By KATHARINE HOURELD
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Pirates have expanded their range south and east in response to an increase in patrols by European and American warships off the Somali shore.
The hijacking of the three Thai vessels happened Sunday, said Cmdr. John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU Naval Force. The attack took place well outside the area that the EU force operates in, he said.
The three vessels — the MV Prantalay 11, 12, and 14 — have 77 crew onboard in total. All the crew are Thai, Harbour said. The owner of the vessels is PT Interfishery Ltd.
Pirates have increased attacks against shipping vessels over the last year in hopes of netting the multi-million dollar ransoms they can earn. Because of increased naval patrols and increased defenses on board commercial vessels, the pirates' success rate has gone down, though the number of successful attacks has stayed about the same year over year.
Source: AP