Keano4taoiseach
06-04-2008, 09:21 PM
Pirates have stormed a French luxury yacht off the coast of Somalia and taken its 30-strong crew hostage.
The French military said it has forces in the area and is launching an operation to take back the ship and free the captives.
Le Ponant raided by piratesLe Ponant was heading from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean Sea when pirates raided it in the Gulf of Aden, which lies between Somalia and Yemen.
A spokesman for the boat's owner, the Compagnie des Iles du Ponant, said there were no holidaymakers on board, and that most of the crew are French or Ukrainian.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon described it as a "blatant act of piracy".
He added: "We have relatively large military means in this area. We are mobilised to obtain the release of the hostages as quickly as possible."
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France has 2,900 troops stationed in Djibouti, which borders Somalia and also lies on the Gulf of Aden.
Fillon said he hoped the hostages would be freed "in the coming hours and minutes".
The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement an "interministerial crisis cell" had been set up and it was in close contact with the yacht's owners.
Pirate attacks regularly disrupt shipping off the Somali coast, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which reported some 31 cases of piracy in the area in 2007.
The yacht is an 88-metre three-mast ship capable of housing 64 passengers in its 32 cabins.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1311882,00.html
An example of modern pirates - http://images.google.ie/images?hl=en&q=modern+pirates&gbv=2
http://www.sagharborchamber.com/pirates/modern.jpg
Call me naive but I thought pirates went around in big pirate ships with skull and bones flags armed with swords and a patch :eek:
Anyway I hope those french people are ok and there are no casualties :eek:
p.s. this thread has not been made to impress that newbie (french girl Lae) by showing sympathy for french people* :o
The French military said it has forces in the area and is launching an operation to take back the ship and free the captives.
Le Ponant raided by piratesLe Ponant was heading from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean Sea when pirates raided it in the Gulf of Aden, which lies between Somalia and Yemen.
A spokesman for the boat's owner, the Compagnie des Iles du Ponant, said there were no holidaymakers on board, and that most of the crew are French or Ukrainian.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon described it as a "blatant act of piracy".
He added: "We have relatively large military means in this area. We are mobilised to obtain the release of the hostages as quickly as possible."
Advertisement
France has 2,900 troops stationed in Djibouti, which borders Somalia and also lies on the Gulf of Aden.
Fillon said he hoped the hostages would be freed "in the coming hours and minutes".
The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement an "interministerial crisis cell" had been set up and it was in close contact with the yacht's owners.
Pirate attacks regularly disrupt shipping off the Somali coast, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which reported some 31 cases of piracy in the area in 2007.
The yacht is an 88-metre three-mast ship capable of housing 64 passengers in its 32 cabins.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1311882,00.html
An example of modern pirates - http://images.google.ie/images?hl=en&q=modern+pirates&gbv=2
http://www.sagharborchamber.com/pirates/modern.jpg
Call me naive but I thought pirates went around in big pirate ships with skull and bones flags armed with swords and a patch :eek:
Anyway I hope those french people are ok and there are no casualties :eek:
p.s. this thread has not been made to impress that newbie (french girl Lae) by showing sympathy for french people* :o