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47s, heavy machine guns, and rocket launchers; navigate with GPS devices, and use sophisticated speedboats mounted with heavy mortars to target ships. Some Somali pirates have been seen in possession of Russian-made 82 mm mortars that can target vessels as much as fi ve kilometers away. Violence is the modus operandi especially in West Africa. One Scottish sea captain seized along with his ship in May last year said the pirates threatened to burn him alive. Separately, Angola saw its fi rst reported hijacking in the fi rst quarter of 2014, further demonstrating the increased range and capabil- ity of Nigerian piracy, if left unchecked. According to local reports, the incident involved armed pirates boarding and hi- jacking a loaded tanker from Luanda anchorage, Angola. The pirates took a large quantity of the tanker’s gas oil cargo in three separate ship-to-ship transfer operations. The vessel was under the control of suspected Nigerian pirates for over a week before the owner regained contact, off Nigeria, approxi- mately 1,200 NM from the initial boarding. One crewmember was injured during the incident. Insurance premiums are still spiraling upwards, infl ating the MARITIME SECURITY Weapons practice for a Malagasy rating on board the Geo Arctic. Drum Cussac’s Project Manager Ian Ferguson 28 | Maritime Professional | 2Q 2014 18-33 Q2 MP2014.indd 28 5/19/2014 9:25:41 AM
