Peruvian pirates
Given the decent success rate of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, it’s actually surprising that high-seas robbery isn’t more popular in other parts of the world. (Indonesia is a notable exception.) Today, the AFP reports on what seems to be a textbook pirate attack off the coast of Peru: A gang of criminals known ...
Given the decent success rate of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, it's actually surprising that high-seas robbery isn't more popular in other parts of the world. (Indonesia is a notable exception.) Today, the AFP reports on what seems to be a textbook pirate attack off the coast of Peru:
Given the decent success rate of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, it’s actually surprising that high-seas robbery isn’t more popular in other parts of the world. (Indonesia is a notable exception.) Today, the AFP reports on what seems to be a textbook pirate attack off the coast of Peru:
A gang of criminals known as "the pirates of the sea" have raided a Japanese tuna trawler off the central Peruvian coast, the office of the port of Callao harbor master has said.
The criminals boarded the ‘Kenyu Maru II’ before dawn and surprised the 15-person crew, the office said in a statement.
The gang of some 20 criminals tied the crew’s hands and feet, then took off with their money, cell phones and the ship’s communication equipment.
This is reportedly the second attack by pirates in rowboats on a foreign ship near Callao this year. Of course, stealing money and equipment is quite a bit less ambitious than holding it for ransom, a crime with a bigger payoff but also higher potential for tragic results.
I’m also curious about the AFP’s decision to put "pirates" in quotation marks in both the headline and lede of the story. Have Somalis copyrighted the term?
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
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