Somalia Pirates step up activity
Somali pirates have seized five ships in recent days despite a stepped up naval presence in the Gulf of Aden region.
The BBC said a U.K.-owned ship, the Malaspina Castle, carrying a cargo of iron, was boarded in the Gulf of Aden Monday, and that a Taiwanese fishing boat was seized 160 miles from the Sychelles in the Indian Ocean.
A French yacht, a Yemeni tugboat and a German containership ship were also seized over the weekend.
The containership was identified as the 1,550-TEU German Hansa Stavanger. The ship, seized Saturday, is part of the fleet of the Hamburg shipping company Leonhardt & Blumberg.
