A forgotten, shameful piracy milestone

CATCHING up on the latest piracy information from the International Chambers of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) a few days ago, I discovered that in September Somali pirates freed the last three of the 3,639 hostages held in captivity over the past five years.

Probably like most people, I thought that all the hostages held in Somalia had been freed a long time ago.

However, according to the IMB, the three men had been working on an Iranian fishing vessel, the Siraj, when it was hijacked off the coast of Hobyo, Somalia, in March 2015. From the news item it appears the trio should be home by now after completing tests for Covid-19 and undergoing other medical checks.