As per the information revealed by the EU Naval Force Somali pirates hijacked three Thai fishing vessels with 77 crew aboard more than 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometres) off the Somali coast, the farthest-off-shore attack to date. The incident proves that pirates have expanded their range south and east in response to an increase in patrols by European and American warships off the Somali shore.
Cmdr. John Harbour, spokesman for EU Naval Force, said that the hijacking of the three Thai vessels Sunday was almost 600 miles outside the normal operation area for the EU Naval Force. He further said that the attack so far out at sea was a clear indication that the EU, NATO and U.S.-led anti-piracy missions were having a “marked effect on pirate activity in the area.
Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the British think-tank Chatham House, said that once they start attacking that far out, you’re not even really talking about the Somali basin or areas of water that have any connection with Somalia. 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.
It is true that the number of attacks have been increased by the pirates recently as they are ought to get the multi-million dollar ransoms they can earn. Because of increased naval patrols and increased defences 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.
