The can be no doubt now that Pirates operating in the Indian Ocean have changed their operating tactics.
Just weeks after the American yacht Quest was captured and her crew of four were murdered, pirates have struck again targeting yet another yacht.
This time it is a Danish flagged sailing yacht cruising with four adults and three children on board. All are reported to be Danish nationals and the children’s ages have been reported to have between 12 and 16.
Clearly pirates are now targeting yachts but given that when compared to the value of a loaded tanker a family cruising yacht is worth very little.
Perhaps what has changed is that pirates are no longer targeting vessels but the crews who sail in them.
Having netted well over a million pounds for the retired elderly couple captured from the British yacht Lynn Rival pirates must have realised that it is not the vessel that is the real prize it is the saving of human lives that drives the payment of ransoms
The sad part about all the pirate issues is that countries have the technology via Satellite and drones to find and distroy pirates before they attack. It appears that their lives are more important than the lives of those people that they take because no preemptive strikes are made, only negotiations after the fact. If the technology sees a boat with men with weapons anywhere in the general area of pirating, they should be taken out and questions asked later. It will be the only way to curb these ruthless attacks. They have no regard for life or law and should be treated as such.