Again with the Pirates
The Internet has been abuzz this weekend with articles like this one, all bearing headlines that scream a “luxury yacht” was taken by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, between Somalia and Yemen. I even saw the news on CNN yesterday afternoon.
I’ve written on this topic before. Any time I see the word “yacht” and “pirate” in the same sentence, I am skeptical. In 99 percent of the cases the boat turns out to be a small cruise ship traveling in an area where proper charter yachts simply don’t go.
My first clue that this was the case yet again is the fact that this boat was seized between Somalia and Yemen–not exactly a hot spot of yachting activity. In fact, if you read the interview I posted last week about the Dubai Boat Show, then you know proper yachts are just now finding their way into this region. Charter isn’t likely to happen for another year or two, at least.
My second clue that this boat was not a yacht was its size: some 288 feet long, with a reported 30 crew members. Yes, there are charter yachts that big, but they are a rarity. And they rarely carry so many crew.
I did a bit more digging and found out that, indeed, The Ponant, as this boat is called, is in fact a small cruise ship. She has 32 cabins, and she takes 56 guests. She accepts by-the-cabin bookings at a price of about $3,500 per week.
In the world of private yacht charter, 12 is typically the most guests a boat can take. Rarely does a proper charter yacht have more than six or seven cabins, and they must be booked in their entirety by one charter party, not by individuals booking each cabin separately.
So again, I say, all these stories going online about a yacht being seized by pirates are not about a yacht at all. And I encourage you to be skeptical if you see a similar story in the future. Most often, the ships being seized in places like this are, in fact, cruise ships.