Meanwhile, German sailors on Thursday foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack an Egyptian cargo ship off the coast of Yemen, the German Defense Ministry said.

CNN: China warships set sail on anti-pirate mission

Guerrillas target oil company workers in Nigeria, pirates ransom cargo ship operators off the coast of Somalia and criminal gangs go after tech executives and their children in India.

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The same year saw a number of containers washed up in the English Channel off the Devon coast after the cargo ship MSC Napoli ran aground.

BBC: Lost shipping containers question

What would the West do if a Russian aircraft carrying anti-aircraft missiles took off for Belgrade, or if a Russian cargo ship headed for Yugoslavia's remaining Adriatic port?

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Dutch coastguards have called off a search and rescue operation after the sinking of the Baltic Ace cargo ship in the North Sea.

BBC: Baltic Ace shipwreck: Dutch coastguards call off search

Meanwhile, the Russian navy has in recent days been engaged in what it has presented as a dramatic anti-piracy mission: apprehending, off the Cape Verde islands, eight people on board a Russian-owned cargo ship called the Arctic Sea, whose crew claimed to have been hijacked, at least briefly, in the Baltic in late July.

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During that time, astronauts will load about 2, 300 pounds of cargo back on the ship, and then it will return to Earth on March 25, splashing down off the coast of Baja California.

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