BEIRUT, EDMUND SANDERS AND NAIROBI, KENYA — Pirates prowling the treacherous waters off the Horn of Africa hijacked another merchant ship Tuesday -- at least the second in four days -- amid growing international concern about a 21st century version of an ancient security threat.
The Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship Delight and its 25-person crew were captured late Tuesday morning off the coast of Yemen, Beijing's New China News Agency reported, citing the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center. It was hauling 36,000 metric tons of wheat to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, the news service reported.
U.S. forces in the Middle East confirmed the hijacking but could provide no further details.
Meanwhile, the 1,000-foot-long Sirius Star, a massive oil tanker hijacked by suspected Somali pirates Saturday, was moored off the central coast of Somalia, the boat's operator said. The ship was anchored Tuesday several miles offshore, within sight of a Somali fishing region considered a haven for seafaring bandits, the U.S. military in the Middle East said.
"The ship is anchored off the coast near Harardhere, a traditional pirate stronghold," said Navy Lt. Nathan Christensen, spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet, based in the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain.
Piracy in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden has become a scourge, threatening shipping lanes and driving up insurance costs. The pirates often stage their heists from Somalia, a lawless country with a weak central government that is grappling with a violent Islamist insurgency. Using speedboats that swarm the targets, the machine-gun-toting pirates take control of merchant ships and then hold the vessels, crew and cargo for ransom.
In addition to the Sirius Star and Delight, the International Maritime Bureau has reported at least eight other attacks by pirates on shipping in the region since the beginning of last week, most of them warded off by seamen aboard the targeted vessels.
In an interview with The Times in Nairobi, Kenya, shortly after the hijacking of the Sirius Star was announced, Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein bemoaned the effect of piracy on his nation, which is already beset by poverty, hunger and rebellion.
"Piracy is disturbing everything in Somalia, disturbing normal life, disturbing trade and commerce, disturbing the movement of humanitarian aid," he said Tuesday.
