Four Ships Seized in Gulf of Aden

Four ships have been seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden on the very day the UN Security Council authorized countries to pursue pirates on land.

Somali pirates have hijacked an Indonesian tugboat, a Turkish cargo ship, a Chinese fishing vessel and a yacht. All the ships were seized in the Gulf of Aden and on the same day the United Nations Security Council authorized countries to pursue the gunmen on land. The pirates have received millions of dollars in ransom to date and shipping insurance costs have risen as foreign navies patrol the shipping lanes off the Horn of Africa nation. In response, some of the world's biggest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and send cargo vessels around southern Africa instead. This reaction could push up the cost of commodities and manufactured goods. The UN Security Council resolutions says states "may undertake all necessary measures in Somali, including in its airspace" to stop the pirates. A Chinese fishing vessel Zhenhua-4 with 30 Chinese crew and a yacht with two on board had been seized off Yemen a day earlier. In addition, an Indonesian tugboat used by French oil company Total and a 100-meter (330-ft) cargo ship belonging to an Istanbul-based shipping company were also taken on Tuesday. The Somalia government controls only the capital Mogadishu and the seat of parliament Baidoa, while pirates are mostly based in the northern Puntland region. "We, Puntland authority, have agreed to support this resolution. And we want our security forces to work with the U.N. forces because we are the main victims of piracy," Abdulqadir Muse Yusuf, Puntland's assistant minister for fisheries said. There are supposedly 19 ships and nearly 400 crew being held in pirate hideouts along the Somali coast, including a Saudi supertanker with 2 million barrels of oil and a Ukrainian cargo ship with 33 tanks. Iran is stating five of its oil tankers had been attacked by pirates this year and the cost of crude may rise if strategic sea lanes went unprotected. China is, allegedly, seriously considering sending naval ships to the region to escort vessels. "We are daring them to try any attacks on Kenyan waters and we will sink them," Kenyan Chief of General Staff Jeremiah Kianga said.