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US food aid ship escapes Somali pirate attack
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-15 21:38 "WFP is also extremely concerned that people in Somalia will go hungry unless the Sea Horse is quickly released or a replacement ship can be found," Smerdon said. Pirates say they are fighting illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters but now operate hundreds of miles from there in a sprawling 1.1 million square-mile danger zone.
A flotilla of warships from nearly a dozen countries has patrolled the Gulf of Aden and nearby Indian Ocean waters for months. They have halted many attacks but say the area is so vast they can't stop all hijackings. The Gulf of Aden, which links the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, is the shortest route from Asia to Europe and one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. In an unusual nighttime raid, pirates seized the Greek-managed bulk carrier MV Irene E.M. before dawn Tuesday, with at least 21 crew. Hours later, they commandeered the MV Sea Horse carrying 19 crew. They also captured two Egyptian fishing trawlers carrying 36 fishermen. Yemen's coast guard rescued 13 Yemeni hostages and their fishing trawler in a shootout Monday with pirates, the Yemen embassy in Washington said. No casualties were reported. Three Somali pirates have been brought to the French city of Rennes to face an investigation, a French judicial official said Wednesday. They were arrested Friday in an operation to free the Tanit, a French ship seized in the Gulf of Aden. In that raid, four hostages were freed and one was killed, along with two pirates. Several other Somali pirates are already in French custody after being seized last year.
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