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Somali pirates hijack a Taiwan vessel

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-07 11:54

A fishing ship "MV Win Far 161" from China's Taiwan and a cargo ship "Malaspina Castle" from Britain were hijacked on the world's dangerous waters early Monday, authorities said.

Andrew Mwangura, the East Africa's Coordinator or Africa Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP), said the Taiwan fishing vessel was seized near an island in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean on Sunday. Hecould not establish the location of the attack on the British-owned cargo ship.

"I have not established the correct number of the crew in the four vessels. The French-yacht and Yemeni vessels were hijacked on Sunday while British and Taiwanese vessels were hijacked early today," Mwangura said.

"I have not also established their nationalities or numbers of crew on board the vessels or the exact time of the attacks," said Mwangura.

The armed Somali pirates seized several European-owned tankers in recent months. The pirates typically use speed boats launched from "mother ships".

They then take captured vessels to remote coastal village bases in Somalia, where they have usually treat their hostages well in anticipation of a sizeable ransom payment.

The increased piracy activities in the Indian Ocean off Somali waters have prompted the international community to deploy security forces in the area to cub frequent hijackings of cargo ships.

The international community has been searching for ways to prosecute pirates since the rate of attacks in the region spiked, last year.

Last year, more than 40 ships and 800 crew members were hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of East Africa.