Pirates fired grenade launchers and machine-guns at a cargo ship in the Indian Ocean well off the coast of Somalia, sparking concerns that key shipping routes are threatened, a Malaysia-based maritime watchdog said yesterday. The cargo ship Ibn Younus managed to escape by steering a zig-zag course during an hour-long chase. Noel Choong, of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, said piracy was on the rise again in Somalia, with Monday's attack the fifth since April. Three heavily armed men in a speedboat approached the ship and ordered it to stop. "They started firing with machine-guns toward the bridge of the ship," Mr Choong said. "The pirates then opened fire with the grenade launcher and hit the crew's cabins, causing severe damage."
The attack - Somalia's seventh at sea so far this year - occurred 180 miles off the coast, compared to previous raids that took place close to the shoreline. The bureau has advised ships to stay at least 200 miles off Somalia's coast.