Somali Pirates Seize Cargo Tankers
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Pirates have hijacked two European-owned tankers off the Somali coast within 24 hours. Skip related content
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Somali Pirates Seize Cargo Tankers
The Norwegian-owned cargo vessel Bow Asir, which has a crew of 23 on board, was seized earlier today.
It has a crew of 27 with a Russian captain and was hijacked by 16 to 18 pirates, the Norwegian Shipowners' Association said.
Yesterday the European Union Martime Mission to the region, which is based at Northwood in London, said the 9,000-tonne Greek-owned, Panamanian-flagged M.V. Nipayia was seized approximately 450 miles (720 kilometers) east of the coast.
It has a crew of 19.
The Bow Asir is a chemicals and oil tanker of about 23,000 tonnes, according to the website of Norway's DNV, a ship classification company.
The attacks show Somali pirate gangs are undeterred by ships from Western and Asian countries patrolling to try to prevent a repeat of last year's unprecedented wave of hijackings.
Most of those ships are, however, concentrated in the Gulf of Aden, the gateway to the Red Sea and Suez Canal, whereas the pirates are striking ever further from the Somali coastline.
Two earlier high-profile cases were resolved earlier this year with the release - for $3 million (£2,069,893) each - of a Saudi oil tanker and a Ukrainian boat with tanks on board.
A record 42 boats were seized off Somalia throughout 2008, with a total 815 crew members taken hostage, according to figures from the International Maritime Bureau.
