Pirates & Privateers: Time Line of History

21st Century

2001

February 18: Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent, is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

April 1: The Netherlands becomes the first country to grant equal marriage rights to same-sex couples.

May 6: John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque when he does so during a visit to Syria.

May 25: Erik Weihenmayer becomes the first blind person to summit Mount Everest. He is 32 years old and from Boulder, Colorado.

June 11: Timothy McVeigh, who bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City in April 1995, is executed.

September 11: 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijack 4 passenger planes. 2 crash into New York's World Trade Towers, which collapse, and 2,606 die. Another plane crashes into the Pentagon and 125 die. After terrorists hijack United Airlines Flight 93, passengers and crew attempt to retake the plane. It crashes in Pennsylvania. All 64 aboard die.

October 7: The United States and Britain begin bombing Taliban targets. It is the opening salvo in the Afghanistan War, in retaliation for the events of September 11th.

November 24: The Grand National Assembly ratifies Turkey's laws to make women equal to men and no long subject to their husbands.

December 7: River pirates kill Sir Peter Blake, a world champion yachtsman, on his yacht Seamaster.

2002

February 1: Daniel Pearl, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, is beheaded by terrorists in Pakistan.

February 12: Slobodan Milošević, the former president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, stands trial before the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague. He dies 4 years later before the trial ends.

April 4: After 27 years of fighting, a cease fire ends the Angolan civil war.

May 22: A Birmingham, Alabama jury convicts Bobby Frank Cherry, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, of murdering 4 girls in 1963 when a bomb exploded in the 16th Street Baptist Church.

May 25: China Airlines 611 breaks apart in mid-air and plunges into the Taiwan Strait. 225 people die.

June: Indonesian fishermen rescue the crew of an oil tanker from Thai waters after pirates forced them overboard.

July 1: The International Criminal Court begins hearing prosecutions of individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

July 2: Steve Fossett, an American adventurer, is the first balloonist to circumnavigate the globe alone.

August 5: For the first time in 140 years, the iron gun turret of the USS Monitor is recovered by divers. She sank in December 1862 while being towed during a storm.

October 2: The first of the Beltway sniper attack takes place. The killing spree lasts for more than 3 weeks.

October 23: Chechen rebels storm a Moscow theater and take the audience and performers hostage. During a 57-hour standoff, 2 hostages are slain. On the morning of 26 October, Russian special forces storm the theater. The majority of terrorists and hostages die in the raid.

December: International Ship and Port Facility Security Code approved

2003

IMB reports that pirate attacks on ships triple over previous decade.

Walt Disney presents Pirates of the Caribbean, starring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.

February: Mumbai Sessions Court sentences pirates involved in MV Alondra Rainbow attack to 7 years imprisonment and a fine.

February 1: On its return to Earth, NASA's space shuttle Colombia disintegrates over Texas. The 7 astronauts aboard die.

February 4: Yugoslavia changes its name to Serbia and Montenegro.

February 18: A Chinese court in Shantou sentences 10 pirates to imprisonment for hijacking Siam Xanxai in June 1999.

April 9: Baghdad is captured by US-led forces during the Iraq War.

August 29: Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqi al-Hakim, Iraq's Shia Muslim leader, is assassinated, along with nearly 100 worshippers, in a terrorist bombing as he leaves a mosque in Najaf.

October 19: Pope John Paul II declares Mother Teresa a saint.

October 24: The Concorde makes its last commercial flight.

2004

Anti-piracy patrols established in the Malacca Strait

February 4: Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University, launches Facebook.

February 18: When a runaway freight train carrying sulfur, petrol, and fertilizer catches fire and explodes near Neyshabur, Iran, nearly 295 people die. Among the dead are about 200 rescue workers.

June: Tri-annual Conference on Piracy and Maritime Terrorism in Kuala Lumpur

September: Workshop on Maritime Security, Maritime Terrorism and Piracy in Asia

September 1: Chechen rebels take control of a Russian school. The siege ends 2 days later, after more than 330 people, mostly children, are killed.

December 25: A tsunami devastates numerous countries from Indonesia to Somali; more than 200,000 people die. There is a downturn in piracy attacks as a result.

2005

New wave of pirate attacks in coastal waters of Somalia after 2-year lull

March: Malaysia announces it will establish 24-hour radar system to monitor security in the Straits of Malacca and have the Maritime Enforcement Agency in place by the end of the year.

April: Singapore, Japan, Laos, and Cambodia sign the Regional Co-operational Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia.

April 2: Pope John Paul II dies in Vatican City. He was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years when he was elected in 1978 and the first to come from a Slavic country.

