Somali pirates bide their time
A former hostage held for more than four years by Somali pirates believes that attack levels in the Indian Ocean will rise again if ship-owners and security forces reduce their levels of protection.
Engineer Mohammed Bisthamy, 60, was one of 11 crew on the Malaysian-owned cargo vessel MV Albedo, which was hijacked 1,500 kilometres off Somalia in November 2010. The crew finally escaped in June this year.
Although the numbers of attacks off the Horn of Africa have declined considerably this year, Bisthgamy said that pirates are waiting to step up their activities again as soon as soon as alert
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Partnerships will be critical for future projects at Latin American shipyards]()
Partnerships will be critical for future projects at Latin American shipyards
Multiple Latin American navies are modernising their fleets by prioritising domestically manufactured surface vessels and even submarines via international partnerships.
-
![SOF Week 2026: US NSW explores 3D-printed USVs for forward-deployed operations]()
SOF Week 2026: US NSW explores 3D-printed USVs for forward-deployed operations
US Naval Special Warfare Command is assessing the feasibility of rapidly producing expendable mid-sized USVs in theatre to support SOF and maritime security missions.
-
![SOF Week 2026: MARSOC selects upgraded Shark Marine dive navigation system]()
SOF Week 2026: MARSOC selects upgraded Shark Marine dive navigation system
MARSOC is procuring the Shark Marine Dive Tablet 2 to address a longstanding combat diver navigation capability gap, improving underwater positioning, situational awareness and integration with existing diver propulsion vehicles.
