Pirates hijack two freighters off coast of Somalia

Pirates have hijacked two freighters off Somalia, bringing to three the number of vessels seized in the same region this week, a Kenyan maritime official said on Thursday. The MV Arean and the MV Lehmann Timber were seized in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan branch of the Seafarers' Assistance Program. "We have confirmed that the pirates are onboard the two vessels, but we have not received any demands for ransom," he told AFP. Mwangura said they were yet to receive information about the crews, the vessels' ports of origin and destination. He said Turkish-flagged MC Arean was owned by Arkia Company of Malta, but had no information on the MV Lehmann. On Sunday, hijackers took control of Dutch-owned MV Amiya Scan along with its nine Russian and Filipino crew in the same region that has seen a string of attacks recently.