Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Somali Pirate Attacks Continue -South Korean Ship Grabbed

Somali pirates have apparently grabbed a South Korean ship and attacked others, as reported here:
Somali pirates on Wednesday hijacked a South Korean cargo ship with 21 crew onboard but failed in an attempt to seize a Greek vessel in the Gulf of Aden, a maritime official said. "Pirates attacked a fully loaded South Korean bulk carrier en route from Europe to Asia and successfully hijacked her," Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
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The seizure of the South Korean vessel brings the total number of vessels being held by Somali pirates to 11. Over 150 crew members are being held hostage.

Choong said that the attack on the Greek ship was only averted when the IMB called for help after receiving a distress call.

"Earlier in the day, there was an attempted attack on Greek bulk carrier in Gulf of Aden, where a speedboat fired a machine gun on the ship," he said. "We immediately contacted the coalition navy, which sent a warship and a helicopter."

The United Nations Security Council in June approved incursions into Somali waters to combat the pirates and the US Naval Central Command recently set up a security patrol in the area.

However, pirates are still cramming into the Gulf of Aden in search of huge ransoms.
I would guess so, since piracy is apparently the only successful Somali enterprise other than warlord thuggery. And perhaps it's part of the same Somali system...

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