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Crew foils Somali pirate attack

05 January 2011 02:51 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A Somali pirates’ attack on a UK-flagged tanker in the North Arabian Sea has been foiled after crew members locked themselves in a safe room, maintaining control of the vessel, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The suspected pirates boarded the tanker but were forced to abandon their siege after crew members foiled their act by gaining control of the tanker, a naval task force said on Tuesday.

According to a statement by Bahrain-based Combines Maritime Forces, the pirates had opened fire from several different skiffs and had managed to board the merchant vessel CPO China on Monday, AP reported.

The attack took place at approximately 365 nautical miles southeast of Salalah in Oman.

The attack signals Somali pirates are expanding their attack ranges farther north.

In November, a UN report said that the number of successful hijackings by Somali pirates climbed in 2010 as well as becoming more violent and expanding in terms of the zone of attacks.