April 9: Prince Charles of England marries Camilla Parker Bowles.

April 18: Mumbai High Court overrules Sessions Court and acquits pirates involved in the MV Alondra Rainbow attack.

May 31: W. Mark Felt, a former assistant director of the FBI, is revealed to have been the informant, known as "Deep Throat," who provided information to Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein that allowed them to uncover the Watergate Scandal.

June 27: Somali pirates attack the MV Semlow, a ship carrying food to tsunami victims.

August 29: Hurricane Katrina, a category 3 hurricane, hits the Gulf Coast of the United States. More than 1,836 people die and damages exceed $115 billion.

October 19: Saddam Hussein goes on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity.

November 5: Somali pirates attack Seabourn Spirit, a cruise ship carrying 200 passengers and 164 crew members, but the vessel escapes.

November 22: Angela Merkel becomes Germany's first female chancellor.

2006

188 pirate attacks involve taking the taking of hostages. Another 77 attacks result in the kidnapping of crew members.

January 16: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf becomes the first female elected head of state in Africa. She is president of Liberia.

December 30: Execution of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former president, following his conviction on charges of crimes against humanity

2007

Scattered guns (cannon) are discovered off the Dominican Republic. Subsequent underwater excavations determine that the wreck site is that of the Quedagh Merchant that was seized by William Kidd in 1698.

Clues left by one of the Romanov assassins lead investigators to a second grave where the remains of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria are unearthed.

May 21: Cutty Sark is badly damaged by fire in Greenwich, England. She is the last surviving tea clipper.

October: Somali pirates capture Japanese chemical tanker Golden Nori, which ships of the US Navy quickly surround. She and her crew are ransomed for $1.5 million.

December 27: A suicide bomber kills former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi.

December 30: Former president Saddam Hussein is executed after being convicted of crimes against humanity.

2008

The total amount of ransoms paid to Somali pirates totals nearly $50,000,000.

February 24: After nearly 50 years ruling Cuba, Fidel Castro retires.

April: Nigeria is named the hottest spot for pirate attacks. By mid-year that title is given to Somalia.

April: Puntland government in Somalia runs out of money to pay its security forces, many of whom turn to the lucrative career of piracy.

April: 100 Puntland soldiers storm the Al Khaleej and captured 7 pirates, who are eventually imprisoned for life.

April 4: Somali pirates capture the MY Le Ponant, a luxury yacht from France. She is released 8 days later after payment of a $2,000,000 ransom. The pirates go ashore, but French helicopters pursue them. 6 pirates are eventually captured and taken to France to stand trial. Some of the ransom money is recovered.

April 20: Skeletal remains of two bodies found near Ekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed to be the remains of Tsarevich Nikolaevich and his sister, Grand Duchess Maria. With the identification of these bones the remains of all members of Tsar Nicholas's immediate family have been found.

June 2: The UN Security Council passes Resolution 1816 for the deployment of naval vessels in Somalia's territorial waters. The regional government in Puntland endorses it.

June 27: Pirates hijack MV Semlow, a freighter that the UN World Food Programme charters to deliver food aid to Mogadishu victims of the 2004 tsunami.

June 28: Juergen Kantner and Sabine Merz of Germany are captured by Somali pirates and held captive in Puntland where they are subjected to mock executions until the German government pays their ransom in August.

July 2: Ingrid Betancourt, a Colombian politician, is freed more than 6 years after she is taken hostage by FARC guerillas. Her rescue is effected by soldiers posing as international aid workers.

August: 15: A pirate gang, calling themselves the National Volunteer Coast Guard of Somalia, capture 3 Taiwanese trawlers fishing in Somali waters. Rather than a hijacking, the pirates impound the vessels and demand $5,000 as a fine for each of the 48 crew members.
August 15: US swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the first athlete to win 8 medals during a single Olympics.

August 27: Barack Obama becomes the first African American to be nominated by a major political party for President of the United States.

September 16: A French commando unit attempts a rescue of the SY Carré d'As IV. They parachute into the sea, swim to the yacht, and surprise the pirates. 1 is killed, the other 6 surrender. The 2 hostages are unharmed.

September 25: Up to 50 Somali pirates, identifying themselves as the Central Regional Coast Guard, seize the Ukranian MV Faina, which carries Soviet tanks destined for the Sudan.

October: Nigerian pirates attacked Nigeria's private fishing fleet, capturing 8 trawlers and 96 crewmen.

October: Andre Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarer's Assistance Program and known as the Pirate Whisperer, is arrested and imprisoned in Shimo la Tewa prison in Kenya for 9 days.

November 4: Barack Obama becomes the first African American to be elected president of the US.

