Somali pirates try to take over Israeli-owned ship

Somali pirates on Saturday tried to take over an Israeli-owned merchant ship while it was sailing some 700 kilometers off the shores of east Africa. The vessel was flying the Maltese flag, and none of the crew on board was Israeli. Early Saturday morning, the pirates started chasing the ship in two speed boats and opened machinegun fire on it. They were unable When news of the incident reached the headquarters of Zim Shipping Services in Haifa, they contacted NATO marine forces in the Gulf of Aden via the Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Navy. A British jet was dispatched to the scene and reported back that the pirate ships had turned back. Zim CEO Idan Ofer said that he wished "to thank the crew and the captain for their bravery and resourcefulness. And special thanks should go to the NATO headquarters that dispatched the aircraft, and the Foreign Ministry and the Navy, that helped us establish the contact with NATO." "The international community must put an end to this dangerous phenomenon of piracy off the shores of Somalia and restore maritime safety," he said.

By Avi Bar-Eli, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service