Pirates have hijacked a Turkish ship with 20 crew members off the coast of Somalia, officials said Thursday.
The M/V Yasa Neslihan freighter was boarded in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, the International Maritime Bureau in Malaysia said, confirming news reports in Turkey.
Noel Choong, a bureau official, said pirates also attempted to hijack an Italian-operated general cargo ship with 26 crew on Tuesday in the same area but that it managed to escape with unspecified aggressive maneuvers.
"Pirate attacks are still continuing in the region, despite additional security measures. It is worrying," Choong told The Associated Press.
Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency said the Yasa Neslihan — which is registered in the Marshall Islands but managed and operated in Turkey — was carrying iron ore from Canada to China.
Turkey asked NATO forces to help end the hijacking off Somalia, an area where pirates often attack ships, Anatolia said.
NATO sent three ships over the weekend into the Gulf of Aden — one of the world's busiest shipping lanes — for anti-piracy patrols and to escort cargo vessels. Several U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet warships also have also been deployed off the Horn of Africa.
The Yasa Neslihan crisis raised the number of attacks on ships in the African waters this year to 77. Thirty-one ships have been hijacked, and 10 remain in the hands of pirates along with nearly 200 crew members, Choong said.
Each year about 20,000 vessels pass through the Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, and there recently has been an increase of piracy off Somalia.
The country is caught up in an Islamic insurgency and has no functioning government, no navy and no coast guard to police its coast.
This week the European Union announced details of its planned anti-piracy patrols off Somalia's coast, saying at least four warships backed by aircraft would begin policing the dangerous waters in December.
The EU flotilla will eventually take over patrolling the area from NATO ships, which began escorting vessels on Monday.
The M/V Yasa Neslihan freighter was boarded in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, the International Maritime Bureau in Malaysia said, confirming news reports in Turkey.
Noel Choong, a bureau official, said pirates also attempted to hijack an Italian-operated general cargo ship with 26 crew on Tuesday in the same area but that it managed to escape with unspecified aggressive maneuvers.
"Pirate attacks are still continuing in the region, despite additional security measures. It is worrying," Choong told The Associated Press.
Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency said the Yasa Neslihan — which is registered in the Marshall Islands but managed and operated in Turkey — was carrying iron ore from Canada to China.
Turkey asked NATO forces to help end the hijacking off Somalia, an area where pirates often attack ships, Anatolia said.
NATO sent three ships over the weekend into the Gulf of Aden — one of the world's busiest shipping lanes — for anti-piracy patrols and to escort cargo vessels. Several U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet warships also have also been deployed off the Horn of Africa.
The Yasa Neslihan crisis raised the number of attacks on ships in the African waters this year to 77. Thirty-one ships have been hijacked, and 10 remain in the hands of pirates along with nearly 200 crew members, Choong said.
Each year about 20,000 vessels pass through the Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, and there recently has been an increase of piracy off Somalia.
The country is caught up in an Islamic insurgency and has no functioning government, no navy and no coast guard to police its coast.
This week the European Union announced details of its planned anti-piracy patrols off Somalia's coast, saying at least four warships backed by aircraft would begin policing the dangerous waters in December.
The EU flotilla will eventually take over patrolling the area from NATO ships, which began escorting vessels on Monday.