Kuala Lumpur: Somalian pirates hijacked a Taiwanese and a British vessel today, taking the seizures to five in three days as a top maritime watchdog warned that they were moving from Gulf of Aden to eastern and southern coast- lines of the African country to avoid patrolling warships. An Italian-operated British-owned cargo ship and a Taiwanese fishing vessel were taken over by pirates near Seychelles islands, media reports said. The latest incidents come after the seizure of three other ships -- a German vessel, a French yacht and a Yemeni boat -- over the weekend. Environment group Ecoterra said an Indian cargo ship and its 18 crew members were recently released by Somali pirates after being held for nearly a week. Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre based here, said pirates are moving to eastern and southern coastlines of Somalia where currently no warships are patrolling the waters, as their attacks on vessels in Gulf of Aden are being met with stiff resistance following additional anti-piracy measures there. "The pirates are continuing their attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden waters but now are also shifting their operations to the east and south of the coastline," he told PTI. Choong feared that the pirates could target ships and yachts off Madagascar, the tourist island of Seychelles, Kenya and Tanzania.
Source : PTI