Descripción del sitio
Mogadishu, Somalia (Muqdisho). Major Somali port on the Indian Ocean coast. Port-of-call and re-supply for Somali pirate motherships. A destination location for pirate ransom payments for vessels seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean pirate attack zones. Mogadishu is the closest port to the Mogadishu Pirate Attack Zone, which extends in a radius eastward from this port approximately 100 to 600 nautical miles. Pirate attacks are launched with fast boats attached to pirate motherships in the major shipping lane joining Europe with the coast of Africa to the south. Boats attached to the motherships can dock here and easily blend in with the local fishermen. After re-supply, the mothership then moves out into the shipping lanes where their fast boats attack vessels, either for armed theft or to hold them for ransom. When ships are seized for ransom, the pirates often take the vessel to the coast of Somalia near the pirate home ports of Eyl or Hobyo, where they are re-supplied with food and more pirates until the ransom money arrives in Mogadishu or other locations in Somalia. The city is in ruins due to many years of war, and the lack of a government for 17 years. Mogadishu has a major airport runway, but it is high risk. Large ships dock in the port, including international aid supplies, but they are sometimes mobbed or robbed while being off-loaded.