Pirates hijack another ship off Somalia

The merchant ship was seized by heavily armed men near the town of Aile off the coast of Somalia, the United Kingdom's Merchant Marine Service said, as quoted by Fox News. It cited military authorities as the source of the information. The agency did not provide details on who the kidnappers were, but said an investigation was underway.
European Union navies said a Maltese-flagged merchant ship was hijacked in the nearby Arabian Sea last week and moved to the same area off the coast of Somalia. The Bulgarian bulk carrier Rouen was carrying a crew of 18 when it was hijacked near the Yemeni island of Socotra, about 150 miles from Somalia. One crew member was subsequently evacuated to an Indian Navy vessel for medical assistance. Suspicion of that hijacking fell on Somali pirates, although EU forces said the kidnappers and their demands were unknown.
There has been a recent surge in attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which have been disrupting a major global trade route. The Houthis initially targeted ships linked to Israel because of the war between Israel and Hamas, but have since escalated their attacks, hitting ships with no clear connections. The Pentagon said last month that five gunmen who hijacked a merchant ship near Yemen and were captured by US forces were likely Somalis and that the attack, initially blamed on the Houthis, was "piracy-related". Somalia's maritime police have since stepped up their patrols
Attacks on vessels by Somali pirates peaked at more than 350 between 2010 and 2015, but have since declined dramatically, largely due to patrols by US and other allied navies. /BGNES