pirates

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Ancient Coins Suggest Notorious Pirate Hid in America

Arabic coins linked to Capt. Henry Every found across New England

(Newser) - A handful of Arabic coins unearthed from a pick-your-own-fruit orchard in rural Rhode Island and other random corners of New England may help solve one of the planet's oldest cold cases. The villain in this tale: a murderous English pirate who became the world's most-wanted criminal after plundering...

Bones of 'Robin Hood of the Sea' May Be Found
Bones of Legendary
Pirate May Have Been Found
in case you missed it
Feb 14, 2021 6:30 AM CST

Bones of Legendary Pirate May Have Been Found

Experts hope to identify the 'Robin Hood of the Sea'

(Newser) - Experts may be close to identifying the remains of a legendary pirate whose treasure-filled ship went down off the coast of Cape Cod 300 years ago. At least six skeletons were pulled recently from the Whydah Gally and are now being examined by the man who in 1984 discovered the...

SCOTUS Settles Case Involving the Queen Anne's Revenge

North Carolina comes out on top in case related to Blackbeard's ship

(Newser) - The Supreme Court sided unanimously Monday with North Carolina in a copyright fight with a company that has documented the salvage of the pirate Blackbeard's ship off the state's coast. Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court that the company's copyright infringement lawsuit, which she called “...

Pirates Steal Crew's Clothes, Leave Cargo

Singapore Strait pirates also made off with cash, shoes, phones

(Newser) - Pirates boarded a South Korean-flagged cargo ship near the Singapore Strait on Monday and robbed its crew of their money, clothes, and cellphones, South Korean officials say. Two of the ship's 22 crew members suffered minor bruises during the maritime robbery, South Korea's Ministry of Oceans said in...

He Said He Needed Toilet Paper. It Was a Ruse to Escape

Michael Scott Moore's attempt to flee Somali pirates didn't work

(Newser) - He said he needed to use the bathroom, and that he had toilet paper downstairs—he just needed permission to get it. There was some verbal tussling, but then Michael Scott Moore was given the OK to retrieve it. It was all a ruse, and the downstairs location he headed...

Bones of Fearsome Pirate May Have Been Found

Remains pulled from the wreckage of the Whydah Gally will be tested

(Newser) - When the Whydah Gally went down in a 1717 storm 144 lives were lost —none so noteworthy as that of Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy. The New England Historical Society describes the pirate as infamous, but not infamously cruel: As historian Colin Woodard puts it, he followed a credo...

Surprising Find in Blackbeard's Cannon: Reading Material

Researchers find scraps of paper, figure out book they came from

(Newser) - Pirates of yore plundered, but they also read books, apparently. While cleaning sludge out of a cannon recovered from Blackbeard's flagship, scientists discovered bits of paper and were able to figure out the name of a book kept on board. The 16 fragments, each no bigger than a quarter,...

The Amazon Pirates Came. Here's How They Escaped

'Wall Street Journal' pieces together the Harteaus' story

(Newser) - That Adam and Emily Harteau and their young girls were on a barge that was attacked by pirates in a river in the Brazilian Amazon is clear; so, too, is the fact they were ultimately rescued . What happened in the middle has been murkier ( when did they flee the...

US Family Who Fled Boat Did So After Pirates Departed

Cops aren't sure why they fled after pirates left

(Newser) - More details have emerged about a traveling American family's escape from a boat that was hijacked by river pirates in Brazil—including the fact that they apparently escaped after the pirates departed. Authorities in the northern state of Para say Adam and Emily Harteau and daughters Colette, 6, and...

US Family Found Floating on Driftwood Days After Pirate Attack

Parents, 2 kids had been missing for 3 days

(Newser) - A nomadic American couple and their two young children were found alive Wednesday, three days after they went missing in an attack by river pirates in Brazil. Police say Adam and Emily Harteau and their daughters, 6-year-old Colette and 3-year-old Sierra, were passengers on a ferry from the Amazon gateway...

