 174 ships attacked by pirates off Somalia, 36 of which are being held. At least 587 people are being held hostage. Ransoms being paid out in recent months total in the tens of millions of dollars. The pace of hijackings is running ahead of last year.
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