Pirates SeizeYacht
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.
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.
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