Somali pirates hijack tanker in Indian Ocean.Panamanian ship seized by pirates off Somali coast.. In Another Story :Judge upholds case of 5 Somali piracy suspects

somali pirates on Halloween again? Panamanian ship seized by pirates off Somali coast

Mogadishu - Somali pirates have hijacked a tanker nearly 600 nautical miles off Somalia, pirates and the European Union anti-piracy taskforce said on Saturday. The taskforce, EU Navfor, said gunmen attacked the MV Polar, a 72,825 ton Panama-flagged tanker with 24 crew members, overnight in the Somali basin. The crew includes one Romanian, three Greeks, four Montenegrins and 16 Filipinos. The tanker's owner confirmed pirates were now in control of the vessel, EU Navfor said. Somalia has lacked an effective central government for almost two decades and is awash with weapons. The mayhem on land has allowed piracy to boom in the strategic waterways off its shores linking Europe to Asia and Africa. - Reuters
Judge upholds case of 5 Somali piracy suspects