Somali pirates are apparently intensifying attacks this week in defiance of the international crackdown on the high seas banditry.
In their latest attacks, the pirates took a Yemeni tanker on Sunday in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Qana was seized in a shooting duel between Yemeni coast guards and the assailants. At least three Somali pirates and two Yemeni guards were wounded in the fight over the tanker.
The attack was the second reported within hours after Somali pirates opened fired at an Italian cruise ship with nearly 1,000 passengers on board on Saturday night north of the Seychelles.
The pirates gave up the attempt to capture it in the face of strong resistance from security officers being hired by Msc Cruises, the company owning the Msc Melody Cruises.
The cruise suffered slight damage in the exchange of fire, but none of the 990 plus passengers and its 500 crew members were wounded, the company said.
The anti-piracy Maritime Security Center Horn of Africa reported the attack between 300 km north of the Seychelles and 800km east of Somalia.
On Saturday, Andrew Mwangura of the East Africa's Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program said Somali pirates hijacked a German ship overnight with 17 crew members on board.
The Patriot was seized in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen, he said, without disclosing the nationalities of the crew.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said on Friday former foreign undersecretary Margherita Boniver would travel to Somalia to seek the release of the crew of an Italian tugboat seized off the African country's northern coast.
The Buccaneer was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on April 11 with a crew of 16 on board, including 10 Italians, five Romanians and one Croat.
Piracy is flourishing off the Horn of African country with armed bandits having paid millions of U.S. dollars by taking ships and crews hostage.
Among their latest gains, pirates received 1.9 million dollars in ransom before setting free a Greek ship on Saturday.
Pirates also let go a Yemeni-owned tanker on Sunday amid speculation about another ransom-for-release deal, which is not made known.
The Sea Princess II was carrying petroleum products when it was seized on Jan. 2 with 15 crew members on board, including eight Indians.
Despite an international flotilla and the recent killings of Somali pirates by the French and U.S. Navies, they seemed in an attack spree in the past week, highlighting the need to step up anti-piracy operations and cooperation among countries.
More than 80 vessels were reportedly seized by pirates this year, with at least 14 ships and more than 200 crew members still taken in captivity.
After a brief lull early this year, Somali pirates made a comeback recently extending their attacks to a much larger area in the Indian Ocean, as far as off the Seychelles islands.
Somalia has been in anarchy since its government was toppled by warlords in 1991, with its people living in chaos and poverty. A transitional government established in 2000 has been too weak to combat piracy stemming from the war-torn soil.
Source: Xinhua
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