More Pirate-related Links

*** Here's a pretty laudatory article -- dated Nov. 24th -- on a company called Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions (APMSS) that is using non-lethal means to repel pirate attacks:

All of the APMSS methods are non-lethal. [APMSS President Nick] Davis says, "We don't carry weapons at all. We use acoustic devices, which are basically long-distance, very directional, loud hailing systems. And these emit…150 decibels over a distance of about a nautical mile…. And to give you an idea of…the human pain threshold for sound is 121 decibels. So, it's pretty excruciating when you get within a short distance of this equipment, firing warning tones and messages at you."

So far, he says that APMSS has been 100 percent successful...

Not bad, but...

*** Here's a not-so-laudatory article published five days later:

Three men who jumped off their ship to escape from Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden have been identified as the vessel's security guards. But their employer is defending their actions.

The British-based security company AntiPiracy Maritime Security Solutions (APMSS) says the three men were not armed, and fled the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker Biscaglia on Friday only after mounting a "sustained" effort to repel the attackers.

Ouch.

*** Egypt is getting pissed at the pirates for forcing shipping companies to abandon the Suez Canal route through the Gulf of Aden, thus costing the country much lucrative revenue.

*** Why young sea-fearing men are saying "Screw fishing!" to take up piracy.

*** A look at the new leader of pirate-infested Puntland, Somalia -- a Canadian ex-pat who settled into a quiet retirement in Ottawa before going back to Africa.

*** Do the pirates give Barack Obama an occasion to start talks with Iran?

*** Pirates vs. Islamists (who have a history of harboring al-Qaeda).

*** Which country stands to be the most inconvenienced from Somali pirates: Germany.

*** The softer side of pirate-journalist relations. [via Gawker]