Summary
E VERY self-respecting part of the Westcountry has its list of pirates. Devon, for instance, has the likes of Sir Francis Drake - a hero at home but a cruel villain to the rest of the world - Cornwall has its Killigrews and, if history is to be believed, they have at times been thicker on the ground on Lundy than puffins, sheep and day trippers combined. And if facts don't provide the bit of local colour you're after, you can always make them up. I've been trying to promote the legend of Black Jack Penberthy of Okehampton, one of the most unsuccessful buccaneers ever due to the fact that he lived so far from the sea. Just at the moment, of course, there is little need to introduce fantasy.
The news is full of Somali pirates whipping out of their benighted country in speedboats and armed to the teeth with bazookas and machine-guns, apparently nicking any bit of merchant shipping that takes their fancy. Last year, more than 50 ships and crew were taken around the Gulf of Aden and millions of pounds handed over in ransom money. You have to admire their nerve - but never be tempted to attribute any romance to them. They are nasty thugs and should be blown out of the water at the first opportunity. But despite threats from the West to do just that, they carry on regardless and copycat attacks have been taking place in West Africa, Thailand and South America. It's a disease which is spreading. It's all going on a long, long way away but the raids are something we should care about, nonetheless. Every time an oil company, say, has to fork out a fortune to get one of its tankers back, it's you or me who eventually pays for that at the petrol pumps. The same applies to shiploads of plastic buckets or mobile phones.See the full content of this document
Extract
We're Paying for the Piracy
These Somali ruffians are costing us a packet. Things get a lot more worrying, though, when you remember that this part of England continues to have stron...
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