Saudi ship owner paid pirates $2.6m

The Saudi owner of an Algerian cargo ship whose crew were held by Somali pirates for 10 months has admitted paying $2.6m to free them in November 2011, a report says.

• Somali pirates hijack Saudi ship
• Pirates 'to get $20m ransom'
• Fighting against Somali pirates 'effective'

Pirates kidnap 5 from ship off Nigeria

Pirates have kidnapped five crew members from a cargo ship off Nigeria, a piracy watchdog and a security source say.

• Nigeria pirates free 3 kidnapped sailors
• Better reporting leads to piracy spike
• Sea piracy falls to 5-year low in 2012

Zuma extends SANDF piracy watch

The South African National Defence Force will continue anti-piracy operations in Mozambique and Tanzania, after President Jacob Zuma extended the operation for a year, the presidency says.

• Piracy fight: No letting up from Navy
• Piracy threat moving towards SA
• Piracy: Foreign units may enter SA seas

Nigeria pirates free 3 kidnapped sailors

Three foreign sailors kidnapped from their British-operated cargo ship by pirates last month off the coast of Nigeria have been released, the vessel's operator says.

• Pirates kidnap 3 in offshore Nigeria attack
• Pirates kidnap six foreigners in Nigeria
• Sea piracy falls to 5-year low in 2012

Tanker, crew hijacked off I Coast freed

A French company that had one of its diesel tankers and a crew of 17 sailors hijacked off Ivory Coast says its vessel and workers are now free.

• French tanker hijacked by pirates
• Nigeria pirates kidnap Italian sailors
• Pirates seize oil tanker in Ivory Coast

Report: UN document links Britons to piracy

The Times of London says a secret section of a United Nations report has linked British citizens with Somali piracy.

• UK couple not put off by hostage ordeal
• Somali pirates free UK couple
• UK hostages 'happy to be alive'

Sea piracy falls to 5-year low in 2012

World sea piracy fell to its lowest level in five years in 2012, thanks to a huge reduction in Somali piracy, an international maritime watchdog says.

• Somali pirate king-pin 'Afweyne' retires
• Pirates storm oil tanker off Nigeria
• 22 hostages rescued from Somali pirates

Pirates release tanker off West africa

The captain of a Greek-operated tanker says his vessel had been hijacked by pirates off the Gulf of Guinea, on Africa's west coast, and then released.

• Greek tanker missing off west Africa
• Togo pirates release hijacked ship
• Pirates attack German-owned ship off Togo

Pirates attack German-owned ship off Togo

Pirates have released a German-owned tanker off Togo, a day after capturing it, the International Maritime Bureau says, as it warns of a rising number of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea.

• Togo pirates release hijacked ship
• Better reporting leads to piracy spike
• Pirates kidnap 24 off Togo coast

Pirate fighter held for extortion in CT

A security expert who protected ships from pirate hijackings in the Indian Ocean has been arrested for extortion in Cape Town, a report says.

• Lawyer withdraws from Hawks case
• Cops in court for alleged extortion
• Blackmailers 'force' MP to get naked

Singapore-owned tanker hijacked in Lagos

Pirates have hijacked a Singapore-owned oil tanker in the Nigerian port of Lagos- the third attack in just over two weeks in the Gulf of Guinea, the International Maritime Bureau says.

• Pirates release hijacked UK tanker
• World sea piracy falls
• Better reporting leads to piracy spike

Pirates kidnap 24 off Togo coast

Pirates have attacked an oil tanker off the coast of Togo, taking control of its bridge and kidnapping 24 Russian sailors before escaping amid a shoot-out with a naval patrol boat.

SA hostages to face Somali captors

South African couple Bruno Pelizzari and Debbie Calitz will face some of the Somali pirates who took them hostage, when they travel to the Netherlands to testify in their trial, a report says.

• SA woman: Somali pirates raped me
• Hostage couple thanks government
• Calitz: We felt good vibes from SA

World sea piracy falls

Sea piracy worldwide has fallen by 54% in the first half of 2012, led by a dramatic drop in Somali piracy, says an international maritime watchdog.

• 2 Kenyan aid workers, Somali doc kidnapped
• Freed hostage: I've never seen Kenyan suspect
• Somali piracy death toll rises

Calitz: We felt good vibes from SA

Debbie Calitz, freed after being held hostage for 20 months in Somalia along with her partner, says they must have felt vibrations from South African people, because something kept them strong.

• Hostage couple arrives in Joburg
• Hostage couple thanks government

SA hostage 'dreamed of chocolate cake'

The South African couple kept hostage by Somali pirates were mostly kept in the dark and were fattened up before their release, it has emerged.

• Hostage couple to have medical tests
• SA didn’t pay ransom for Durban couple
• SA hostages freedview

SA hostages freed in Somalia raid

A raid that was a joint operation by Somali security forces and the army resulted in the freeing of a South African couple who were kidnapped by pirates, Somalia’s defence minister says.

• SA hostages freedview
• Durban couple: We're happy to be free
• SA hostages in Somalia still alive

SA couple freed in Somalia

A South African couple taken hostage by Somali pirates have been freed, the department of international relations and co-operation has confirmed.

• SA hostages in Somalia still alive
• Help release SA hostages, Somalis urged
• SA, Somalia discuss pirate hostages

Iran navy saves US freighter from pirates

Iran's navy says it has saved an American-flagged cargo ship that was being attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Oman.

• Americans kidnapped by pirates freed
• US, British forces free hijacked ship
• Pirates hijack Chevron vessel off Nigeria

Somali pirates less successful

Somali pirates took in a record of almost $150m in ransom last year but their ship seizures have dropped significantly since mid-2011, says the head of the European Union's anti-piracy fleet.

• Somali pirates have deadlier weaponry
• Piracy: Foreign units may enter SA seas
• EU antipiracy force to 'seize initiative'

SA yacht goes missing

The search is on for a South African yacht with a number of foreigners on board, which is feared to have been taken by pirates near northern Mozambique.

• Somali pirates have deadlier weaponry
• Piracy: Foreign units may enter SA seas
• Somali pirates take ship, hold 22 crew

Chinese freighter hijacked off Iran

A Chinese freighter has been hijacked by pirates off southern Iran, the Chinese embassy in Tehran has reported.

• Somali pirates free Bolivian-flagged ship
• Piracy fighters use floating armouries
• EU antipiracy force to 'seize initiative'

Somali pirate gets life term in US

A Somali man has received a life sentence for his role in the hijacking of an American yacht that left four dead.

• Piracy fighters use floating armouries
• Piracy threat moving towards SA
• Somali pirates free British hostage

EU to back strikes on Somali pirates

The European Union will probably approve plans to strike Somali pirate equipment on beaches, widening the scope of its naval operations four years into a mission to protect shipping.

• Somali pirates: Seychelles call for help
• Pirates 'sell' kidnapped SA couple
• Danish navy fires on pirate ship, 2 dead