Pirates attack Japanese tanker, Spanish boat in Gulf of Aden

On Monday a Japanese oil tanker was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden. As a result hundreds og gallons of fuel was emptied into the sea.

The latest attacks shows that there are an increasing number of pirates out there who are well-armed and now there is an international demand for better protection of the world's shipping lanes. The Untied Nations will be receiving a proposal from France and the proposal would allow countries to go and chase pirate's when they try to flee into territorial waters. The proposal will also try and urge stronger maritime patrols in high-risk areas. The proposals come after a French yacht was attacked and captured this month. The incident occurred in the Gulf of Aden and the pirates fired their weapons at the tanker and as a result a hole was ripped in the ship and fuel leaked into the sea. On Monday crude oil prices went above $117 because of the recent incident. The tanker was on route to Saudi Arabia when it was attacked. There were no injuries involved according to the ship's operator Nippon Yusen K.K. The day before there was another attack and the pirates attacked the Spanish Playa de Bakio and there was no serious damage according to an official in Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's office. A frigate was sent, by Spain, to the site of the hijacking which is about 200 miles off the coast of Somalia. Pirates forced their way onto the ship, which carried twenty-six crew members. Somalia pirates were accused of holding 30 hostages who were aboard a French luxury yacht and they were held for a week in the Gulf of Aden, according to France. The six pirates were eventually captured after they were chased by a French military helicopter after the ship's owner paid a ransom. According to a source piracy is on the rise and a huge problem because according to a report pirate attacks are up 20 percent from last year and that is just for the period of January and March. According to the report the No. 1 spot for pirate attacks is Nigeria and India and the gulf of Aden are tied for second. The report said that India were just low key attacks aimed at theft and the Gulf of Aden were more prone to hijackings. Somalia does not have a Navy and the country has seen more than a decade of violence and anarchy. Back in 2004 Somalia formed a transitional government with the U.N. but it has still struggled to get things under control. The U.S. Navy has been leading international patrols in an effort to combat pirates in the region. On Monday the European Union presidency urged the need for a strong international effort to combat piracy and urged immediate action. Cyrus Mody is a senior analyst at the Maritime Bureau and he said that piracy would have a huge effect on the shipping industry. Mody says that insurance gets involved, premiums than go up and than the owner gets mad and will raise his freight cost, he warned. This is a huge problem and these pirates need to be stopped and countries should be allowed to chase them into territorial waters.