Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Somali-based piracy has continued its decline. The United States and European Union have reported a drop in piracy operations both in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea in 2013. Officials said pirates, who still hold 49 hostages, failed to hijack any vessel off the coast of Somalia since May 2012. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Brian M Downing China and Pakistan recently signed an agreement granting Beijing the operating rights to the Gwadar port facilities in western Pakistan, along the Arabian Sea and near the Strait of Hormuz. [See: China takes over Gwadar, Pakistan’s deep-water port, in strategic coup, East-Asia-Intel.com, Feb. 6, 2013] Last year, China […]
Special to WorldTribune.com ABU DHABI — Somali pirates have expanded operations in the Gulf. Industry sources said Somali pirate vessels were moving north from the Arabian Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for 40 percent of global crude oil shipments. The sources said the operations reflected greater capability by the pirates as well […]