Somali pirates seize Spanish boat

[frigidmagi]

BBC

A Spanish fishing boat with 26 crew on board has been seized by pirates off Somalia, officials in Spain say.

They say the Playa de Bakio - a Basque tuna boat - was attacked about 250 miles (400km) off the coast.

A source from the Basque regional government said the boat was in "international waters". The fate of the crew is unknown.

Somali coastal waters are among the most hazardous in the world, despite the presence of US navy patrols.

Grenade launchers

A source from the Basque government's Agriculture, Fisheries and Food department told Spanish news agency Efe that four armed pirates took control of the boat using grenade launchers.

The source said the crew was made up of 13 Africans and 13 Spaniards, and the boat suffered "some damage" in the attack but is "navigable".

The boat is currently heading towards Somalia, the source added.

It comes a few days after a Paris court charged six Somalis with taking a French luxury yacht's crew hostage earlier this month.

The yacht's 30-member crew were held hostage for a week but released after its owners apparently paid a ransom of $2m (£1m; 1.3m euros).

The pirates were then picked up by French commandos in a helicopter raid.

Last year, more than 25 ships were seized by pirates in Somali coastal waters.

Somalia has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity.

This is getting annoying as hell, the BRN and USN should be unleashed on these clowns.

[LadyTevar]

The problem is neither the US nor the UK want to cause a fuss by chasing the pirates to their hideyholes in Somalia waters.

[Rogue 9]

Who the hell cares? It's not like Somalia has a government to lodge complaints about it.

[LadyTevar]

It does have a government... of sorts... it's just mostly ignored and only holds a couple cities.

[Rogue 9]

Yeah, and you'd think they'd be happy if the US Navy got rid of some of their problems.