Posted by admin! / Under Merchant Account
Merchant ships need guns to fight pirates. Seven months ago, Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama and held its captain hostage. Pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama again this week but were repulsed because the Maersk Shipping Line put armed guards on its ships. Pirates successfully attacked another unarmed ship on Monday, leaving 28 members of its crew dead. On Tuesday, 36 crew members of a Spanish ship were released only after pirates were paid a $3.3 million ransom. But when the pirates got within 300 yards of the Maersk Alabama, the ship tried evasive maneuvers and its security team successfully...
Published on Wednesday 17th of March 2010 04:42:27 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Merchant Account
But there is a broader issue that warrants consideration at the highest levels--excessive U.S. reliance on foreign-flagged ships and foreign crews for routine international trade and even for defense work. Foreign-flagged cargo ships now carry better than 97 percent of U.S. commercial imports and exports. Many of these ships are registered in unaccountable flag of convenience countries like Liberia (which has been said to use ship registry revenues to help finance a brutal rebel faction in neighboring Sierra Leone) and Panama (awash in fraudulent seafarer certificates and licenses for sale
Published on Wednesday 17th of March 2010 04:42:27 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Merchant Account
A discount tobacco store owner shot and critically wounded a would-be robber after he took money from the proprietor at gunpoint Friday night, Fort Wayne police said. The gunman, whose name was withheld, approached the owner at his business, the Smokehouse Tobacco Outlet, 2217 S. Lafayette St., at 7:41 p.m., demanding money, Fort Wayne police spokeswoman Robin Thompson said. The proprietor gave the man cash, then pulled a gun while the would-be robber was walking away from the counter. The proprietor fired several shots, hitting the intruder, Thompson said. The would-be robber, who is in his 20s, was taken to...
Published on Wednesday 17th of March 2010 04:42:27 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Merchant Account
<p>WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Maritime authorities worldwide are increasingly anxious about terrorist attacks on ports and ships. Anxiety has been heightened by recent press reports about al-Qaida merchantmen, but intelligence is vague, with estimates of al-Qaida's "fleet" varying from 15 to as many as 300 ships of all shapes and size.</p>
Published on Wednesday 17th of March 2010 04:42:27 PM
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