Kuala Lumpur - Heavily-armed Somali pirates shot at a Japanese cargo ship in a bid to hijack it in the Gulf of Aden Saturday amid an intensification of attacks off the Somali coast, a maritime watchdog said. The incident brought to seven the number of ships attacked in the Gulf of Aden in the past month, said Noel Choong, head of the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime BureauÂ’s (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre.
The Japanese-operated cargo ship travelling from Singapore was sailing through the area on its way to the Middle East when at about 0808 GMT pirates in two speedboats opened fire at the vessel in a bid to stop it, Choong said. The ship increased its speed and took evasive action, managing to escape the attack with no injury to the 20 crew, he added. There were no Japanese nationals on board.
Choong said the pirate mothership was spotted near the scene of the attack.
"We call on the United Nations and the international community, especially those with naval assets to take action," he told AFP. "It appears the attacks are continuing and the pirates are looking for more ships to hijack," he added.
Of the 24 Somali attacks, 19 occurred in the Gulf of Aden off the countryÂ’s north coast. |