The attempted hijacking of a cruise ship off the coast of Yemen has alarmed leaders of the international cruise industry. They have called for the world's governments to send more troops to the area to defeat the pirates.
Fifty Australians were among the 600 passengers on board the Oceania Nautica when it was fired upon. No one was injured but it is just the latest attack in a region that is becomingly increasingly unsafe.
It is one of the most important shipping channels around the world, through the Suez Canal and past the horn of Africa, but the number of pirate attacks is making it one of the most dangerous.
Llew Russell from the peak industry body Shipping Australia explains what ships' captains are up against: "These are very, very heavily armed, well-trained [people]. They estimate there's at least 2,000 of them," he said. "They have rocket propelled grenade launchers, they have automatic weapons, they're usually ex-army which means they're well-trained and they have GPS satellite phones and a high intelligence network about movements of vessels in the region. "It is becoming a really serious threat to world trade."
The pirates are operating further out to sea and are becoming more powerful by using mother ships.
Source: http://au.biz.yahoo.com/081202/31/22ing.html
Fifty Australians were among the 600 passengers on board the Oceania Nautica when it was fired upon. No one was injured but it is just the latest attack in a region that is becomingly increasingly unsafe.
It is one of the most important shipping channels around the world, through the Suez Canal and past the horn of Africa, but the number of pirate attacks is making it one of the most dangerous.
Llew Russell from the peak industry body Shipping Australia explains what ships' captains are up against: "These are very, very heavily armed, well-trained [people]. They estimate there's at least 2,000 of them," he said. "They have rocket propelled grenade launchers, they have automatic weapons, they're usually ex-army which means they're well-trained and they have GPS satellite phones and a high intelligence network about movements of vessels in the region. "It is becoming a really serious threat to world trade."
The pirates are operating further out to sea and are becoming more powerful by using mother ships.
Source: http://au.biz.yahoo.com/081202/31/22ing.html
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