November 15: Somali pirates seize an oil tanker, Sirius Star, 450 miles off the coast of East Africa. She's carrying $150 million of crude oil. A ransom of $3,000,000 is paid, and after the 5 pirates split the ransom, they drown in rough seas.

November 26: Terrorists from Pakistan strike Mumbai, India in 10 coordinated attacks. 164 people die and more than 250 are injured.

December: The European Union launches Operation Atalanta to patrol High Risk Areas to protect shipping from Somali pirates.

December: The European Union NAVFOR also establishes a Maritime Security Centre (Horn of Africa) for ships transiting the Gulf of Aden and the northern portion of the Arabian Sea.

December 2: The United Nations Security Council adopts Resolution 1846. With the agreement of the Transitional Federal Government, naval ships patrolling the Gulf of Aden have permission to "enter into territorial waters of Somalia for the purpose of repressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."

2009

During the first half of the year, Somali pirates attack roughly 1 ship per day. By year's end, the United Nations estimates that the total ransoms paid amount to be around $82,000,000.

American treasure hunters locate Joseph Bannister's pirate ship, Golden Fleece.

Combined Task Force 151 begins conducting counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.

January: Abdirahman Farole becomes president of Puntland after a peaceful election.

January 15: Piloted by Chesley Sullenberger, US Airways Flight 1549 lands on the Hudson River soon after striking birds following takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Everyone survives and the flight earns the moniker "Miracle of the Hudson."

January 20: Barack Obama becomes the first African American to hold the office of president of the United States.

February: Somali pirates release the MV Faina, a Ukranian ship carrying tanks, after receiving a $3.2 million ransom. Her crew spends 5 months in captivity before their release.

April 3: MV Hansa Stavanger, a German freighter, and her 25 crew members are taken by Somali pirates. After 4 months of captivity, the crew and vessel are released after payment of $2 million.

April 8: Somali pirates attack the US-flagged ship, MV Maersk Alabama, and take Captain Richard Phillips hostage. He is rescued 4 days later after Navy Seals kill 3 of the pirates. The fourth, Abdiwali Abdiqdir Musi, is taken into custody and brought to the United States to be tried for piracy, the first to face trial for this crime since 1885. This is the 6th hijacked vessel this week, but the first American one.

April 9: 20 miles from the Somali coast, French commandos launch an assault on the SY Tranit, which had been captured by pirates. 2 pirates and the yacht's captain, who was caught in the crossfire, are killed. The remaining 4 hostages are released.

April 28: A Russian warship seizes a Somali pirate vessel after the pirates twice attacked the NS Commander the day before.

May 10: 9 Somali pirates are sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for piracy in Berbera.

May 31: The last known survivor of the Titanic dies. Millvina Dean was 9 weeks old at the time of the sinking.

September 18: After a 72-year run, the final episode of the soap opera The Guiding Light airs.

November 9: 9 days earlier, 2 pirate skiffs attacked the BW Lion in the Indian Ocean, some 400 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles and nearly 1,000 nautical miles east of Mogadishu.

November 18: Somali pirates again attack the Maersk Alabama, but are unsuccessful.

November 18: HS Adrias, a Greek warship, intercepts and boards a pirate mother ship. 10 men are arrested. Later, the Greek warship hunts down a second group of pirates and their mother ship, arresting 5 more men.

2010

$9 million ransom paid for the Maran Centaurus, which carries $150 million in crude oil

January: Rival pirate gangs attack each other over a hijacked oil supertanker just as the ransom is to be paid. The pirates on board the vessel request aid from the European Union naval forces in the area.

January 12: A 7.0 earthquake hits Haiti. More than 200,000 people die and most of Port-au-Prince is destroyed. Those left homeless exceed 1,000,000.

February 9: Somali pirates capture a Greek tanker, MV Irene SL. She is released 10 months later on 21 December after payment of a $13.5 million ransom.

February 27: An 8.8 earthquake strikes Chile and triggers a tsunami.

March: Kenya ceases prosecuting pirates when assistance from the international community fails to appear.

March: Somali pirates attack the USS Nicholas while it's tracking a suspected mother ship of the pirates.

April 4: Somali pirates capture a South Korean super tanker, the MV Samho Dream.

April 10: Somali pirates attempt an attack of the USS Ashland, a navy dock landing vessel.

April 15: Ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland closes most airspace over Europe.

April 20: An oil rig called Deepwater Horizon explodes in the Gulf of Mexico. It becomes the worst environmental disaster in history and 11 die in the incident. The rig itself sinks.

May: Russian special forces rappel from a helicopter to recapture the tanker MV Moscow University. A firefight ensues in which 1 of the 11 pirates is killed.

