Pirates off the coast of Somalia are fairly well known now. What was once a poor and war torn country has deteriorated into a government-less land where warlords and pirates can operate without concern.
Numerous countries have decided to send naval vessels there to protect their cargo. I was surprised to hear that Switzerland apparently has such ships. Then I heard that
China would be sending ships, as well. This is the first time China has sent naval ships outside of the Pacific. The claim is that they are going to protect Chinese shipping concerns. Iran is
sending ships, too.
There was another story involving China and the Somali pirates that I find to be a bit too coincidental to not be related. The Times, of South Africa, reported in "
Pirates die strangely after taking Iranian ship" that a ship run by the a shipping line owned by the Iranian military, with a history of falsifying it's shipping manifests, was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia on route to Rotterdam after picking up iron ore and "industrial products" in Nanjing, China. The pirates have been dieing of symptoms reminescent of radiation sickness. The cargo was originally reported to be crude oil.
Interesting comments from a site The Truth Will Set You Free say that China is an importer of iron ore, not an exporter, and that iron ore is not transported in the type of ship that was hijacked.
