Chapter 773 Suspected Pirates Appear
There were many people standing in the cockpit, and everyone had a serious look on their faces.
Xiao Peng asked Ma Xiao, "Ma Xiao, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
Ma Xiao said, "Boss, how did I guess that riddle? You know, I served as the second mate on the 'Sea Princess,' and the 'Sea Princess' travel route was from the Caribbean Sea to the South Atlantic. So I'm quite familiar with this area. If my judgment is correct, we are indeed being targeted by pirates!"
After hearing what Ma Xiao said, Xiao Peng frowned.
He did not doubt Ma Xiao's words.
To this day, the ocean is not peaceful and pirates still exist.
The most famous are the pirates in East Africa, such as the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the waters near Somalia. The famous Somali pirates have been threatening the safety of ships passing through the Suez Canal. Many countries, including China, have deployed escort fleets in that area.
This massive display has led many to mistakenly believe that pirates are only found in Somalia. This is simply not the case. Piracy is rampant in many parts of the world. In fact, compared to pirates elsewhere, Somali pirates are considered "gentle" because they only care about money and not lives, while pirates elsewhere often commit murder and robbery.
For example, the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, the coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean, and even the area from the South China Sea to the Strait of Malacca are all places where piracy is rampant. In short, wherever the coastal countries lack maritime control, piracy will occur frequently.
Each of these places has different characteristics.
If we were to single out the area where pirates pose the greatest threat, it would be the area from the Strait of Malacca to the South China Sea. There's a reason for the frequent piracy here: 90% of global trade relies on maritime transport, and one-third of that passes through Southeast Asian waters. Over half of all pirate robberies occur here, and the most dangerous part of this stretch of water is Indonesian waters, where, on average, nearly two pirate robberies occur every day.
Twenty years ago, many Chinese cargo ships were equipped with machine guns. The cause of this was rampant piracy there! The situation has improved significantly in recent years, with fewer Chinese-flagged cargo ships being robbed there. The scene in "Wolf Warrior 2" where a Chinese-flagged ship carries a Chinese flag through a war zone actually happens at sea. However, it remains the world's most pirate-infested region, with over half of all pirate raids occurring there.
The pirates in the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa have a different target: they are not targeting cargo ships, but oil tankers. This is because some pirate groups there are even composed of groups that attempt to control large shares of oil companies. The pirates there are very politically inclined.
The pirates in the Bay of Bengal have a distinctly amateur feel. Their "regular work" is more like a "part-time job," primarily engaging in crimes like trafficking, human smuggling, kidnapping, ship scalping, and smuggling.
Comparing these two places, Somali pirates can be considered "good kids". After all, they are only after money and have no political demands.
Then why are the anti-piracy operations of countries around the world basically carried out in Somali waters?
To put it bluntly, it is still killing the chicken to scare the monkey.
A nation, no matter how weak its coastal control, is still a nation. Severely cracking down on piracy within a sovereign nation could easily lead to international disputes and accusations of "hegemonism." In such cases, places like Somalia are prime targets. A nation without a unified government can be bullied at will.
The Caribbean has been a place where pirates have thrived for hundreds of years. Although there are not as many pirate raids here as in other places, the pirates here are more ferocious.
Pirates from other places usually hide on uninhabited islands. Their targets are merchant ships anchored at the entrance of the strait waiting to cross the strait. The time after midnight and before dawn is when they most often act. But the pirates here are different.
Due to the complex seabed terrain here, many ships that are not familiar with the waterways here dare not move at high speeds, so the pirates here dare to carry out looting activities in broad daylight.
Hua Chong, who was standing nearby, was puzzled when he heard this and asked, "Ma Xiao, how did you know these were pirates?"
Ma Xiao didn't answer the question directly. Instead, he turned on the VHF communication. Suddenly, music came from the VHF16 distress channel. Ma Xiao explained, "This music is used by pirates to interfere with the reception of distress signals by passing ships or nearby warships." He handed Hua Chong a telescope and pointed it toward the horizon. "Do you see that ship?"
Hua Chong took the telescope and looked through it. "Isn't that a fishing boat? Isn't it trawling?"
Ma Xiao asked, "Does this look like a fishing ground? Did you see any indication of such a large fishing ground on the AIS system?"
After hearing Hua Chong's words, everyone looked at the AIS ship positioning system next to them, and sure enough, there was no sign of that fishing boat.
Ma Xiao said to Xiao Peng, "Boss, you see where this ship is? It's moving slowly, blocking our route. If I'm correct, this is a pirate mothership. They usually pretend to be fishing, but they're actually waiting for their target. If our ship gets close, they'll release speedboats to plunder."
Hua Chong suddenly understood: "Ma Xiao, how did you know that?"
Ma Xiao replied, "The 'Princess of the Blue Sea' encountered a similar situation once. A US warship was nearby, and they even sent a small unmanned reconnaissance aircraft to survey the area. The pirates disguised themselves as fishing boats and deceived the US reconnaissance. Eventually, the 'Princess of the Blue Sea' was attacked by pirates. When we called for help via VHF, they jammed the signal by playing music on VHF channel 16. Our yacht has a low side, making it easy for the pirates to board. They like boats like ours. Boss, how should we handle this situation?"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng asked, "Ma Xiao, tell me what you think."
Ma Xiao heard this and said, "Their mother ship is too slow compared to us. Although the daughter ships are fast, they can't catch us even if they are released from their current position. So now they are pretending to fish and blocking our route, waiting for us to approach. I am slowing down to keep distance from them, but this won't solve the problem. I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work."
"explain!"
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