Piracy: Mysterious disappearance of a yacht

For a good three weeks now, without success, the Manhunt after a French luxury yacht that was spectacularly hijacked in the Mediterranean. According to the crew, the ship, the "Armageddon", was boarded by four armed and masked men in a bay in south-west Corsica. The three people on board - the owner, his wife and an acquaintance of the couple - were locked in a cabin for several hours and then set adrift in a life raft. After a few hours, they drifted to the shore and were then able to get help.

Meanwhile, the pirates apparently made off with the boat. As the tanks were almost full at the time of the attack, the hijackers could theoretically have travelled as far as the Atlantic without stopping. For example, as far as Madeira, the Azores, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde or somewhere on the West African coast.

Nevertheless, the yacht's disappearance without a trace poses a few puzzles. Firstly, the AIS signal stopped working shortly after the theft. The hijackers must therefore have been familiar with modern navigation and communication technology on board ships.

However, the "Armageddon" is not just any boat. The 17 metre long trawler, equipped with a support sail, is a more than eye-catching and, above all, globally unique design. It belongs to Jean-Louis Garcia, the founder and former owner of the French Garcia shipyard, which is now part of Allures and Outremer. Grand Large Yachting belongs.

After Garcia sold the shipyard a few years ago, he fulfilled his personal dream of the perfect, luxurious aluminium long-distance yacht with the "Armageddon". It turned out so well that in 2013 it was honoured as the Europe's Powerboat of the Year existed. In its original condition, the "Armageddon" is therefore likely to be pretty much unrecognisable due to its high profile. And even if it were to be modified, it is difficult to imagine that the ship would not be recognisable.

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It is also strange that the boat has not yet been sighted anywhere, although customs authorities, harbour and petrol station operators in the Mediterranean region, on the African coast and on the Atlantic islands were all quickly informed of the theft. In this respect, it cannot be ruled out that the boat may have been sunk long ago.

The pirate attack caused quite a stir in Corsica in particular; the tourism industry fears for the image of the holiday island.

There has only been one similar case in the Mediterranean in the recent past: Several years ago, a luxury yacht under charter was attacked and robbed off the coast of southern France. In addition, an international crime syndicate specialising in the theft of high-value yachts in the Mediterranean was uncovered over ten years ago.