VOA常速英语2008年-Pirate Attacks On the Rise in Nigerian Waters

By Sarah Simpson
Lagos
13 March 2008

Pirate attacks in the waters of Africa's largest oil producer, Nigeria, have surged in recent weeks, linked to a decline in general security in the southern oil-producing region. A leading international worker's union wants the waters to be declared a war zone. For VOA, Sarah Simpson has more from Lagos.

 

The pirates attacked at night, their speedboat roaring out of the waves firing their AK-47s. The crew realized they were under attack when their trawler was peppered with a hale of bullets.

One bullet hit the ship's cook, passing right through his belly¹ as he lay on his bunk² below decks. The pirates clambered aboard, hitting the crew with the rifle butts³ and machetes, demanding cash said the captain, who asked only to be identified as Johnson.

"They got us at about 1.30 a.m., they came on board, they came with a speed boat, nine of them all armed. They came looking for money," he said.

While the chef writhed⁴ in agony, the pirates ate the food the he had earlier prepared, slept, and looted the ship of anything of value, including the captain's shoes.

Pirate attacks have peaked in recent weeks with fishermen subjected to unprecedented⁵ levels of violence, says a trawler company manager who asked only to be identified as Victor.

"Some few years back they would come, they attack you, they take what ever you have on board and they go without killing⁶ people," he said."But in the last three years the killing has basically been on the increase."

This year, attacks reached a critical level. In one bloody⁷ week in January, 20 trawlers were attacked and 10 people were killed. Fishermen have gone on strike and the Nigerian fishing industry is in jeopardy⁸, say trawler companies.

Nigerian waters are not safe enough to operate in, says Michael Bissong of the Nigerian Trawler Owner's Association.

"The captains were not even willing to go to sea because of the fear of loosing their lives," said Bissong.

Freight ships and oil industry vessels⁹ are being attacked, too, particularly in the waters off Nigeria's oil-rich southern region, according to statistics from the International Maritime¹⁰ Bureau.

Piracy¹¹ is so bad the International Transport Workers Union this year called for Nigeria's waters to be declared a war zone.

Nigeria and particularly the oil-rich Niger Delta¹² where the oil is pumped is awash with guns.

There, militant¹³ groups like the Movement for the Emancipation¹⁴ of the Niger Delta kidnap expatriate workers for ransom¹⁵. MEND have also attacked oil infrastructure¹⁶, including blowing up pipelines¹⁷ and invasions of off-shore oil-rigs.

Now, a crackdown on some criminal activities in the Niger Delta is behind an upsurge of piracy in the southern waters, industry officials say.

Improved security and more naval¹⁸ patrols are the solution, say maritime representatives.

Press officer Yemi Nelson of the Ministry¹⁹ of Agriculture, which is responsible for fisheries, told VOA that extra security measures had been put in place, but said he was unable to give details.

Navy representatives this week told local newspapers that patrols of the 850-kilometer coastline would be increased with 15 extra boats.

The pirates that attacked Captain Johnson boasted that they were not afraid of the Nigerian navy or the army and showed him amulets²⁰ that they said protected their bodies from bullets.

"They showed us charms. They said they could not be defeated. 'Even let the army come forward' [they said], as they cannot defeat them. They are well prepared," said Johnson.

The pirates robbed Captain Johnson's boat of all its navigation and communication equipment, even unscrewing the air conditioning units.

The pirates then used Captain Johnson's boat as a decoy to pull right alongside their second target before springing aboard. By the time the pirates left Captain Johnson and his crew, they were 14 hours from Lagos harbor and a hospital. The cook died before they reached the wharf²¹.

1 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

2 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

3 butts   

笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。
• The house butts to a cemetery. 这所房子和墓地相连。

4 writhed   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He writhed at the memory, revolted with himself for that temporary weakness. 他一想起来就痛悔不已，只恨自己当一时糊涂。
• The insect, writhed, and lay prostrate again. 昆虫折腾了几下，重又直挺挺地倒了下去。

5 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

8 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

9 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

11 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

12 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

13 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

14 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

16 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

17 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

18 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

19 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

20 amulets   

n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Amulets,\"guards,\" as they are popularly called, intended to ward off evil spirits. 护身符――或者象他们普遍的叫法：“警卫”用来抵御妖魔鬼怪。 来自辞典例句
• However, all oval amulets in a single game are the same. 当然，所有的魔法用品也有类似的情形。 来自互联网

21 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。