Somali Pirates and Cruising Sailors: A Compilation & Rumination of Recent Events in the Indian Ocean that Impact on Cruising Yachtsmen

There are currently around 2,000 Somali pirates actively engaged in stealing, kidnapping, extorting, enslaving, imprisoning, torturing, terrorizing, and killing innocent sailors in the Indian Ocean. Piracy in this area currently generates over $238 million annually, and costs the public around $12 billion annually. The largest ransom paid for a single ship is now $13.5 million, and increasing. Insurance companies are making small fortunes, as well as “private security” firms. Shipping costs are skyrocketing. Currently, around 700 hostages are being held under appalling conditions, some for longer than a year. Countless Third World sailors have been killed and/or enslaved. With each passing day—and each mega-ransom paid—Somali pirates grow bolder, more violent, and move further afield. Occasionally these pirates attack small yachts as well as large ships. This book chronicles each of these terrifying “pleasure boat” attacks on the Lynn Rival, Tanit, Rockall, Quest, and more. It shines a light on who the pirates are, how they operate, and how they came to be. It also takes an in-depth look at how and why the four American hostages aboard the Quest were executed in cold blood.