US warns about piracy off Somalia, Yemen

U.S. warns about piracy off Somalia, Yemen
By Observer Staff Nov 26, 2005 - Vol.VIII Issue 46

NAIROBI - Boats and ships near Somalia and Yemen should travel in convoy and maintain good radio communications at all times because of the threat of pirate attacks, a U.S. travel advisory notice has warned. Sailors should avoid the Somali port of Mogadishu and remain at least 370 kilometers off the Horn of Africa nation to avoid pirate attacks, armed robberies and kidnappings for ransom, according to a travel advisory released by the U.S. Embassy in Kenya. Pirates have attacked recently several vessels sailing near Yemen and Somalia’s 3,000-kilometre coastline, the longest in Africa. The two countries lie close to important shipping routes connecting the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean, where valuable cargo and carriers must pass. The problem shot to international attention when two boatloads of pirates attacked a luxury cruise liner carrying mostly American passengers on November 5. The Seabourn Spirit sped away and no passengers were injured, but one of the 161-person crew was wounded by shrapnel in the raid, which occurred about 160 kilometers off Somalia. “Americans considering seaborne travel near the Horn of Africa or in the southern Red Sea should exercise extreme caution,” the travel notice warned. “At least three flagged vessels were hijacked in October 2005 off the coast of Somalia.” Somalia has had no effective government since opposition leaders ousted a dictatorship in 1991 and then turned on each other, carving the nation of 8.2 million into a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms. The end of both colonial controls and the Cold War has reduced the naval presence and capability in regions where piracy historically has flourished, leading to escalating incidents of violent high-sea banditry.

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