VOA标准英语 Pirates Reaching Farther Out to Sea to Hijack Vessel

In response to increased naval¹ patrols in the Gulf² of Aden, pirates in Somalia are venturing hundreds of kilometers out to sea to seize vessels⁴. The change in tactic⁵ has allowed pirates to successfully hijack⁶ numerous ships in recent days, including a private yacht with a child on board.

Since the beginning of April, pirates have successfully seized at least a half-a-dozen vessels off the coast of Somalia in a surge of activity that has not been seen in months.

The director of the International Maritime⁷ Bureau in London, Pottengal Mukundun, told VOA the maritime community is alarmed not only by the number of vessels seized in such a short period, but where some of the hijackings are taking place.

"I think the important change has been the fact that there are now attacks taking place hundreds of miles southeast of Mogadishu. And that is the big change," he said.

Mukundun said pirates have become active in the region of the Seychelles and Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean, where there are no international naval patrols.

On Saturday, pirates hijacked⁸ a German container vessel³ with more than 20 crew members more than 740 kilometers off the southern Somali port city of Kismayo. Two days later, a Taiwan-flagged fishing trawler with 29 men aboard was taken in waters near Denis Island in the Seychelles.

On April 2, pirates, operating more than 1,000 kilometers southeast of the Somali coast, attacked a luxury British ship, carrying western tourists. None of the tourists were taken hostage, but the ship was seized along with its seven-member crew.

In 2008, pirates attacked more than 120 commercial and private vessels, mostly in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen at the mouth of the Red Sea. The narrow waterway is vital to ships carrying goods between Europe and the Far East.

The disruption of trade and shipping⁹ in the Gulf of Aden prompted more than a dozen countries to send naval forces to escort ships and to protect shipping lanes. Their efforts in thwarting¹⁰ pirate attacks have been credited with significantly reducing the number of successful pirate boardings there for the first three months of this year.

But journalist David Hughes of Maritimenet.org said dispatching warships¹¹ to combat piracy¹² in the Indian Ocean is simply not an option.
　
A photo taken from the blog of a French family shows yacht hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, 07 Apr 2009

"You cannot really do too much over such a widespread area as the northern Indian Ocean. You can in the Gulf of Aden, where there is a bottleneck¹³. But you cannot start escorting every ship down the east African coast or across the northern half of the Indian Ocean," he said.

In a reminder¹⁴ of the limitations of naval operations even in the Gulf of Aden, pirates hijacked a large Italian-operated bulk carrier there early Monday.

Meanwhile, officials in France said they know the location of a French yacht hijacked Saturday by pirates off the northeast coast of Somalia. The yacht, carrying two couples and a three-year-old boy, was more than 640 kilometers off the Somali coast when it was seized.

1 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。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

4 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》

5 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

6 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

7 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。

8 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

9 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

10 thwarting   

阻挠( thwart的现在分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The republicans are trying to embarrass the president by thwarting his economic program. 共和党人企图通过阻挠总统的经济计划使其难堪。
• There were too many men resisting his authority thwarting him. 下边对他这个长官心怀不服的，故意作对的，可多着哩。

11 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

12 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。

13 bottleneck   

n.瓶颈口，交通易阻的狭口；妨生产流程的一环

参考例句：

• The transportation bottleneck has blocked the movement of the cargo.运输的困难阻塞了货物的流通。
• China's strained railroads already become a bottleneck for the economy.中国紧张的铁路运输已经成为经济增长的瓶颈。

14 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。