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Somali pirates hijack Taiwanese, British ships

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-06 21:28

German marines practice boarding ships during in a training excercise in the eastern German town of Eckernfoerde. [Agencies]

NAIROBI -- Somali pirates hijacked a Taiwanese fishing vessel and a British cargo ship on Monday, according to reports from agencies.

Andrew Mwangura, the East Africa's Coordinator or Africa Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP), said the Taiwanese fishing ship "MV Win Far 161" and British cargo ship "Malaspina Castle" were hijacked on the world's dangerous waters early Monday.

Mwangura could not establish the location of the attack on the British-owned cargo ship. He said the Taiwanese fishing vessel MV Win Far 161 was seized near an island in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.

He also confirmed that a French-flagged yacht with four crew members and a Yemeni vessel were hijacked in the Indian Ocean on Sunday.

"I have not established the correct number of the crew in the four vessels. The French-yacht and Yemeni vessels were hijacked on Sunday while British and Taiwanese vessels were hijacked early today," Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone.

"I have not also established their nationalities or numbers of crew on board the vessels or the exact time of the attacks," said Mwangura.

Full Coverage:  Global War Against Pirates Related readings:  Pirates attack Israeli ship off Somalia  Gunmen seize 4 UN workers in Somalia  2 Japanese destroyers depart on antipiracy mission off Somalia  Chinese navy again escorts Taiwan ship off Somalia

The armed Somali pirates seized several European-owned tankers in recent months. The pirates typically use speed boats launched from "mother ships".

They then take captured vessels to remote coastal village bases in Somalia, where they have usually treat their hostages well in anticipation of a sizeable ransom payment.

The increased piracy activities in the Indian Ocean off Somali waters have prompted the international community to deploy security forces in the area to cub frequent hijackings of cargo ships.

The international community has been searching for ways to prosecute pirates since the rate of attacks in the region spiked, last year.

Last year, more than 40 ships and 800 crew members were hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of East Africa.