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A Nigerian court on Friday jailed 10 pirates for 12 years each over the hijacking of a merchant vessel last year, the navy said, in the second such trial under a new anti-piracy law. The pirates, all of them Nigerian, were convicted of hijacking the Chinese merchant ship FV Hailufeng II in the Gulf of Guinea in 2020. Kidnap attacks against ships for ransom have become common in the Gulf of Guinea, which runs from Senegal to Angola, taking in the southwest coast of Nigeria. The perpetrators are usually Nigerian pirates.

Congress should revive the ‘letter of marque’ and authorize companies to defend against hackers. Today’s pirates sail the cyber seas searching for loot, by ransom or theft. Like their 19th-century maritime counterparts, they respect no sovereignty and disrupt commerce and daily life. This weekend’s Colonial Pipeline hack and the recent SolarWinds attack demonstrate the growing danger and sophistication of such assaults. Like the Barbary pirates, hackers frequently receive haven or direct support from hostile states like Russia or China. Historically, such letters provided financial incentives to overcome fear and inaction in the face of dangerous outcomes and national need. On...

A handful of coins unearthed from a pick-your-own-fruit orchard in the US state of Rhode Island and other random corners of New England may help solve a centuries-old cold case. The villain in this tale: a murderous English pirate who became the world’s most-wanted criminal after plundering a ship carrying Muslim pilgrims home to India from Mecca, then eluded capture by posing as a slave trader. Jim Bailey, an amateur historian and metal detectorist, found the first intact 17th-century Arabian coin in a meadow in Middletown.

Delfin Lorenzana, Philippine defence chief, demanded China recall more than 200 fishing vessels, from a South China Sea reef it claims. Mr Lorenzana believes they are armed with militia. China has previously been accused of violating international law in sending its vessels to waters claimed by other Asia-Pacific countries. The Philippines' coast guard reported around 220 armed fishing vessels were moored at Whitsun Reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe Reef, on March 7. Mr Lorenzana issued a statement condemning the presence of the boats in the Philippines-claimed portion of the South China Sea. He described the their presence as a...

The massive space telescope, featuring a 21 foot mirror, and a tennis court-sized protective cage, is far too large to stick inside a plane. Instead, NASA will have to ship the massive mirror right through the Panama Canal for its eventual launch in French Guiana — and NASA is worried that the journey could attract robbers. The shipping time and location will be hush-hush to ward off any extremely ambitious thieves. All we know is that it will sail off in late summer. It’s an especially harrowing sea passage for a project that has been going on for over two...

At least six pirate skeletons were recently discovered in a shipwreck off the coast of Cape Cod. The remains were unearthed from the wreck site of the Whydah, which sank near the town of Wellfleet in 1717, according to The Boston Globe. Investigators at the Whydah Pirate Museum said the skeletons were identified in several large concretions, or hard masses of minerals, from the wreck site. They are now being examined by a team of archeologists led by underwater explorer Barry Clifford, who discovered the Whydah in 1984, the museum said.

The Italian Navy chased off a group of pirates attempting to the attack a tanker this week in international waters off Benin in the Gulf of Guinea. The incident took place November 7 when pirates in a speed boat chased the tanker Torm Alexandra. A helicopter crew from the nearby Italian Navy frigate Martinengo was launched and upon arriving on scene found a pirate skiff with what looks to be about 5 or 6 armed pirates on board.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump · 1h Today we join millions of baseball fans and Puerto Ricans in celebrating Roberto Clemente’s life and his immense contributions to baseball and equality. He was one of my all-time favorite players – Roberto had everything! #ClementeDay #Retire21

Margot Robbie is set to lead the charge in a new “Pirates of the Caribbean” film franchise. Scripted by “Birds of Prey” screenwriter Christina Hodson, the new “Pirates” flick will be female-fronted beginning with Robbie and Hodson, multiple reports on Friday said. According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), the new “Pirates” should not be considered as a spinoff of the wildly popular Johnny Depp-driven films centered on Captain Jack Sparrow – but is a "wholly original story with new characters" in which inspiration was drawn from the famed Disneyland ride and already has many fans speculating which character Robbie might...

Pirates based in West Cork made millions from plundering shipping and they almost destroyed trade between Europe and the Americas — but were beloved by locals as they gave them three times the going price for supplies. The extent of the pirate presence in the region and their huge influence is detailed in a new book written by Dr Connie Kelleher, an underwater archaeologist, based in Killarney, who works for the National Monuments Service. Her book, 'The Alliance of Pirates — Ireland and Atlantic Piracy in the Early 17th Century,' describes how West Cork became a magnet for pirates and...

