Russian Ship Seizes 29 Suspected Pirates

Attack is third within weeks off the coast long plagued by pirates

(NEWSER) - Pirates hijacked a Jordanian relief ship off the Somalia coast early yesterday, reports the BBC, and its 12-member international crew are now traveling north with its cargo of 4,000 tons of sugar. Jordan is reportedly working with the Danish embassy in Mogadishu, near where the boat was seized, to try to get the ship and crew released. More»

Brits reportedly safe after yacht seized off Somalia

(NEWSER) - A British couple whose yacht went missing in the Indian Ocean four days ago is being held by Somali pirates. The couple was captured during a round-the-world trip while sailing from the Seychelles to Tanzania; five international warships were searching hundreds of miles off the African coast for the pair. A pirate told the Times of London that they had "hijacked" the boat and that the couple was "healthy and in our hands." More»

(AP) - Russia's navy arrested eight men accused of hijacking the Arctic Sea freighter near Sweden and forcing the crew to sail to West Africa, the defense minister said today. The suspected hijackers were detained by the naval vessel that found the Russian-crewed freighter yesterday off Cape Verde, thousands of miles from the Algerian port where it was supposed to dock two weeks ago. More»

(AP) - Somali pirates have hijacked a German cargo ship carrying a crew of 11 in the Gulf of Aden, the latest seizure by high-seas bandits who are holding hundreds of merchant mariners hostage, the AP reports.The MV Victoria was captured yesterday 75 miles south of Yemen. There is no information on the condition of the Romanian crew aboard the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship. More»

Captain's use force wards off buccaneers

(NEWSER) - An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 passengers survived a pirate attack yesterday when the ship's captain ordered his security crew to fire back, CNN reports. The six armed men fled in their speedboat after drawing fire from the Melody, which was sailing off the coast of Somalia on the way back to Italy. No one on board was injured. More»