PhotoBERLIN — A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for, the old maritime saying goes. A German sailing couple, seized and held for ransom eight years ago by Somali pirates, apparently lived by that rule. The couple, Jürgen Kantner, 70, and his partner, Sabine Merz, have been sailing the oceans for many years aboard their 30-footer, the Rockall. They were held for 52 days in Somalia in 2008 before their captors freed them, reportedly after a six-figure ransom had been paid. The Philippine media on Monday reported that a German couple had been attacked while sailing in an area of the southern Philippines under the control of Abu Sayyaf.

Source: New York Times November 07, 2016 23:00 UTC