War and Conflict Journal

Somali pirates apparently bit off more than they could chew when the crew of the American cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama, resisted the pirates’ attempt to hijack their ship.  The Somali pirates attacked some 380 miles off the coast of Somalia, and initially took control of the ship.  However, before the American naval vessel, the USS Bainbridge could arrive, the crew had fought back, forcing the pirates to abandon ship.  Unfortunately, the pirates kept the Maersk Alabama’s captain, Richard Phillips as a hostage.

For more information, see http://www.historyguy.com/somali_pirate_attack_maersk_alabama.htm

Somalia is a chaotic and nearly governmentless nation off the east coast of Africa, and it is home to the world's best known contemporary pirates. These pirates, who operate a financially lucrative ship-hijacking operation, capture merchant ships off the coasts of Yemen, Somalia, and Kenya, and then hold them for ransom. The ship owners and their insurance companies usually pay the ransom, sometimes in the millions of dollars, because it is far cheaper than losing the ship and cargo. For example, the Saudi oil tanker seized on Nov. 17, 2008, had just been built, at a cost of $150 million, and carried an oil cargo valued at $100 million. Paying a ransom of even several million dollars would save the ship and crew.

Naval vessels from around the world (United Stated, United Kingdom, Russia, India, others), patrol the Somali coast to…http://www.historyguy.com/somali_pirate_attacks.htm  Go to History Guy.com to see the rest of the article