Seize two more ships :

Somali pirates step up hijacking spree

SOMALIA: Somali pirates seized two more ships on Tuesday, brushing off their losses from deadly rescue operations and throwing down the gauntlet to US President Barack Obama after he pledged to curb piracy.

It brought to four the number of vessels taken since the US navy operation on Sunday which saved an American skipper but led to the deaths of three pirates, upping the stakes in the dangerous waters off the Horn of Africa.

Pirates off the coast of Somalia also attacked a US flagged freighter with rocket fire and automatic weapons Tuesday, but the vessel escaped with only minor damage, the ship owners said in a statement.

The MV Irena, a 35,000-tonne Greek-operated merchant vessel flagged in Saint-Vincent and the Grenadines, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden, the European Union's naval mission in the area said. Its 22 Filipino crew is believed to be safe.

Hours later a NATO spokeswoman said a second freighter, Lebanese-owned and flying a Togolese flag, had been seized by pirates off the Horn of Africa, the 10th hijacking in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean this month.

"I can confirm that a second cargo ship, the Sea Horse, has been seized," said spokeswoman Shona Lowe from NATO's Northwood maritime command centre in England.

She could not provide details on the numbers or nationalities that had been aboard the ship nor how many remained in danger.

The pirates attacked the vessel "on three or four skiffs," she said.

The American freighter Liberty Sun requested assistance of the US Navy "which dispatched forces to assist the crew and the vessel," the Liberty Maritime Corporation said in a statement. "We are grateful and pleased that no one was injured and the crew and the ship are safe," the Lake Success, New York-based Liberty Maritime said in its brief statement.

The Liberty Sun was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, from Houston, Texas carrying food aid cargo for African nations. Earlier this week it made a stop in Port Sudan, and on Tuesday was continuing its voyage when it came under pirate

Nairobi, Wednesday, AFP