索马里海盗又开始猖獗的劫持活动,在过去24小时内劫持了4艘船。一艘葡萄牙军舰上的北约官员说,海盗星期二劫持了悬挂多哥国旗的船“海马”号。
星期二早些时候,海盗劫持了正在驶过亚丁湾希腊货船“伊雷尼”号,船上有22名船员,都是菲律宾人。埃及外交部说,海盗星期一还劫持了两艘埃及渔船,船上有18到24人。
发生这些劫持活动的两天前,美国海军在营救一名美国货船船长的富有戏剧性的行动中打死了3名海盗。美国和其他国家试图以海军巡逻的方式遏制索马里海盗,但劫持活动在今年早些时候减少后,近几个星期又开始增多。
Somali pirates have renewed their hijacking spree, seizing four ships within the past 24 hours. NATO officials aboard a Portuguese warship say pirates hijacked a Togo-flagged ship, the MV Sea Horse, on Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, pirates took over a Greek freighter, the MV Irene E.M. as it traveled through the Gulf of Aden. That ship has 22 crew members, all of them Filipino. Egypt’s foreign ministry says pirates also seized two Egyptian fishing boats on Monday. The ministry says there are 18 to 24 people on board.
The hijackings come just two days after the U.S. Navy killed three pirates in the dramatic rescue of an American cargo ship captain. The U.S. and other countries have tried to stop Somali pirates with naval patrols, but the hijackings have increased in recent weeks after a lull earlier this year.