Sailing The High Seas

Keeping low to avoid being shot, a sailor lights a Molotov cocktail before throwing it at Somali pirates trying to board his ship. He and his crewmates were expecting trouble and had prepared dozens of the makeshift grenades to repel an invasion. Their cargo vessel was attacked in the Gulf of Aden by pirates using speedboats and armed with heavy machine guns and rocket launchers.

The attack occurred a day after Beijing said it was considering sending warships to the area to help battle piracy. Crew members gathered on deck who tried to repel the boarders with water cannon and beer bottles. Despite their best efforts the nine pirates clambered aboard after tying up alongside. The 30 Chinese crew then locked themselves in their accommodation area - which includes their sleeping rooms, mess rooms and recreation area - to prevent the bandits from entering the ship itself.

The ship's captain said the crew used a water cannon, self-made incendiary bombs, beer bottles and other missiles to fight the pirates during the five-hour stand-off. Thirty minutes later, the pirates gestured for a ceasefire. Helicopters were sent from a Malaysian warship after responding to the distress call sent to the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur. After blasting the pirates with gunfire, the bandits clambered back into their speedboats and made off back to their coastal hideout.

It's impressive to see crews fighting against these pirates, who look like guys who look like they'd be busking for coin on Venice Beach. Piracy ain't glamourous, but it's for real.


UPDATE: China is sending some warships to take care of business. Hopefully they're armed with Chinese food and medicine - that'll teach 'em.