Pirates Hijack 4 More Ships in Gulf of Aden

Pirates are striking targets in the Gulf of Aden. From Sky News.

Nato staff officer Stephan Gresmak said that in the latest ambush, 10 pirates on board three skiffs fired automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at the Safmarine Asia.

It was not known whether anyone aboard the 21,887-tonne Liberian cargo vessel was injured in the attack.

Earlier, Nato's Maritime Headquarters confirmed that the Lebanese-owned, Togo-flagged MV Sea Horse had been boarded by pirates.

It was hijacked after pirates had also seized the MV Irene EM, a Greek-managed bulk carrier sailing from the Middle East to South Asia.

Two Egyptian fishing boats were also hijacked, so those crews will either be used for ransom or the boats will be used to launch more pirate attacks against bigger vessels.

That makes 4 ships hijacked and at least 1 other major attack since the US Navy rescued Captain Phillips.

The AP also adds this:

Pirates have attacked 78 ships this year, hijacking 19 of them, and 17 ships with over 300 crew still remain in pirates' hands, according to Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.

Despite all the naval power from 16 countries now operating in the region against piracy that wasn't there last year, piracy is up considerably compared to the same time last year, when at the end of April 2008, there were only 7 attacks and 4 ships hijacked. We still have half a month to go before April 2009 is over.