Somali Pirates Plan Retaliation

Pirates have hijacked two ships off the coast of Somalia today. The incident marks the tenth vessel to be seized in the month of April alone.
According to CNN reports, the ocean mob hijacked a 35,000 ton Greek-owned bulk carrier, the MV Irvine, in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia’s northern coast. The European Union’s Maritime Security Center have already been contacted and warned other ships to stay clear of the area.

The incident occurred moments after the 5,000-ton MV Sea Horse was taken by gunmen who approached the ships in small motor boats, Nato officials said. Nato spokesman, Alexandre Fernandes, confirmed, “there was only three minutes between the alarm and the hijack. They attacked at night, which was very unusual. They were using the moonlight as it’s still quite bright.”

The April 14 hijackings follow the killing of three pirates, who were holding an American ship captain hostage, by U.S. Navy SEA Ls snipers. Analysts say the marauders are clearly not threatened by recent US hostage rescues that left bandits dead, reports the BBC. Somali pirate leaders, who have usually returned captives unharmed in order to collect ransom payouts, vowed on Monday to avenge the deaths of their comrades. President Obama has initiated efforts to “halt the rise of piracy” in one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. So far, efforts to end the raids have not been proven successful, as international nautical patrols struggling to cover the massive areas of ocean where the pirates operate.