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Somalian pirates have seized a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 Russian built T-72 tanks and "a substantial quantity of ammunition", according to the Ukrainian defence ministry. It is not yet known where the vessel has been taken.
There has been a dramatic increase in attacks on vessels in the shipping routes near Somalia's coast in recent months. Russia recently announced it would be implementing anti-piracy patrols in the waters off Somalia, sending a warship to the area earlier this week to protect Russian ships and crew.
Last week France also urged states to deploy naval vessels and aircraft to protect shipping in the region, and have intervened twice this year to release French nationals being held by Somalian pirates. Earlier this month Commandos freed two people who were being held for ransom after their yacht was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. In an earlier raid in April, six arrested hijackers were handed over to French authorities for trial.
There has been no effective government in Somalia for 17 years, which has led to a collapse of law and order on land as well as at sea. At the present time Somalian pirates are holding over a dozen hijacked ships for ransom in their base at Eyl, a sea-port in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
Security analysts say that the recent incidents show the waters off Somalia have become a global security problem, and that maritime piracy has become big business with seemingly no concerted response to the issue. UN officials estimate ransoms generated from hijacking ships in the waters off Somalia would exceed £50m a year.
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