Plucky Pirates.WHEN TRADE GOES UP IN LATIN AMERICA Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. , THE JOLLY ROGER Jolly Roger black pirate flag with white skull and crossbones. [World Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 926] See : Piracy SETS SAIL. SO now that the economies are back on track throughout the region, the pirates are out in force in southern waters. That's the case even where it had appeared that attacks had been brought to a halt. "Pirates are hack in Santos," says Russ Bruner, the head of the South American services for Maersk-Sealand shipping line in Sao Paulo. That's bad news for the biggest port in Latin America, which not so long ago had quashed its reputation as the region's No. 1 spot for maritime marauders. Percival de Araujo Costa, the former captain of the port, had slammed down hard on those attacks, reducing them to zero by the end of last year. Still, he complained just a few months ago, "They won't give me what I need to keep doing my job." Now he is gone and, coincidence or no, the attacks have resumed. Unfortunately, Brazil is just one of the Latin American countries to suffer a rash of recent buccaneer buccaneer: see piracy. buccaneer Any of the British, French, or Dutch sea adventurers who chiefly haunted the Caribbean and the Pacific seaboard of South America during the latter part of the 17th century, preying on Spanish settlements and shipping. attacks and other security problems, according to watchdog agencies including the U.S. Maritime Security Council and the Pirate Reporting Center. The agencies' reports are still sketchy--full details are often not made available until later in the year--but initial information reveals: * An unknown number of pirates boarded a ship berthed near Guayaquil, Ecuador, on April 19 and stole mooring MOORING, mar. law. The act of arriving of a ship or vessel at a particular port, and there being anchored or otherwise fastened to the shore. 2. Policies of insurance frequently contain a provision that the ship is insured from one place to another, "and till ropes and paint from the vessel. The captain and crew repelled the thieves before they could make off with any other items. * Marauders attacked a refrigerated re·frig·er·ate tr.v. re·frig·er·at·ed, re·frig·er·at·ing, re·frig·er·ates 1. To cool or chill (a substance). 2. To preserve (food) by chilling. cargo ship April 23, also in Guayaquil. * Five armed buccaneers Buccaneers can refer to:
* Colombian rebels of the National Liberation Army Noun 1. National Liberation Army - a Marxist terrorist group formed in 1963 by Colombian intellectuals who were inspired by the Cuban Revolution; responsible for a campaign of mass kidnappings and resistance to the government's efforts to stop the drug trade; "ELN (ELN Noun 1. ELN - a Marxist terrorist group formed in 1963 by Colombian intellectuals who were inspired by the Cuban Revolution; responsible for a campaign of mass kidnappings and resistance to the government's efforts to stop the drug trade; "ELN kidnappers target ) in early April warned cargo and passenger ships not to use a stretch of the Magdalena River near Barrancabermeja. * Pirates boarded the skip Alexandria in Guanta, Venezuela, on April 28 and broke into its containers, stealing some of the cargo. The ship's captain suggested that the thieves might have intended to plant illegal drugs--a common ploy on ships headed to Miami. A later search of the vessel found stowaways Stowaways are a Portuguese band from Matosinhos, who formed in 2001. They are made up of Nuno Sousa (vocals and guitar); Pedro Gonçalves (guitar); João Carujo, (drums)and Sérgio Seabra (bass). Fred on keyboards and João Covita on the accordion are more recent additions. aboard. * A band of corsairs hoarded a chemical tanker May 1 in Pisco, Peru. * As many as eight pirates boarded the carrier Gefio at daybreak on May 6, stealing about US$2,000 from the ship's safe in Santos, Brazil. The pirates opted to leave the ship's cargo-fertilizer--aboard. * An unknown number of buccaneers boarded the ship Arctic Ocean on May 10, in Guayaquil, breaking open a cargo container and stealing computers, printers and other high-tech equipment. Ship to Shore Everyone's used to seeing containers of cargo or sacks of coffee on ocean freighters. But the ships carry all kinds of cargo--even other ships. Here, a 56-foot-long boat gets ready for a Latin American transit on a Crowley Vessel, one of the leading carriers in the trade lane. Crowley shipped the 69,000-pound boat to Puerto Rico, where it will be used to move vehicles and equipment. |
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