Pirates attacking further offshore

Pirates attacking further offshore    The Maritime Security Center run by the EU Naval Force reported Wednesday morning that at Greek-owned Marshall Island-flagged vessel the Filitsa was hijacked in the south Somali Basin, 400 nautical miles North East of the Seychelles.
   The 23,709-deadweight-ton bulk ship has a crew of 22 consisting of three Greeks and 19 Filipino. The vessel that was heading for Durban, has now turned around and is heading north.
   On Monday the BW Lion, a Hong Kong-flagged 160.000 dwt crude oil tanker, was attacked by pirates in two fast attack skiffs firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades in the Indian Ocean, 400 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles and 1,000 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. The center said this was the longest range of a pirate attack off the Somali Coast ever. By increasing speed and evasive maneuvers the ship escaped and no casualties were reported.
   On Tuesday two containerships were attacked, and also escaped capture with no injuries. The Nele Maersk, a Denmark-flagged containership, came under fire near where the BW Lion was attacked. A second attack on Tuesday was in the southern part of the Somali Basin 530 nautical mile east of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and 420 nautical miles west of Victoria, Seychelles. Felicitas Rickmers, a Marshall Islands-flagged containership, was attacked by two small skiffs from which automatic weapons were fired.