May 18: Abdiwali Abdiqdir Musi, one of the Somali pirates who attacked the Maersk Alabama, pleads guilty to counts of hijacking, kidnapping, and hostage taking. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

August 5: A mine in the Atacama Desert of Chile collapses, trapping 33 miners. It takes 69 days to rescue them.

September: Kenya bars the admittance of additional captured pirates. 2 months later a judge orders the release of about 60 suspected pirates taken into custody before the Merchant Shipping Act passed.

October 13: After 69 days underground following a mining accident, 33 Chilean miners are rescued in the Atacama Desert.

November 6: After payment of a ransom totaling $9.5 million, Somali pirates release the Samho Dream, an oil tanker from South Korea.

November 29: A Virginia judge sentences 1 pirate to 30 years for his involvement in an assault on a US warship.

2011

January: 32 ships and 736 hostages held for ransom.

February 16: Abduwali Muse is sentenced in the United States to 33 years and 9 months for hijacking the Maersk Alabama.

February 22: The US Navy tries to recapture the SY Quest, taken by 19 Somali pirates on the 18th. The 4 hostages, all US citizens, are killed. Whether they are killed during the attack or shot in retaliation for the pirates slain by navy SEALS to end the seizure of the Maersk Alabama is unknown.

March 11: An earthquake and a tsunami hit Japan, causing a major nuclear accident.

April 30: Somali pirates seize the MT Gemini of Singapore. The tanker is released on 3 December following payment of a ransom totaling $10 million.

May 2: US Special Forces kill Osama bin Landen in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He is believed to be the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

May 23: Inauguration of the Captain Kidd Living Museum in the Sea near the site of what remains for the wreck of the Quedagh Merchant.

October 20: Muammar al-Qaddafi and his son are killed by rebel forces following the battle of Sirte.

2012

January 17: Somali pirates unsuccessfully attack the ESPS Patino, an oiler belonging to the Spanish navy.

March 13: Encyclopedia Britannica will no longer publish a print edition of the encyclopedia. It is the oldest and longest continually published encyclopedia in the English language.

April 17: The British Library purchases the oldest intact book in Europe. It pays £9,000,000 for St. Cuthbert's Gospel, which was written during the 8th century.

September 22: A drunk driver, going 200 kilometers an hour, kills 27 pedestrians at a Moscow bus stop.

September 23: 4 genetically distinct types of breast cancer are discovered.

October 21: Pope Benedict XVI canonizes the first Native American saint, Kateri Tekakwitha.

December 14: 20-year-old Adam Lanza walks into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and begins shooting. 20 children and 8 adults are slain.

2013

Pirate attacks decrease from a peak of 445 in 2003 to only 204 attacks.

Hollywood releases Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks, about the Somali attack on the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama.

January: Mohamed Abdi Hassan, also known as "Big Mouth" and a pirate kingpin, announces his retirement from piracy after 8 years.

February: Women in France are legally permitted to trousers after 213 years.

February 28: Pope Benedict XVI resigns his papal office, becoming the first to do so since Gregory XII resigned in 1415.

April 11: Two women are beheaded for sorcery in Papua New Guinea.
April 11: Fossilized dinosaur eggs with embryos inside are discovered in China.

October: Mohamed Abdi Hassan is arrested in Belgium.

2014

British marine archaeologists discover wreck of HMS Erebus, one of John Franklin's ships that disappeared while searching for the Northwest Passage.

March 8: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappears with 239 people aboard.

May 8: The world's oldest astrolabe, dating from around 1498, is discovered in the wreckage of Vasco da Gama's ship, which was found near Oman.

October 7: A Spanish nurse is diagnosed with Ebola. It is the first such diagnosis outside of west Africa.

December 16: Members of the Taliban in Pakistan attack a school in Peshawar. 150, the majority of whom are children, die.

2015

February: Last four crewmen of the Prantalay 12 are released. They are the longest-held hostages in modern pirate history. Their ship was hijacked in April 2010, about 1,200 nautical miles from the Somali coast. 6 crew members die in captivity, and fourteen others are released in 2011.

April 29: 8 Nigerian pirates in two speedboats attack MV SP Brussels. The armed security team and the crew shelter in the tanker's citadel (safe room). 2 pirates are later killed in an ensuing fire fight with the Nigerian navy. The other 6 are arrested.

September: Mohamed Abdi Hassan's trial begins. If he is found guilty of piracy, he can serve up to 15 years. If he is found guilty of taking hostages, he can serve up to 30 years.

September 9: Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest-reigning monarch in Great Britain.

September 30: Man with Ebola Virus in Dallas, Texas

October 29: China ends its 1-child policy. When the new year begins, couples may have 2 children.

