Thirty crew members taken hostage on a French passenger cruise yacht off the coast of Somalia on 4 April were freed without harm after six days when a substantial ransom was paid. The 88m Le Ponant, owned by CMA-CGM, was sailing from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean, when it was boarded by pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Attempts to repel the raiders using fire hoses were aborted when the attackers brandished machine guns. The luxury vessel can accommodate 64 passengers, but no holidaymakers were on board at the time of the incident.
展开▼
