A member of the Seychelles Coast Guard watches over the quay next to Topaz, one of two patrol boats used to defend the Indian Ocean seas against pirates from the Somali coast, 1,000 miles away.
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Major Simon Laurencine, commander of Topaz, and a senior officer in the Seychelles Coast Guard, aboard Topaz at the naval base in Port Victoria, Mahe Island, Seychelles.
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A forward facing deck-mounted 12.7mm machine gun, one of two on Topaz, a Seychellois Coastguard patrol boat.
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Painted on the side of this captured pirate skiff next to a rusty grappling iron is the slogan "Hobbyo Boys," a reference to the Somali pirate town on the East African coast, from where the gang is thought to have set off.
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The view from the stern of a Somali pirate "mother ship." These flimsy little vessels travel hundreds of miles across the Indian Ocean in search of ships to hijack for ransom.
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The Seychelles islands are becoming as well known for the threat of Somali piracy as their beautiful sandy beaches and clear, calm seas that have made them a popular luxury holiday destination.
- [Tristan McConnell/]