A pair of thieves disguised as nurses stole packages off porches in a Washington state community amid the coronavirus pandemic, authorities said Saturday. Kennewick police shared the photos of two women decked out in dark blue scrubs and approaching homes in the city, located in southeastern Washington along the Columbia River. One woman wore surgical gloves. The porch pirates shared a maroon sedan, according to security camera footage released by police. While the suspects looked the part of health care workers, police said they “do not believe they are actual nurses” and asked the public for help in identifying the...

She debated with Queen Elizabeth I, sat at the head of a prosperous pirate empire, and told the English where to go.Rockfleet Castle, which Grace O’Malley used as a base. Photo from Mikeoem, Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0. If asked to name a pirate from history, many people will mention Blackbeard or Captain William Kidd. If pressed to name a female pirate, they might mention Anne Bonny, who terrorized the Caribbean alongside Captain "Calico" Jack Rackham in the early 18th century. Anne Bonny, however, was far from the only female pirate to terrorize the seas. More than a century before Bonny's...

MAERSK offshore supply tug attacked in Gulf of Mexico Erofey Schkvarkin News April 15, 2020 1:51 pm Offshore tug, supply ship MAERSK TRANSPORTER was attacked and boarded by armed pirates at night Apr 12 in Gulf of Mexico off Cuidad Del Carmen, Mexico, roughly in the same area where 3 days earlier Italian supply ship REMAS was attacked. Attack was carried out in same manner, too. http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/04/14/italian-offshore-ship-boarded-by-armed-pirates-in-mexico-waters-video/ Pirates took several crew as hostages and looted the ship, taking with valuable items. Crew luckily, weren’t hurt. Offshore tug, supply ship MAERSK TRANSPORTER, IMO 9388649, GT 4678, built 2009, flag Denmark, manager...

In 1655, British Admiral William Penn, the father of Pennsylvania's founder, captured Jamaica from the Spanish. As Jamaica was too far from England be defended, inhabitants turned to privateers, freebooters, buccaneers and pirates for protection. Port Royal, Jamaica, became a haven for the likes of Blackbeard, Calico Jack and Captain Henry Morgan. With English, Portuguese, French and Dutch establishing bases in the Caribbean, Spain's power was being challenged. Spain's most prosperous port in the New World was Porto Bello, Panama. Spanish ships were loaded at Porto Bello with gold and silver from Peru, and then they set sail for Spain....

Two crew members on an Italian-flagged ship were injured when the vessel was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Mexico, the Mexican navy said Tuesday. One crew member aboard the "Remas" had a bullet wound and the other suffered a concussion, officials told Reuters.

Freighter attacked in Gulf of Guinea, 9 crew kidnapped Mikhail Voytenko News November 2, 2019 12:15 pm Cargo ship was attacked early in the morning Nov 2 at Cotonou Anchorage, Benin Gulf of Guinea. 9 crew were reportedly, kidnapped. Ship’s name though identified, can’t yet be revealed, until information is confirmed.

One of the only things that can ruin hitting a home run is watching your ball fly over the fence and hit a car, but that made things even better for Milwaukee Brewer Mike Moustakas on Sunday. Moustakas slammed one into center field in the eighth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates that broke a 2-2 tie and landed on the roof of a Toyota Rav4. It wasn’t parked there by a clueless owner but was part of a promotion to give it away if a Brewer hit it with a ball, which Moustakas learned after the fact."I didn't know that I actually...

Migrants hijacked a cargo ship that rescued them in the Mediterranean Sea and forced the crew to put the Libya-bound vessel on a course north toward Europe, authorities in two European countries said. Italy's interior minister, Matteo Salvini, identified the ship as the Turkish oil tanker El Hiblu 1. He said the tanker had rescued about 120 people and described what was happening as "the first act of piracy on the high seas with migrants" as alleged hijackers. The new route put the ship on a route to Italy's Lampedusa island and the island nation of Malta. The governments of...

BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, France — There is disquiet along the cold, foggy quays of this major French fishing port facing Britain. Captain after captain, returning to Boulogne-sur-Mer in squat fishing boats with the day’s haul of crab and sole, has the same story: Their boats are being broken into. The suspected culprits, according to the fishermen and local officials? Smugglers, and their migrant clients, who are intent on reaching Britain and are looking for vessels to cross the forbidding waters of the English Channel. A few of the stolen boats have even been taken to sea. Since the start of Europe’s migration...

Luxury yacht owners have been warned of a surge in piracy in the southern Caribbean, as Venezuela's economic collapse spurs its penniless fishermen into banditry. According to a new global survey of global maritime security, 71 piracy incidents took place in the region last year, compared to just 21 the year before.