Somali pirates intensify attacks in new areas: study

Somali pirates have carried out 35 of the 39 ship hijackings reported globally this year and extended their reach to the southern Red Sea for the first time, a maritime watchdog said Monday.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said that the number of hijackings worldwide in the first nine months of 2010 had risen from 34 in the same period last year.

"Somali pirates used ocean-going fishing vessels to reach as far as the southern Red Sea, where they hijacked a chemical tanker in July 2010, the first such hijacking recorded in the area," it said.

The London-based watchdog also reported a rebound in attacks in the South China Sea, a one-time hotspot where piracy had been virtually eradicated by naval patrols. Incidents in the area tripled to 30 in the year so far.

Over the weekend, South Korea's Foreign Affairs Ministry and the European Union naval force Eunavfor said South-Korean fishing vessel Golden Wave - formerly known as Keummi 305 - had been seized by pirates off Kenya's coast.

Separately, Somali pirates have released a Greek-operated vessel and its crew of 21 Filipino seamen following the payment of a ransom, the maritime watchdog Ecoterra International reported Monday, according to AFP.

Agencies