Another yacht was attacked off Somali on Sunday. This time it is not a luxury ship like the “Le Ponant”, which was the victim of hostage takers there in April, but a German or French yacht.
The crew, a family of three and the skipper, were kidnapped into the mountains of Somalia on Monday night. The nationality of the hostages is not yet known, according to initial reports they are said to come from Germany or France. The Federal Foreign Office has not yet issued a statement.
Despite the many incidents of piracy in the waters off the coast of East Africa and the Red Sea, private yachtsmen are still drawn to these areas. Klaus Hympendahl, author of “Yacht piracy, the new threat” (Delius Klasing Verlag) thinks it is “incomprehensible!” It is well known that cruises near the Somali coast are very dangerous, he says.
However, the expert does not see any change in the behavior of the pirates, who no longer only attack large professional and luxury ships: “The Somalis are not interested in the ship they are capturing. What counts is the ransom they are hoping for."
After the abandoned yacht has been found, the Somalinun government is working hard to find the hostages and their kidnappers.