Copenhagen Post – Maersk hires war ship to protect tanker

Danish shippers are taking more extreme measures to provide safety for the fleets sailing in pirate waters

Information Dissemination – EU Looking The Wrong Direction

A look at just how much the EU piracy patrol is costing off of Somalia – the cost is staggering…

BBC – Navy patrols may extend as Somali pirates widen attacks

The British admiral in charge of the EU flotilla carrying out anti-piracy patrols off Somalia is considering extending the area which they patrol.

Associated Press – Admiral: Sea too large to stop all pirate attacks

International naval forces will never be able to completely secure the vast area of ocean where Somali pirates are hijacking ships off East Africa, the commander of the EU Naval Force’s counter-piracy efforts said Tuesday.

Associated Press – Maersk Alabama repels 2nd pirate attack with guns

Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama on Wednesday for the second time in seven months, though private guards on board the U.S.-flagged ship repelled the attack with gunfire and a high-decibel noise device.

The Economist – Splashing, and clashing, in murky waters

Private security firms are increasingly involved in the fight against pirates. The allocation of tasks between them and navies needs some thought.

Esquire – Can We Stop a Pirate 9/11?

Thomas P.M. Barnett writes that it’s no big stretch of the imagination for a foreign-policy expert to connect the operations of small-time Somali pirates with big-time terror groups. And, as leading naval defense commanders from around the world tell him, our ports aren’t yet prepared for a maritime mob’s next big attack. We’re not talking ransom notes here.

Christian Science Monitor – Pirates, Inc.: Inside the booming Somali business

A look at piracy from the Somali side: Meet the modern-day brigands behind the sometimes sophisticated, always risky operations that raked in an estimated $80 million in ransoms in 2008.

Virginian Pilot – Sailors on Blackwater anti-piracy ship claim harrassment

If three pending legal cases are any indication, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the Blackwater counterpiracy ship.

Armed Forces Journal – Fighting piracy

International coordination is key to countering modern-day freebooters.

Wall Street Journal – U.S. Weighs Changes in Strategy to Fight Pirates

Senior Pentagon planners are debating a shift in military strategy to crack down on piracy off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.

Reuters – Navies to guard undersea cable from Somali pirates

Foreign navies have agreed to protect a vessel installing an undersea high-speed Internet cable from pirates off the coast of Somalia.

Washington Post – Another U.S. Cargo Ship Escapes Somali Pirate Attack

Somali pirates Wednesday attempted to commandeer another U.S. cargo ship, the Liberty Sun, but the attack was thwarted, and the ship is headed toward port here with naval guards.

New York Times – Anarchy on Land Means Piracy at Sea

Robert D. Kaplan’s observations on the piracy situation off of Somalia.

Daily Telegraph – Pirates must be hunted down and their vessels sunk on sight

The sooner we tackle this menace, the sooner our seas will be safe again, argues military historian Sir John Keegan.

Washington Post – How SEALs Carried Out Their Mission

The operation to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips involved dozens of Navy SEALs, who parachuted from an aircraft into the scene near dark Saturday, landing in the ocean.

Washington Post – Navy Kills 3 Pirates, Rescues Ship Captain

An American captain held hostage for five days by Somali pirates in a lifeboat adrift in the Indian Ocean was rescued unharmed Sunday in a surprise U.S. military operation in which snipers killed three pirates with the captain tied up just feet away, American military officials said. A fourth pirate was in U.S. custody.

CNN – More pirates searching for lifeboat

Pirates in ships are searching for the lifeboat containing four pirates and their hostage — the captain of a freighter they failed to hijack earlier this week — according to a U.S. military official with knowledge of the situation.

Washington Post – FBI Hostage Negotiators Helping Navy With Ship Captain’s Rescue

A U.S.-operated container ship that was attacked by Somali pirates steamed toward a Kenyan port Thursday with armed guards on board, as the U.S. Navy and FBI hostage negotiators continued efforts to free the ship’s captain, who was being held by the pirates in a lifeboat drifting in the Indian Ocean.

BBC – Drama as US crew recapture vessel

US crew members have recaptured their ship after it was hijacked by Somali pirates, but their captain is still being held hostage by the attackers. Meanwhile the USS Bainbridge is steaming to the scene.

BBC – Rules frustrate anti-piracy efforts

The international effort to stop piracy off Somalia has not worked and the effort clearly needs to be stepped up into a higher gear.

Bloomberg – Navies Combat Somali Pirates With Choppers, Internet Chat Room

When nine Somali pirates attacked a German-operated cargo freighter in the Gulf of Aden last week, they were in for a high-tech surprise. An international force of three vessels and two helicopters responded, using sophisticated communications methods that included GPS navigation and even an Internet chat room. Less than three hours later, the buccaneers were in the brig. The successful operation by U.S. and European Union anti- pirate forces showed how progress is being made in freeing the Indian Ocean of pirates.

Armed Forces Journal – Europe steps up piracy controls

The European Union launched its first naval operation to combat piracy off the Somali coast, dubbed “Operation Atalanta,” on Dec 8, 2008. Its one-year mission is to “take the necessary measures, including the use of force, to deter, prevent and intervene” to end acts of piracy and armed robbery in an area up to 1,000 kilometers off the coasts of Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania, and in the Gulf of Aden.

Defense and the National Interest – A Barometer of Order

William Lind writes that what is comic about the piracy off Somalia is the inability of the maritime powers, most of whom now have warships on station in the region, to do anything about it.

Virginian Pilot – Sailors tell how they captured suspected pirates

After months of patrolling the busy shipping lanes that crisscross the region, and weeks of hunting for pirates aiming to hijack merchant ships for ransom, the crew of the USS Mahan knew this was no exercise…