November 12: Coordinated attacks of terrorism are launched in and around Paris. More than 350 are wounded and at least 130 die. The worst attack occurs at Bataclan, a theater and concert hall.

November 13: Isis claims responsibility for 3 terrorist attacks in Paris, France.

2016

June 23: The United Kingdom votes to withdraw from the European Union. It is the first time a country has chosen to withdraw.

August 13: Michael Phelps, an American swimmer, ends his career at the Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. His Olympic gold medals total 23, which were won at several games.

September 4: Pope Francis canonizes Mother Teresa.

November: Somali pirates attack a Korean tanker, the first such attack in 2 1/2 years.

2017

May 21: Barnum & Bailey Circus performs for the last time in New York City. It closes after 146 years.

May 22: A suicide bomber kills 22 and injures 59 at Manchester Arena in England after a concert by Ariana Grande.

August 18: Paul Allen, leading civilian researchers, discovers the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis, 72 years after Japanese torpedoes sank her in 18,000 feet of water in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.

September 13: River pirates kill British kayaker Emma Kelty in a tributary of the Amazon River.

October 1: Stephen Paddock opens fire on a music festival from his Las Vegas hotel room. 58 people die and hundreds are wounded before he kills himself. It is the deadliest mass shoot in US history.

2018

May 9: The oldest viral DNA is discovered in a 7,000-year-old skeleton found in Germany. The DNA is from a form of hepatitis B.

May 13: A family of 6 carry out 3 church bombings in Surabaya, Indonesia. At least 13 die. The Islamic State claims responsibility.

June 5: Officials of the Miss America Pageant announce that the swimsuit competition will no longer be part of their pageant.

July 8: The first of 4 boys are rescued after spending 16 days trapped in Tham Luang Cave in Thailand. The rescuers are from Thailand, as well as other countries. The 16 boys and their coach became trapped when monsoons caused the cave to flood. It takes 2 more days before all of the victims are rescued.

August 18: Archaeologists confirm that they have found the first-ever cheese in the 3,200-year-old tomb of Ptahmes, mayor of Memphis, Egypt.

September 4: 13 years after they were stolen, the FBI recovers Dorothy's ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz.
September 4: 400-year-old Portuguese merchant ship is discovered near Cascais, Portugal.

October 23: 2,400-year-old Greek vessel is found in the Black Sea. It is the world's oldest intact shipwreck.

2019

February 18: Minnesota police finally solve the 25-year-old murder of a woman when they run DNA through a genealogy site and it's a match to someone in the database.

April 10: The first image of a black hole is released to the public. It is located in the center of galaxy M87.

April 15: Fire burns the roof and topples the spire of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France.

May 7: Hackers seize control of Baltimore, Maryland's computer system and ask for a ransom payment in Bitcoins.

June 13: Archaeologists announce that the Scottish crannogs are older than first thought. Radio carbon dating places their origins between 3640 and 3360 BCE, making them older than Stonehenge.

July 10: Volkswagen ceases production of the Beetle, a vehicle that was first introduced in 1938.

September 23: Thomas Cook, a British travel company in business for 178 years, closes, stranding 600,000 travelers around the world.

December 31: The World Health Organization learns about cases of "viral pneumonia" in Wuhan, China, for the first time. It is later determined that the disease is actually COVID-19, which becomes a worldwide pandemic in 2020.

2020

January 21: First case of Covid-19 in the United States is confirmed.

February 24: New York firefighter Daniel Foley, who found his brother's body in the ruins of the World Trade Center after 9-11, succumbs to cancer. His death brings the total number of first responders iwho were nvolved in the aftermath of 9-11 and who have died to 343.

March 11: The World Health Organization announces that the outbreak of COVID-19 has become a pandemic.

March 23: New York City is confirmed as the center of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. As of this date, 20,875 people have been diagnosed positive and 157 have succumbed to this disease.

May 7: As a result of shelter-in-place orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment in the United States affects 33.3 million or 20% of the workforce. In March, unemployment stood at 3.5%, a 50-year low.

2021

January 21: Kamala Harris becomes vice president of the United States. She is the first woman, the first Black woman, and the first Asian American to serve as the vice president.

August 23: The FDA fully approves the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. It is the first vaccination to receive full review and approval and is found to be 91% effective against the disease.

2022

September 8: Queen Elizabeth II dies at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She is the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Her son, Prince Charles, ascends the throne at the age of 73.

2024

April: Pegasus Books publishes The Pirate King by Sean Kingsley and Rex Cowan, which answers the question as to what became of the world's most-wanted pirate, Henry Every.