They're starting to accept lower ransoms because they've got too many
NEWSER
By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Good news/bad news time, shipping industry. The good news: Somali pirates are starting to accept lower ransoms for ships! Bad news: It’s because they’ve captured so many they’re running out of places to put the dang things. The ports at Haradheere, Eyl, and Hobyo are jam-packed with ill-gotten vessels, security experts tell Der Spiegel, and the scoundrels are making deals a lot faster as a result.
Pirates both attacked more vessels last year—445 worldwide—and held them longer, with the average ship languishing 150 days, up from just 55 in 2009. Those trends made it a lucrative year for the scallywags, who saw their average ransom jump from $3.4 million to $5.4 million. But it also clogged up their ports, which appear to have reached their upper limit at last.