So, after reading what was being said about Piracy in the news, and especially when i heard in a news-report that the Somali pirates alone CURRENTLY HAVE 180 VESSELS of different sizes within their control, and about 300 odd seamen as hostage, for variable lengths of time... i decided to go online and look stuff up. I came across this awesome Google Maps-overlay created by the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Cell.
It shows UP TO DATE information, on a global scale, of maritime incidents of Piracy, with the location, time, vessel-involved and also a brief description of what happened. Muy bueno!
As expected the pointers are clustered around S.E. Asia and the Horn of Africa....(yes India finds mention too- Kandla Port, infact is listed as an area of known risk. Though Indian piracy is nowhere near as organized- just an odd case of theft and looting ship-stores. No Hijacking. The desi-pirates probably just want some foreign dirty magazines and some tinned ham. Hehe....)
Piracy around the Horn and the Gulf of Aden
Note the international naval presence in the area around the Gulf of Aden! And now, with the INS Tabar patrolling there and a Delhi-class ship underway, theres a little nugget of pride in my heart see the Indian Navy flexing it's blue-water strength. Perhaps it maybe the cro-magnon in me, but i've always thought that there nothing like a little action to keep an army, or a navy for that matter, 'fighting fit', and though i don't presume too much INS knowledge it's really heartening to see something besides lame reports of 'fleet reviews' and 'excerises'.
The INS Tabar escorting a merchant vesselAnyhoo, in a lighter vein...what did the INS Tabar tell the pirate-captain?? FRIG-ATE!! :D
(Link: Live Piracy Map)
1 comment:
nice one Dinesh...and I have been thru those water of Gulf of Aden couple o times...givin em pirates a walk down the plank..:D
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