Shiver me timbers Mate....

What are timbers anyways? A post about current events.

I know this is stupid, but I think it is kind of cool that we are seeing modern day pirates! With all the high technology we have, dropping bombs with pin point accuracy and with the usual pillaging we see from taxes, hidden fees and other surcharges, it is kind of nice to see some people will still take the effort to chase a boat down, board it and overtake a boat!

I admit I do not know how you overtake a tanker, and I understand that we are not dealing with Captain Jack Sparrow, but a tanker??? Really?? Tankers are huge! The pirate boats are little, yet they are winning the war off the coast of Somalia.

Now as of November 19, the pirates have seized 9 vessels in 12 days! The pirates did lose a boat when the Indian Navy yesterday, but they are winning the battle of the seas. They are demanding a ransom for the Saudi Arabian tanker, pictured above, which is filled with a crew of 25 and cargo estimated at $100 million. Negotiations are in progress they say, but they also have thrown out the line we all know and love if you have ever seen a movie about terrorists. "We do not negotiate with terrorists... but $100 million in cargo is hard to replace!"

Now, I do not condone what the pirates are doing, but I still picture them swinging from ropes and brandishing swords wearing eye patches and wooden leggs! Capt jack Sparrow would be proud and can picture saying "Savvy?" after reading this!

UPDATE: NBC News reported that the Great Creation, a Hong Kong-flagged chemical tanker seized on Sept. 18, was released after a $1.67 million ransom was paid. The Genius, another Hong Kong-flagged chemical tanker which was hijacked Sept. 26, was also returned in exchange for an unknown sum. The Stolt Valor, a Japanese chemical tanker was released by the pirates after the company paid hijackers $2.5 million. The Sirius Star (pictured above) is being ransomed for $25 million.

I guess we do negotiate with terrorists after all!