New Caledonian Yacht Attacked In Solomon Islands

Created by doina. Last modified on 2006-11-02 13:54:44
Topic: Piracy
Countries: Solomon Islands

Several armed men boarded and ransacked a yacht with a family of two adults and two children on board the night of Saturday October 21. The catamaran Kalim was anchored at Bita’ama in the north of the island of Malaita in the Solomon Islands. A group of men armed with a gun, knives and a club boarded the yacht around midnight. They stole about USD10,000 and threatened skipper Philippe Houdret with a knife. Various other valuables were stolen before the men eventually left. The yacht made its way to Honiara where the authorities were informed.

The Houdret family, from New Caledonia, had already spent some three months cruising the archipelago and had found it a welcoming place; now they have no intention of returning.

Following the reporting of the incident in local press in New Caledonia and the Solomons, some toursits cancelled holidays in Malaita, prompting fears among local businessmen that their fledgling tourist industry would suffer the consequences of this incident for some time to come.