Jack Sparrow would have known better.

Is anyone else completely fascinated by the fact that in these modern times, piracy on the high seas can still exist, and even be a profitable endeavor? I am totally amazed by it. This week a Maersk freighter carrying aid to a Kenyan port, was taken hostage off the coast of Somalia. According to the NY Times, this the Sixth commercial ship in a week’s time, that has fallen prey to the Somali pirates. This year there have already been 50 ships hijacked in the area. 50! The last such instance that gained a lot of media attention, was a Ukrainian freighter loaded with tanks and arms that was seized last year. GQ published a pretty interesting piece outlining that incident, as well as the M.O. of the Somali Pirate business.

In most cases, the crew of the ships are never injured, and the family/owner of the ship end up paying large ransoms to have the crew and ship released. The distinction in this instance is that the crew happens to be American, and the ship is registered in the United States. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.