Re: Avast there, me Hearties!

OK, here's the latest Piratical happenings in the GZG verse

August 20, 2202; The murky vacuum of lawlessness in the Rim continues to
affect
interstellar shipping. An anonymous local businessman claimed that 15
gunmen
in three corvettes seized an NAC-registered vessel off Solaris 4 on 30
July.
The vessel had been damaged by a Solar flare off the NavStation of
Bareda near
Bossaso (in the Nebula of Adax). Sources in Puntland claim that as many
as 100
gunmen later boarded the vessel, whose crew and captain were originally
reported
to be from Free Cal Tex. Others claimed it was a NAC-registered
antimatter tanker
with Oceanic Union crewmen.

The ship was then stationed 1.7 Megametres off the planet and one
resident reported
that the ship's captain was held under guard by a 16-strong militia gang
on
the 9th. The core group of 30 pirates belong to the Sibaq Roon sub-clan
of the
larger Majerteen clan.

The NAC frigate HMS Cumberland launched a pinnace to have a look, but
was unable
to corroborate the reports - possibly because the pirates split into
small groups
and sent to a number of different locations. 

The vessel (capable of 11 g) had been heading from Dubai to Durban,
South Africa
when the Somali gunmen boarded it. By 13 August, reports indicated that
the
antimatter tanker was IC- registered and Swiss-owned. The Jenlil, built
in February
2171 by J.J. Sietas Kg Schiffswerft GmbH & Co., went through several
prior name
changes and was sailing to Sigma Draconis from 60 Ophiuchi with an ESU
crew.

On the 15th, the ESU People's Maritime Shipping Administration refused
to assume
responsibility for the six spacemen who shipped out at the request of
the owner
of the Jenlil, as well as its captain (a resident of the ESU colony of
Poti).
The crew failed to sign the appropriate contracts and register at an ESU
People's
Maritime Shipping Company shipping branch. 

The hijackers reportedly kept raising the ransom (from CR 300,000 to
600,000
to 1,000,000) but communications with the gang was problematic and
negotiations
slow. Swiss lawyers are currently negotiating with the pirates.

The UN fleet off Solaris is not allowed within 12 Megametres of the
planet,
unless it's essentially in "hot pursuit". Meanwhile, a new contingent of
NSL
Naval pilots and fighter mechanics arrived  on the 16th to replace crews
due
to be rotated out. - 

-----------------------------------------------------

OK, that's over-complicated, and lacks verisimilitude. Too many messy
details,
it would never happen that way.

But see below:

August 20, 2002; The murky vacuum of lawlessness in Somalia continues to
affect
international shipping. An anonymous local businessman claimed that 15
gunmen
in three speedboats seized a British-registered vessel off northeastern
Somalia
on 30 July. The vessel had been foundering in a storm off the village of
Bareda
near Bossaso (on the Gulf of Aden). Sources in Puntland claim that as
many as
100 gunmen later boarded the vessel, whose crew and captain were
originally
reported to be from the Ukraine. Others claimed it was a
British-registered
oil tanker with six Russian crewmen.

The ship was then anchored 1.7 nautical miles (about 3km) off the coast
and
one resident reported that the ship's captain was held under guard by a
16-strong
militia gang on the 9th. The core group of 30 pirates belong to the
Sibaq Roon
sub-clan of the larger Majerteen clan.

The British frigate HMS Cumberland put up a helicopter to have a look,
but was
unable to corroborate the reports - possibly because the pirates split
into
small groups and sent to a number of different locations. 

The vessel (capable of 11 knots) had been heading from Dubai to Durban,
South
Africa when the Somali gunmen boarded it. By 13 August, reports
indicated that
the oil tanker was North Korean- registered and Greek-owned. The Jenlil,
built
in February 1971 by J.J. Sietas Kg Schiffswerft GmbH & Co., went through
several
prior name changes and was sailing to India from Greece with a Georgian
crew.

On the 15th, the Georgian Maritime Shipping Administration refused to
assume
responsibility for the six seamen who shipped out at the request of the
owner
of the Jenlil, as well as its captain (a resident of the Georgian Black
Sea
port of Poti). The crew failed to sign the appropriate contracts and
register
at a Georgian Maritime Shipping Company shipping branch. 

The hijackers reportedly kept raising the ransom (from US $300,000 to
$600,000
to $1,000,000) but communications with the gang was problematic and
negotiations
slow. Greek lawyers are currently negotiating with the pirates.

The allied fleet off Somalia is not allowed within 12 miles of shore,
unless
it's essentially in "hot pursuit". Meanwhile, a new contingent of German
Naval
pilots and aviation mechanics arrived in Kenya on the 16th to replace
crews