11 seconds ago 2009-12-04T10:20:03-08:00
BRUSSELS (AFP) – Pirates attacked on Tuesday a Danish-flagged container ship a day after a foiled long-range attack on an oil tanker in the same area deep into the Indian Ocean, the EU naval mission said.
"Pirates fired automatic weapons on MV Nelle Maersk but she could outrun the pirates with a high speed. No casualties were reported," the EU's Atalanta mission said in a statement.
The attack, some 1,000 nautical miles east of the Somali capital Mogadishu, came a day after Somali pirates launched their farthest-ever strike from the coast, firing rocket propelled grenades at the Hong Kong-flagged tanker BW Lion.
The EU force also reported a second attack early on Tuesday in the southern part of the Somali Basin 530 nautical mile east of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and 420 nautical miles west of the Seychelles.
The Marshall Islands-flagged container ship Felicitas Rickmers was attacked by suspected pirates firing automatic weapons from two fast boats, but it too escaped without casualties.
The world's naval powers last year deployed warships in the Gulf of Aden in an attempt to curb attacks by ransom-hunting pirates that were seen as a threat to one of the globe's most crucial maritime trade routes.
Pirates have since shifted their focus to the wider Indian Ocean, a huge area much more difficult to patrol, and have ventured as far as the Seychelles and beyond.
Related article: Spain 'negotiating with Somalia' over pirates
