Somalia: Pirates seize cargo vessel

Reported here:

Somali pirates have seized a cargo ship off the east African coast, the head of a local seafarer's association said on Monday.

Gunmen attacked the vessel on Wednesday, said Andrew Mwangura, the program co-ordinator of the East Africa Seafarers Assistance Programme, but due to chaotic communications with war-ravaged Somalia the incident had taken several days to confirm.

He did not have details on the number or nationality of the crew members aboard the Almarjan, a cargo ship of over 2 500 tons that was flying under a flag from the Comoros Islands and operated by Dubai-based Biyat International.

More here:

Somali pirates attacked four ships over two days last week, hijacking a Dubai-based vessel that is still in their possession, the head of a local seafarers group said Monday.

Pirates chased after three of the boats and shot at one of them on October 17 and 18, but the ships were able to escape a hijacking. The other, seized last Wednesday, was not as fortunate.

UPDATE: Info on Almarjan here.

UPDATE2: Something tells me that the NATO ships operating off Somalia have moved on...