Suspected Somali Pirates In The Dock

Eleven months ago, Abdi Kheyre was sailing in the Gulf of Aden. It was the middle of jiilaal, the hottest of Somalia’s dry seasons, between December and March. With food on land scarce, Kheyre and his six shipmates had turned to the seas. Kheyre was the natural captain: at 35, he was the oldest and had the most experience of the region’s unpredictable waters. The fish close in were too small and the men had been forced to go further out to sea, where large Asian and Spanish trawlers – much resented by Somalis – could often be seen from the shore. Kheyre and crew said their prayers on the sand and then prepared to sail out into deep water. Not a cloud dotted the sky; February 11 was a fine day for fishing.

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