Word: ship
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...next largest expense is buying and keeping "mother ships" in good working order. The boats are usually trawlers which are, based on photos, about 100 feet long. One or two of these have been sunk by foreign navies, but they do not have to be replaced often. A large trawler built in the 1970s costs about $1 million. A trawler that is ten years old costs closer to $3 million. Some of the trawlers the pirates use were probably seized during their raids. Most research indicates that one out of three attempts by the pirates to hijack a ship succeeds...
Based on 24/7 Wall St.'s evaluation of news reports, the Somali pirates are seizing near one ship per day now. This week, on a single day, they took over four vessels. Even though several large national navies including the US are policing the shipping channels to cut down piracy, the rate at which the pirates can grab prey is picked up fairly fast. The Somali pirates could take over between 80 and 120 vessels this year, and the figure is conservative. That would put their gross revenue as high as $200 million...
...celebrating over Sunday's daring rescue of Richard Phillips, the ship captain held hostage by Somali pirates, didn't last too long at the Pentagon...
...growing piracy problem highlights Gates' smarts - it was only a week ago that he boosted the Navy's buy of the small and fast Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) from two to three next year, with a total planned buy of 55. The defense chief termed the LCS a "key capability for presence, stability and counterinsurgency operations in coastal regions." With its ability to sail into shallow waters, an LCS vessel can chase pirates into places bigger warships could never go. The LCS is "an ideal platform" for unconventional Navy missions, including "counterpiracy operations," Rear Admiral Victor Guillory, director...
...occasional helplessness of the crews - and a new wave of attacks in recent days despite the presence of an international flotilla off Somalia - has led some experts to demand that they be armed in case of attack. On Monday, Gortney told CNN that in addition to beefing up ship defenses on their vessels, shipping companies should deploy armed guards on ships that may come under threat. But such a move has many opponents, who argue that most crews are not properly trained to handle weapons, and such a decision would butt up against the laws of dozens of nations, which...