Spanish fishing boat chases off hijackers

In another sign that civilian vessels off Africa are taking responsibility for their own security, a Spanish fishing boat repelled an attack

A Spanish fishing boat thwarted an attack by pirates in the Indian Ocean in the early hours of Sunday morning, Spain's defence ministry said.
The pirates fired bullets and threw a grenade at the Spanish-flagged Ortube Berria, before being fought off by the ship's onboard private security guards, the ministry said in a statement.
The attack happened at 5:37 am (0437 GMT) some 230 nautical miles (426 kilometres) southwest of the Seychelles.
'No injuries or damage to equipment have been recorded,' the ministry said.
Around 50 private security contractors were sent from Spain in mid-November to protect Spanish fishing trawlers from piracy attacks.
Pirates seized another Spanish trawler, the Alakrana, on October 2 when it was over 300 nautical miles from the Somali coast.

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A US-bound oil tanker wasn't so lucky.

Somali pirates seized a tanker carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia to the United States in the increasingly dangerous waters off East Africa, an official said Monday, an attack that could pose a huge environmental or security threat to the region.
The Greece-flagged Maran Centaurus was hijacked Sunday about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) off the coast of Somalia, said Cmdr. John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU Naval Force. Harbour said it originated from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and was destined for the United States. The ship has 28 crew members on board, he said.
The shipping intelligence company Lloyd's List said the Maran Centaurus is a 'very large crude carrier, with a capacity of over 300,000 tons.' Officials could not immediately say how many barrels of oil were on board, but its value would be in the millions of dollars.
Pirates have increased attacks on vessels off East Africa for the millions in ransom that can be had. Though pirates have successfully hijacked dozens of vessels the last several years, Sunday's attack appears to be only the second ever on an oil tanker.

By: Brant