The 290-foot, three-masted cruise ship Le Ponant was targeted last year by Somali pirates, who held hostage its crew of 30—a harbinger of attacks to come. By Thierry Lacour/Gamma/Eyedea/Zuma Press.The Pirate Latitudes -- Vanity Fair
When the French luxury cruise ship Le Ponant was captured by a raggedy, hopped-up band of Somali pirates last spring, in the Gulf of Aden, it looked as if the bandits had bitten off more than they could chew. But after a week-long standoff, they got what they had come for—a $2.15 million ransom. Describing the terrifying attack, the ordeal of the ship’s epicurean crew, and the tense negotiations, the author examines the ruthless calculus behind a new age of piracy.
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My Comment: A sobering view on how piracy on the high seas has evolved to what it is today. Read it all.