On May 10th, fighters against piracy reached a milestone. A year had passed since the last hijacking, when Somali pirates took a Greek tanker carrying 135,000 tonnes of fuel oil. The Smyrni and her crew of 26 were released ten months later after a record ransom payment. According to the International Maritime Bureau, a body that fights shipping crime, five ships and 71 sailors are still in pirate hands-a far cry from the count of 33 vessels and 758 hostages in early 2011, when seizures were taking place at a rate of more than 200 a year.
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