Rich Russians Hunting Somali Pirates on Luxury Yachts (2009)

At the height of the Somali piracy crisis in 2009, when hijackings had turned the Gulf of Aden into one of the world’s most dangerous shipping lanes, one Russian security company proposed an extraordinary business model:

Instead of avoiding pirates, wealthy tourists would go looking for them.

For around £3,500 per day, clients boarded armed luxury yachts departing from Djibouti and sailed deliberately close to the Somali coast.

The yachts were reportedly staffed by former Russian special forces and equipped with military-grade weapons ranging from AK-pattern rifles to grenade launchers and rocket launchers.

Their role was simple:

If pirates attempted to board, the passengers could participate in defending the vessel under the supervision of experienced professionals.

The week-long voyages followed the route from Djibouti to Mombasa, Kenya, passing directly through waters where hundreds of merchant ships had been attac