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Friday, June 12, 2009
Malindi, Kenya, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan authorities on Thursday charged 17 suspected Somali pirates who were handed over to the police on Wednesday by the U.S. Navy.
The 17 Somalis denied the charges in a Malindi court of attacking the Egyptian-flagged commercial ship MV Amira in the Gulf of Aden on May 13 which was sailing towards Alexandria, Egypt.
The suspects who were not represented by the lawyer were charged with attacking MV Amira while armed with offensive weapons including six AK 47 rifles, one pistol and one Somali sword, putting the lives of the crew in danger.
The suspects, who were brought to Mombasa aboard a U.S. Navy ship, Gettysburg, add the total number of Somali pirates who have been handed over the Kenyan authorities to 111, while 10 others are serving a seven-year jail term after their appeal was struck off by the high court last month.
The development came as the U.S. Navy warned the Somali pirates were expanding their range of operations far beyond the East African coast.
They Navy said one attack has been confirmed on a ship as far north as the Red Sea. The gangs have also extended their raids down beyond the Seychelles.
A statement from the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet said one raid took place at the southern end of the Red Sea at the end of May and ships should be cautious in that area.
"Pirates have also recently increased their number of attacks during the hours of darkness, highlighting the need for heightened vigilance of merchant mariners during both day and night time transits through the high risk areas," the U.S. Navy said.
The pirates were able to strike further away from the coast with the help of bigger mother ships. It also warned that an increasing number of attacks were being carried out at night.
Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships over the last year and a half, receiving millions of dollars in ransom to release vessels and their crews.
More than 30,000 vessels annually transit the pirate-plagued Gulf of Aden and the busy shipping lane has offered rich picking for raiders. The gangs are currently holding 14 ships and more than 200 seamen in the region.
The European Union, along with the United States and other nations, has been conducting naval patrols off the coast of Somalia to protect commercial vessels and deter pirate attacks. Somalia's weak central government lacks the power to stop the piracy.
Source: Xinhua, June 12, 2009