UN ship attacked off Somalia

2006-03-17 12:56

Kuala Lumpur - An international piracy watchdog on Friday warned of fresh attacks off Somalia after heavily armed pirates fired on a United Nations food aid ship.

Noel Choong, head of the Piracy Reporting Centre of the London-based International Maritime Bureau, said: "About five pirates armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades tried to hijack the UN-chartered ship."

He said the attack took place off the Somalian coast on Monday after the ship had discharged its cargo.

The MV Rozen, which was on its way to Kenya, transported food rations for the World Food Programme (WFP) to drought victims in Somalia. Choong said the ship managed to out-run the pirates and also rammed their vessel.

Choong said that more international policing of Somalian waters was required to prevent further attacks, adding there had been four attacks so far in 2006.

He said that in a recent incident, pirates hijacked an Indian ship, the Bhakti Saga, on February 26 and were still holding its 25-member crew and had demanded a ransom.

The waters around Somalia were among the most dangerous in the world, with heavily armed gangs prepared to venture far offshore to attack vessels.

- AFP