Piracy at Sea—Somalia

Earlier this year, we mentioned that a band of Somali pirates had seized a ship carrying UN food aid. It now appears that they have used that ship to seize a vessel transporting cement from Egypt.^[1] The pirates had been located in the port of El Maan, but local authorities expelled the pirates recently when they raised fresh ransom demands and refused to meet a deadline to release the ship, its crew, and its cargo.^[2]

The Somali government is asking the world community for assistance in creating a coast guard to cut down on piracy in the region.^[3] Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi’s aide has said that shipping companies “should try and avoid the waters of Somalia.”^[4]

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[1] Tom Maliti, Somalia Piracy Reaching Alarming Levels, Boston Globe, Sept. 29, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.