NAIROBI (Kenya) - SOMALI pirates seized ships from France, Britain, Germany, Taiwan and Yemen, defying world naval powers by prowling further out in the Indian Ocean to target victims.
Ransom-hunting pirates equipped with skiffs, guns and grapnels took five ships in 48 hours, the two latest on Monday targeting a British cargo ship and a Taiwanese fishing vessel.
At least 17 ships and more than 250 hostages are now in pirate hands.
'There were two more hijackings today. There is one Italian-operated British-owned ship and a Taiwanese vessel near the Seychelles,' an official involved in regional piracy monitoring said.
Hundreds of ransom-hunting Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships over the past year, mostly merchant vessels plying one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes.
They operate from skiffs towed by pirate 'mother ships", which are often hijacked fishing vessels.
Last year, their haul included a Ukrainian cargo loaded with combat tanks and a Saudi supertanker.
More than 130 attacks, including close to 50 successful hijackings, were reported in 2008, threatening the vital shipping lane and spurring the international community into joint naval action.
The number of attacks had dipped since the start of the year, owing to an increased international naval presence and unfavourable seas.
But some pirate groups have ventured far into the Indian Ocean, southeast of Somalia, to target ships further out at sea. -- AFP
