Somali pirates
Horn of Africa
Somali pirates are seafaring criminals operating off the coast of Somalia, who hijack ships for ransom.
Piracy surged in the region during the 2000s amid Somalia's civil war and collapsed government, with armed groups in small boats targeting commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden: Somali pirates held the cargo ship's crew for months.
The term now evokes this specific era of maritime crime.
- hijackingForcible seizure mid-transit
- illegal fishingUnlicensed taking of aquatic life
- skiffsSmall lightweight boats
- cargo vesselsShips for hauling goods
- ransomPayment for captive's release
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- piracypirates, torrents, buccaneers, looting, keygen
- SomaliaMogadishu, Somaliland, clanship, clans, shilling
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- shippingshipping, cargo ships, container ships, freight, package