Pirate attacks prompt a call to arm ships: by Rebecca Cole

Somali Pirates Seize German-Owned Ship: ASSOCIATED PRESS - NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Somali pirates hijacked a German cargo ship carrying 10 crew members in the Gulf of Aden, the latest seizure by high-seas bandits who are holding hundreds of merchant mariners hostage, officials said Wednesday.

The German-owned ship, the MV Victoria, was captured Tuesday afternoon 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Yemen, said Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet. He had no information on the condition of the 10 Romanian crew members aboard the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship.

Koreas Unite in Piracy Rescue: SEOUL: A South Korean navy warship warned Somali pirates away from a North Korean freighter Monday by threatening to open fire, the South Korean military said.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the 4,500-ton-class warship sent a Lynx helicopter to assist the North Korean vessel after receiving a distress call that it was being chased by a pirate ship. The pirates gave up and fled after snipers on the helicopter prepared to fire warning shots.
The South Korean helicopter guided the North Korean ship to a safer area. The incident took place 23 miles south of the Yemeni port of Aden, according to South Korea. It was a rare instance of cooperation between the two Koreas. Relations have badly frayed since a conservative government in Seoul took power last year with a vow to get tough on the North over its nuclear program. Pyongyang has responded by cutting ties and halting key joint projects.

Pirates seize two European ships: Somali pirates hijacked a Greek and a Ukrainian ship, and a NATO warship briefly detained 19 pirates armed with explosives after foiling an attack on a Norwegian tanker in the Gulf of Aden.Pirates said they were taking the Ukrainian ship, hijacked in the Indian Ocean with a cargo that includes United Nations' vehicles, to the Somali coastal town of Harardhere."We have hijacked a ship carrying industrial equipment including white cars with the U.N. logo; our friends are on board it," a pirate who said his name was Hussein told Reuters news agency by telephone from Harardhere.Gunmen also seized a Greek-owned bulk carrier, the MT Ariana, flying a Maltese flag with a 24-member Ukrainian crew, Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance Program told Reuters.

NATO thwarts hijack off Somalia: Associated Press.