Somali pirates opened fire on a cargo ship off the Horn of Africa today, Nato officials said, hours after the sea gangs hijacked two other vessels in a sharp escalation of their attacks.
Nato staff officer Stephan Gresmak said 10 pirates on board three skiffs fired automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at the Liberian-flagged 21,887-tonne Safmarine Asia. There was no immediate word of any casualties.
The East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said all 22 crew aboard are unharmed. The nationalities of the sailors remained unclear.
Earlier pirates hijacked a Greek-owned bulk carrier in a rare moonlit seizure off Somalia's coast.
The brazen capture of the MV Irene EMhours before dawn was a clear sign the sea gangs planned to continue their crime wave despite two deadly raids in recent days by US and French special forces targeting their colleagues.
Nato Lieutenant Commander Alexandre Fernandes said the Portuguese warship NRP Corte-Realhad received a distress call from the St Vincent and the Grenadines-flagged merchant ship as it travelled through the Gulf of Aden.
"There was only three minutes between the alarm and the hijack," Mr Fernandes said aboard the warship.
"[The pirates] attacked at night, which was very unusual. They were using the moonlight as it's still quite bright."
Heavily armed gunmen from the failed Horn of Africa state have run amok through the busy shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean and strategic Gulf of Aden, capturing dozens of vessels and making off with millions of dollars in ransoms.
Nato officials said a Canadian warship had sent a helicopter to investigate what was happening. "There are hostages so now we will shadow and monitor the situation," Mr Fernandes said.
Foreign navies stalk the high seas off Somalia. But the pirates have continued to evade capture, driving up insurance rates and defying the world's most powerful militaries.
US Navy snipers aboard a US destroyer freed an American ship captain on Sunday by killing three Somali pirates holding him hostage in a lifeboat, ending a five-day standoff. Two more pirates died on Friday when French commandos stormed a yacht that had been seized. A French hostage was also killed.
Some fear the bloody assaults by Washington and Paris to free their hostages may raise the risk of future bloodshed. The pirates have vowed to take revenge on US and French citizens.
Foreign navies are patrolling the seas off Somalia but the pirates have largely evaded them, driving up insurance costs and defying the world's most powerful militaries. Until there is political stability onshore, say experts, attacks on shipping will continue off Somalia's coast.
A.P. Moller Maersk, owner of the US-captained Maersk Alabamacaught up in Sunday's incident, said it was reviewing policies and procedures for sailing off Somalia and urged the international community to unite to find a solution to piracy.
So far, the sea gangs have generally treated their captives well in the hope of fetching big ransom payouts. Piracy is lucrative in chaotic Somalia, where the brigands armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers have thrived.
Reuters