Pirates Hijack Four More Ships Near Somalia

Somali pirates hijacked four more ships today, even as America’s top military commander said the United States is reviewing its options, including whether to go into pirate villages.

From ABC News:

The pirates have now seized four ships since the dramatic rescue of American Capt. Richard Phillips Sunday, who was taken hostage during a failed hijacking attempt.

Just as the cheers were dying down for the daring rescue of Phillips that left three pirates dead, Somali pirates swooped down on more victims. This time they struck in the Gulf of Aden along the north coast of Somalia.

Two Egyptian fishing boats were hijacked, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, which said the boats carried a total of 18 to 24 Egyptians.

Pirates Seize Another Ship

Pirates have captured an Italian-flagged tugboat with 16 crew including 10 Italians today. This hijacking is the latest in the Gulf of Aden.

From Reuters:

The tugboat, with enough fuel and food on board to last a month, was believed to be heading toward the Somali coast, the head of the Italian company that owns the boat told Reuters.

“I’ve entered into contact with the families (of the crew),” Claudio Bartolotti, head of Ravenna-based Micoperi Srl, said, adding there were also five Romanians and one Croatian on board.

Bartolotti denied reports the 75-metre-long tugboat was U.S.-owned, saying his company had recently purchased it.

NATO alliance officials on a warship in the region had previously described the boat as U.S.-owned, Italian-flagged.

International interest has focused this week on the plight of an American hostage, Richard Phillips, held by four pirates on a lifeboat flanked by U.S. naval warships in a high seas standoff since Wednesday.

Somali Pirates Hijack Ship With Americans Onboard

Somali pirates today hijacked a U.S.-flagged cargo ship with 20 American crew members onboard.

From the Associated Press:

United Kingdom maritime officials have been able to contact the vessel and were told “everyone is OK,” according to a U.S. defense official in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

British maritime and defense officials did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

The 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama was carrying emergency relief to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was hijacked, said Peter Beck-Bang, spokesman for the Copenhagen-based container shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk. It was the sixth ship seized within a week, a rise that analysts attribute to a new strategy by Somali pirates who are operating far from the warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden.

The company confirmed that the U.S.-flagged vessel has 20 U.S. nationals onboard.

Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said that it was the first pirate attack “involving U.S. nationals and a U.S.-flagged vessel in recent memory.” She did not give an exact timeframe.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs said the White House was monitoring the incident closely and “assessing a course of action.”

“Our top priority is the personal safety of the crew members on board,” Gibbs said.

From CNN:

Pirates attacked a U.S. cargo ship off the coast of Somalia carrying food aid to East Africa and may have hijacked the vessel, which was carrying 20 American crew members, according to the company that owns the vessel.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the Obama administration is aware of the situation.

“The White House is closely monitoring the apparent hijacking of the U.S.-flagged ship in the Indian Ocean and assessing a course of action to resolve this situation,” Gibbs said. “Our top priority is the personal safety of the crew members on board.”

The U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was attacked about 500 kilometers (310 miles) off Somalia’s coast, according to a statement from Maersk Line Ltd.

The company said it believes the vessel may have been hijacked. If so, it would be the sixth hijacking over the past week.

The ship was attacked about 7:30 a.m. when the nearest U.S. Navy warship was about 300 nautical miles away, goverment sources said. On Tuesday, the U.S. Navy warned mariners that pirates were attacking ships extending hundreds of miles offshore.

Pirates Attempt to Hijack US Cruise Ship

Pirates chased and shot at a U.S. cruise liner with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel as it sailed along a corridor patrolled by international warships.

From the Associated Press:

The liner, carrying 656 international passengers and 399 crew members, was sailing through the Gulf of Aden on Sunday when it encountered six bandits in two speedboats, said Noel Choong who heads the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

The pirates fired at the passenger liner but the larger boat was faster than the pirates’ vessels, Choong said.

“It is very fortunate that the liner managed to escape,” he said, urging all ships to remain vigilant in the area.

The International Maritime Bureau, which fights maritime crime, did not know how many cruise liners use these waters.

The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, said it was aware of the failed hijacking but had no further details.

Ship owner Oceania Cruises Inc. identified the vessel as the M/S Nautica.

In a statement on its Web site, the company said pirates fired eight rifle shots at the liner, but that the ship’s captain increased speed and managed to outrun the skiffs.

All passengers and crew are safe and there was no damage to the vessel, it said.

The Nautica was on a 32-day cruise from Rome to Singapore, with stops at ports in Italy, Egypt, Oman, Dubai, India, Malaysia and Thailand, the Web site said. Based on that schedule, the liner was headed from Egypt to Oman when it was attacked.