Somali pirates attack two more vessels, one seized, another freed

MOGADISHU, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Somali pirates attacked two more vessels on Saturday in the Indian Ocean off the Horn of Africa country, seizing a Belgian dredger but thwarted in an attempt to hold a tanker, according to reports monitored here. A Belgian dredger with 10 crew members on board was hijacked by pirates on Saturday morning, Belgian broadcaster VRT said.
The ship, which is owned by Belgian dredging firms Jan De Nul and DEME, was reportedly missing off the Somali coast. It sounded a silent alarm twice early in the morning, a staff member of the Belgian government's crisis center told the VRT. Jaak Raes of the crisis center, which is monitoring the situation, said the crew on board the Pompei include two Belgians, one Dutchman and several Croatian and Filipino nationals. The Pompei first sounded the alarm at around 5:30 a.m. A second distress call was received by coast guards at around 6 a.m. Later in the day, NATO forces captured seven Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and freed 20 people taken hostages. A NATO spokesperson said a Dutch warship with NATO mission took actions after the pirates launched an attack on the tanker MTHandytankers Magic. They chased the pirates fleeing on a small skiff before capturing a Yemeni-flagged fishing dhow taken by the pirates on Sunday as their "mother ship". The Dutch forces freed 20 Yemeni hostages on the dhow. ..more..http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/19/content_11212174.htm