VOA标准英语 Pirates Hold Up Food Aid to Somalia, Uganda, Kenya

The United Nations' World Food Program says the U.S.-flagged container ship anchored off the coast of Somalia is carrying items to feed hundreds of thousands of starving people in Somalia, Uganda and Kenya. The ship's captain is being held hostage by pirates, who seized the vessel¹ and its crew of 20 Americans Wednesday as it sailed toward the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
　
An undated image made available in London, 08 Apr 2009 by Maersk Line, shows the container ship Maersk Alabama

World Food Program spokesman in Nairobi Peter Smerdon says there is concern that if the container ship, Maersk Alabama, cannot reach Mombasa soon, many people in the region may not get the foodstuffs² they need to sustain them in the coming months.

Ship was carrying food for mothers, children

Smerdon says the WFP cargo³ includes more than 4,000 tons of corn-soya blend for malnourished children and mothers in Somalia and Uganda and nearly 1,000 tons of vegetable oil for refugees in Kenya. Smerdon says there are many more containers of food aid belonging to the U.S. Agency for International Development and other agencies.

"We need to keep a constant pipeline⁴ of food coming both to Somalia and to other countries in the region," said Smerdon. "Otherwise, we have to cut rations⁵ and people will go hungry. Basically, this amount of food would feed hundreds of thousands of people for a month. It is only a part of the basket of food we give people in the region. But it is an important part."

The Maersk Alabama was scheduled to arrive in Kenya on April 16. But, early Wednesday, the Danish-owned, American-operated ship was seized nearly 500 kilometers off the coast of Somalia by four armed hijackers. The hijacking⁶ was the first of its kind involving an American crew in modern history.

Pirates negotiating captain's release
　
Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt., is seen in this family photo released on 08 Apr 2009

According to reports, the crew disabled the ship and overpowered the pirates after they got on board. But the pirates took the ship's captain, Richard Phillips, and shoved off from the cargo ship in a lifeboat. The pirates are now reported to be negotiating for the captain's release.

A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer arrived in the area, Thursday, with other vessels⁷. In the past, military helicopters and surveillance aircraft have been used to take photographs of hijacked⁸ vessels and gather information.

Direct contact with pirates could bring quick end to drama

The head of the Mombasa-based East Africa Seafarers Association, Andrew Mwangura, tells VOA that no one knows what the pirates are demanding as ransom⁹ for the release of the ship's captain. But Mwangura says he believes the stand-off can be resolved quickly if the ship's owner, Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk, negotiates directly with the pirates.

"If they only establish direct contact with the pirates, it will not take time," he said. "But if they use a lot of third parties to be part of the negotiation¹⁰ team, then it will drag on and drag on for a long time."

In the past, Mwangura has been involved in numerous ransom negotiations¹¹ between pirates and ship owners.

In 2008, pirates and their associates are said to have earned somewhere between $30 to $150 million in ransom, seizing more than 40 commercial and private vessels off the Somali coast.

1 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。

2 foodstuffs   

食物，食品( foodstuff的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Imports of foodstuffs accounted for a small proportion of total imports. 食物进口仅占总进口额的一小部份。
• Many basic foodstuffs, such as bread and milk, are tax-free. 许多基本食物如牛奶和面包是免税的。

3 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

4 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

5 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

6 hijacking   

n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I have been told about the hijacking . 我已听说了那次劫机事件。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• They are taking measures to guarantee against the occurrence of hijacking. 他们正采取措施防止劫机事件的发生。

7 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》

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 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。

10 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。