Amazon 'Pirate' Suspected in Kayaker's Death Is Killed

Police in Brazil provide new details about killing of Emma Kelty

(Newser) - Police in Brazil still haven't found the body of British adventurer Emma Kelty , but they say they have a pretty good idea of how she was slain. Authorities says a gang known as the "Water Pirates" or "Water Rats" came upon the 43-year-old's campsite and shot...

$18K Permit Stands Between Man and $130M Treasure

John Cruise-Wilkins isn't giving up his father's quest

(Newser) - It's known as the Holy Grail of pirate treasure—a haul of gold, silver, and jewels worth an estimated $130 million—and John Cruise-Wilkins says he knows where it is. So why is the man not yet swimming in diamonds and rubies? Well, getting to the treasure is not...

Somali Pirates Strike Again
Somali Pirates Strike Again
Mar 14, 2017 6:03 AM CDT

Somali Pirates Strike Again

They've reportedly hijacked first commercial ship since 2012

(Newser) - Somali pirates have reportedly hijacked an oil tanker, marking the first such taking of a commercial ship since 2012. The Aris 13 reported being followed by two skiffs—including one carrying armed men—while carrying fuel from Djibouti to Mogadishu on Sunday, a rep for Oceans Beyond Piracy tells Fox...

Couple Abducted by Pirates—Again
Couple Abducted
by Pirates—Again
Nov 8, 2016 10:51 AM CST

Couple Abducted by Pirates—Again

Sabine Merz reportedly killed, Jürgen Kantner seized in Philippines

(Newser) - A German couple who's spent four decades sailing the world has apparently been abducted by pirates for a second time, with what appears to be a fatal result. Jürgen Kantner and Sabine Merz—who were held by Somali pirates for 52 days in 2008, until a six-figure ransom...

A US Man Was Kidnapped by Dolly Parton- Loving Pirates

But a Rottweiler named Beaux saved his life

(Newser) - Louisiana's Daily Advertiser has a fascinating profile of Wren Thomas, who spent 18 days as the prisoner of crack-smoking, Dolly Parton-loving Nigerian pirates. Or as the paper calls it: "one of the world's most mind-blowing stories." While Wren was working an offshore oil job in Nigeria...

Is This the Face of a 16th-Century Pirate?

Remains were found under a school playground in Scotland

(Newser) - Students at a primary school in Scotland are set to get a real-life forensics lesson thanks to a centuries-old skeleton—believed to be that of a pirate—found last year beneath their playground, the Telegraph reports. Workers unearthed the remains while doing survey work for a planned extension at Victoria...

Meet the 'Repo Men' of the High Seas

They retrieve boats from around the world, often creatively

(Newser) - Around the world, thousands of boats and ships are stolen or improperly seized each year, and many become part of a "phantom fleet" of vessels used for illegal trafficking, piracy, and violating embargoes, reports the New York Times . Working at ports in places like Haiti, Trinidad, and Greece, Max...

Toy Figurine Incites Racism Claims

Mom says toy came with 'slave collar' for black figure

(Newser) - A California mother is outraged over what she claims is a racist toy her 5-year-old son received for his birthday, the Washington Post reports. Ida Lockett says she was helping her son put together a Playmobil pirate ship set when she came to instructions to put a shackle around the...

$8M Lawsuit Filed Over Blackbeard's Pirate Ship

And that $8M could go up, Florida-based company says

(Newser) - The shipwreck-hunting company that found Blackbeard's sunken ship off the North Carolina coast has sued the state for more than $8 million, saying officials violated a contract involving photos and videos of the wreck and recovery. Florida-based Intersal Inc. also says in the lawsuit filed today that the amount...

Divers Think They Found Captain Kidd's Treasure

Silver bar pulled from wreck off Madagascar, but it's not confirmed

(Newser) - There are all kinds of maybes involved, but an American explorer thinks he's found Captain Kidd's pirate treasure. Barry Clifford brought up a 110-pound silver bar from a wreck off Madagascar believed to be the Scottish pirate's flagship, the Adventure Galley, reports the BBC . Clifford presented the...

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