pirates

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>

Family's Attic Find Yields a Pirate Tale

Is the severed hand real? Well, that's not clear

(Newser) - A woman in Tampa doing some spring cleaning in her grandfather's attic says she found a box with some strange stuff inside, including a severed hand, old-looking coins, and a weathered map, reports USA Today . The woman and her brother say it could be authentic pirate booty that belonged...

On Blackbeard&#39;s Ship: Syphilis Syringe, Rectal Pump
 On Blackbeard's Ship: 
 Syphilis Syringe, 
 Rectal Pump 
in case you missed it

On Blackbeard's Ship: Syphilis Syringe, Rectal Pump

Medicine was important to the pirate

(Newser) - The wreckage of the pirate Blackbeard's ship has yielded some fascinating finds, from swords to cannons . Some of the "treasure," however, offers a look at a very different side of his crew's life. Researchers have discovered an array of medical artifacts on the ship, called the...

Pirates Free American Held for 2 Years

Journalist Michael Scott Moore was kidnapped while researching piracy

(Newser) - A 45-year-old journalist who was kidnapped by Somali pirates more than two years ago has been freed, according to his family and a Somali official cited by CNN . Michael Scott Moore, who holds both US and German citizenship and was in Somalia researching a book on piracy, is said by...

2 Americans Kidnapped by Pirates Are Freed

They were taken from ship off the coast of Nigeria

(Newser) - Two American sailors kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Nigeria last month have been freed, reports CNN . Their names have not been made public, but the State Department confirms the pair's release. The men were taken off their US-flagged ship about three weeks ago and identified only as...

Archaeologists Plunder Blackbeard's Ship

Haul 5 cannons from wreckage, bringing total to 22

(Newser) - Avast, ye mateys! More bounty from famed pirate Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, has been plundered, with archaeologists hauling another five cannons from the wreckage off North Carolina's coast on Monday, reports Popular Science . "This is a red letter day. Five cannons is the most...

Pirates Kidnap 2 Americans
 Pirates Kidnap 2 Americans 

Pirates Kidnap 2 Americans

They are believed to have been taken ashore

(Newser) - Pirates have kidnapped two Americans after attacking an oil supply ship off the Nigerian coast, according to a US defense official. The 222-foot C-Retriever was attacked yesterday morning; a captain and engineer were taken, and the AP reports it is believed they were brought ashore. The incident occurred in the...

Surprising Sting Leads to Somali Pirate Chief Arrest

Believed he was flying to Belgium to make a movie about his life

(Newser) - The kingpin of one of Somalia's most successful pirate gangs has been arrested, after undercover Belgian agents pulled the old "you should fly to Europe so we can make a movie about your life" trick. Mohamed Abdi Hassan—also known as "Afweyne" and "Big Mouth"—...

Pirates Demand Ransom ... on Personalized Letterhead

And they're fairly polite about it

(Newser) - Passengers on boats hijacked off the African coast could find themselves presented with a formal welcome letter from the pirates boarding their ship, Reuters reports, in an offbeat look at their latest tactics. African pirates take their business quite seriously, to the point where they have their own letterhead. Reuters...

Yaarrrr: Shipwreck Might Yield Pirate's Booty

Divers may have found storied sunken ship off Tongan coast

(Newser) - Shiver me timbers! Divers off the coast of Tonga have found what they suspect is an old pirate's ship with a history straight out of Treasure Island, AFP reports . The Port-au-Prince was built by the French, captured by British privateers (read: pirates) in 1805, and then met its end...

Iran to US: Nice Job on That Pirate Rescue

'We welcome such acts,' says a government spokesman

(Newser) - By recent standards, it's downright effusive: Iran directed nice words toward the US after a Navy ship rescued an Iranian fishing boat from pirates, reports CNN . "Rescuing Iranian sailors by the US was a humanitarian act and we welcome such acts," said a spokesman for the Foreign...

US Navy Rescues Iranian Boat From Pirates

Move comes amid nasty rhetoric from Tehran

(Newser) - A US Navy destroyer rescued an Iranian fishing boat that had been commandeered by suspected pirates just days after Tehran warned the US to keep its warships out of the Gulf. American forces flying off the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd responded to a distress call from the Iranian vessel, the...

Somali Pirates Free Danish Family

Three children were among those held hostage

(Newser) - The Danish family held hostage by Somali pirates since February has been released and is safe. Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, their three children between the ages of 12 and 16, and two adult crew members are in “relatively good condition,” according to Denmark’s foreign ministry and...

Captain Morgan's Ship Found, Thanks to Rum

Best marketing move ever?

(Newser) - How’s this for marketing genius: Archeologists are reasonably certain they’ve discovered one of the lost ships of infamous privateer Henry Morgan—in an expedition financed in part by Captain Morgan rum. “There’s definitely an irony in the situation,” one archeologist tells Discovery News . Morgan lost...

Lousy Weather Forecasts May Be Pirates' Fault

Scientists can't collect ocean data, ask US, Australia for help

(Newser) - Scientists have asked the American and Australian navies to help them deploy robots in a vast area of the Indian Ocean that pirates have made too dangerous for ordinary vessels. Deep-ocean robotic buoys play a vital role in climate change studies and weather forecasts, but researchers say pirate activity has...

In Blackbeard's Wreckage, Proof of Terror

Cannons fired bags of nails, to maim people but leave ships intact

(Newser) - Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, now being explored by marine archeologists off the coast of North Carolina, is giving up more than just its treasures , it's also revealing the infamous pirate's terrifying tactics. And what researchers are finding are an ingenious array of improvised weapons, designed...

Archeologists Raise Blackbeard&#39;s Anchor
 Archeologists Raise 
 Blackbeard's Anchor 
UPDATED

Archeologists Raise Blackbeard's Anchor

Pirate's Queen Anne's Revenge giving up its secrets

(Newser) - Blackbeard's flagship is again reaching the surface, bit by bit. Archeologists today raised one of the anchors from the remains of the renowned pirate's Queen Anne's Revenge, which sank off the coast of North Carolina in 1718, reports AP . More lies below, including what's left of...

India Captures 61 Pirates, Mothership

Navy, hijackers battle on Arabian Sea

(Newser) - India nabbed 61 Somali pirates in the Indian Sea today, reports the AP , after naval vessels returned fire from their hijacked fishing boat, which caught fire. The fishing boat from Mozambique had been used as a roving mothership for many attacks on commercial vessels traveling between East Africa and India....

Somali Pirates Out of Space for Captured Ships

They're starting to accept lower ransoms because they've got too many

(Newser) - 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...

Somali Pirate: I Raked In $2.4M Last Year

Which Saeed Yare spent on bodyguards, three villas, among other things

(Newser) - It's not exactly an honest day's work, but it certainly seems to return much more than an honest day's pay: Somali pirate Saeed Yare tells Reuters —while reclining against his luxe Toyota Landcruiser—that he raked in $2.4 million last year. He raked that in by investing in...

Danish Hostages Taken to Somali Coast

Pirates will now begin trying to get a ransom

(Newser) - A Danish family whose yacht was hijacked by pirates is now being held along the coast of Somalia, the AP reports. Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, their three teenage children, and two crew members now likely face a lengthy ransom process. They've been moved either to land or to a...

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser