Somali pirates have seized another ship, a Greek bulk carrier, despite a large international naval presence in the waters off their lawless country, a regional maritime group said on Wednesday.
The vessel was the second they have taken since the weekend's spectacular capture of a Saudi supertanker carrying $100 million of oil that was the largest hijack in history.
It was the latest attack in a wave of Somali piracy this year that has driven up insurance costs, made some shipping companies change their routes and prompted an unprecedented military response from NATO, the European Union and others.
'The pirates are sending out a message to the world that we can do what we want, we can think the unthinkable, do the unexpected',' Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told Reuters in Mombasa.
His group said the Greek ship was taken on Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden with between 23 and 25 crew on board. This followed the hijacking of a Hong Kong-flagged ship carrying grain and bound for Iran.
No word what's on the tanker, but since the Somalis already have 30+ tanks, a tanker of fuel, a boatload of wheat, maybe they've got irrigation pipes, or a disassembled hospital, or a load of toxic Chinese toys.
By: Brant
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