Theo Beerenfenger

Le Ponant (288 feet long) was the first yacht to be hijacked in the Gulf of Aden and anchored shortly after the coast of Garacade (500 kilometers north of Mogadishu, Somalia), making the international press.

It was the President of France Sarkozy who announced on Friday 11 April 2008 that the 32 hostages had been released.

The French armed forces later (following a firefight) arrested 6 pirates, killing three.

It has been officially stated that no ransom was paid by the France, although it is suspected that the French shipping company CMA-CGM paid $2 million in cash. The French troops later stated that they had "recovered interesting suitcases".

The three-masted ship was sailed to Dijbouti by the French Navy, after which it continued its original voyage to Alexandria (Egypt).