Hijacking off Tanzania shows expansion of pirate activity, Navy says

[Gerald]

(CNN) -- The hijacking of a container ship in the Indian Ocean Friday afternoon is evidence of a "constantly expanding area of pirate activity" off the Africa coast, military officials said.

At least five pirates, using two small boats and a rocket-propelled grenade, boarded the MV Panama, a Liberian-flagged vessel operated by a U.S. company, according to a statement by the European Union Naval Force Somalia.

The attack happened about 80 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian-Mozambique border, the statement said.

"This extreme southerly attack in the Somali Basin is a further example of the constantly expanding area of pirate activity," it said.

Pirate attacks have become a frequent hazard for sailors off Somalia, which has had no effective central government since 1991.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/af...ex.html?hpt=T2


Note: December 10, 2010 Updated 1904 GMT (0304 HKT)