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| Picture taken of Capatin Phillips in Facebook |
Starring by Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips tells the history of a cargo ship (property of a big Shipping company) that is kidnapped, by 'pirates' in the sea close to the called Africa horn (Somalia). The movie has an excellent production. Effects and all the actors develop great secenes.
But there's a huge problem. People are taking big ships (using guns), that contains hig value goods. Then the ask for money (big quantities) to leave free the ship.
In the movie, US Navy did a good job to liberate the ship. But in the real life, when the ships arrive in the costs?
The article below describes the pracy actions.
Article By The Economist (Nov. 2nd 2013)
PIRACY remains a concern for ships
passing the Horn of Africa, even though the number of incidents has plummeted
since 2011, when armed protection was beefed up on board many large vessels.
The topic grips the public imagination. Witness the success of “Captain
Phillips”, a film in which a vessel captained by the actor Tom Hanks is
hijacked by Somalis. Yet the pirate economy is poorly understood. A report*, to
be released on November 4th by the World Bank, the UN and Interpol sheds new
light.
The authors interviewed current and former pirates,
their financial backers, government officials, middlemen and others. They
estimate that between $339m and $413m was paid in ransoms off the Somali coast
between 2005 and 2012. The average haul was $2.7m. Ordinary pirates usually get
$30,000-75,000 each, with a bonus of up to $10,000 for the first man to board a
ship and for those bringing their own weapon or ladder.
During operations, pirates spend with
abandon. Interest rates on loaned goods and services are high: $10 of
mobile-phone airtime is charged generally at around $20. The men on the
anchored ships also pay up to three times the market price for qat, driving up
prices on the coast. “With piracy everything became more and more expensive,”
complains a fisherman-turned-pirate. Some locals (including former pirates)
offer services to potential and actual victims of piracy, for instance as
consultants, negotiators or proof-of-life interviewers. Some of these
“companies” openly advertise their services, sometimes contacting victims
directly.
Financing pirate expeditions can be quite cheap by
comparison. The most basic ones cost a few hundred dollars, which may be
covered by those taking part. Bigger expeditions, involving several vessels,
may cost $30,000 and require professional financing, This comes from former
police and military officers or civil servants, qat dealers, fishermen and
former pirates. They take
anywhere between 30% and 75% of the ransom.
