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News

Pirates Seize Yacht

01 Apr 2008

Pirates took the crew of a luxury French yacht hostage on Friday 4 April. The 850-ton three-mast yacht the Ponant (operated by Marseille-based CMA-CGM) had 30 crew but no passengers when it was boarded by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, between Somalia and Yemen.

The 'Ponant' was seized by pirates April 4. Photo Mr P. Plisson

It appears to have anchored on Sunday 6 April off the northeastern Somali region of Puntland. 'We've made contact and the matter could last a long time,' said French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, '...we have to do everything to avoid bloodshed.' He did not rule out the payment of a ransom to secure the release of the French and Ukranian crew.

Somali pirates usually demand a ransom once the ship has reached a port. In mid-March this year, a Russian tug boat and six crew members were released for $700,000 after being held captive for a total of six weeks.

The area is considered dangerous because Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991. There were over 30 cases of piracy reported in 2007.

Images for this article - click to enlarge

All images copyright © Mercator Media 2008