Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Search
Search:
Pirates fire on Dutch ship off Tanzania: watchdog
AFP - 2 hours 48 minutes ago
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7, 2008 (AFP) - Heavily-armed pirates attacked a Dutch container ship with 19 crew off Tanzania, sparking a fire on board but failing to take over the vessel, a global maritime watchdog said Sunday.
The fresh attack on Saturday came as the European Union prepared to launch its first-ever naval operation, patrolling pirate-infested seas near the Horn of Africa with six warships and three surveillance planes.
"Pirates believed to be from Somalia fired semi-automatic weapons and fired a rocket from a RPG at the Dutch-operated vessel," said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur.
"The ship caught fire but the captain successfully took evasive action to prevent a hijack. The ship sustained damage but managed to continue its voyage," he told AFP.
Choong said the ship, flying a Hong Kong flag, was attacked by eight pirates on two speedboats.
The incident happened 450 nautical miles east of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and 350 nautical miles west of the Seychelles, he said.
Choong urged seafarers to be on alert when plying the African coast.
"Pirate attacks are spreading to a wider area down south from the Somalia coast. This is not a good sign. Pirates have become bolder and more dangerous. They are also firing automatic weapons and rockets indiscriminately," he said.
Choong said the ship captain noticed a white hull fishing boat believed to the pirates' mother ship near the scene of the attack.
More than a dozen foreign merchant vessels and their crew are currently being held by gunmen in the area where the northeast tip of the Somali coast juts into the Indian Ocean.
The pirates, heavily armed and using high-powered speedboats, prey there on a key maritime route leading to the Suez Canal, through which an estimated 30 percent of the world's oil transits.
They hold ships for weeks at at time in a bid to secure large ransoms from governments or owners.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Asia Pacific
Maritime body issues S. China Sea piracy warningReuters - 20 minutes ago
SCDF to step up inspections to reduce fire outbreaksChannel NewsAsia - 36 minutes ago
Japanese PM's approval rating plunges: pollAFP - 1 hour 2 minutes ago
Doubt over NKorea talks as envoys gather in BeijingAFP - Monday, December 8
Negotiators set for 'tough' NKorea nuclear talksAP - 1 hour 16 minutes ago
Most Popular – Asia Pacific
Viewed
Diamond thieves pull off 100-million-dollar Paris heist
Girl, 8, among 17 dead in Manila shoot-out: police
Vinnie Jones gets into bar fight over role in X-Men
Oil price falls below $40
Formula One: Honda exit casts cloud over F1 future
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular