SOMALI pirates have launched unsuccessful attacks on vessels from the Gulf of Aden to the Indian Ocean with one ship coming under fire, reports Lloyd`s List.
London`s Containerisation International reported that a German-owned LPG carrier was abandoned by its Somali captors found themselves powerless after the ship`s crew disabled the ship and locked themselves in a secure panic room, or "citadel" as they are being called at sea.
The 4,197-ton French-flagged gas tanker Maido was attacked and boarded by pirates about 100 miles off the Tanzanian coast, but as in the case of the Beluga vessel, the French-flagged ship`s crew reacted swiftly to immobilise the ship before locking themselves into the fortified cabin.
Ships attacked include the Hong Kong-flagged 318,000-ton tanker Starlight Venture which encountered pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the UK-flagged 6,673-TEU Maersk Karachi, which was attacked in the Indian Ocean.
Another was the Liberian-flagged 73,630-ton Hellespont Protector which was also unsuccessfully attacked while in a warship-protected convoy.
"When the attack occurred the master took evasive action to deter the pirates. The Thai Navy launched a helicopter in response to the request for assistance by the vessel," said EU Navfor, the European Union`s anti-piracy naval patrol force.
"Although shots were fired at the Hellespont Protector the vessel followed best management practices and the pirates were not able to board the vessel. They eventually stopped."