AP: Somali pirates hijack Saudi oil tanker going to US

NAIROBI, Kenya — The EU's anti-piracy force says Somali pirates have seized a super tanker carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia to the United States.

Cmdr. John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU Naval Force, says the Greek-owned Maran Centaurus was hijacked Sunday about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) off the coast of Somalia.

Pirates have increased attacks on vessels off East Africa for the millions of dollars of ransom that can be had. A tanker full of oil would be worth millions and could pose a huge security and environmental threat to the region.

Harbour says there were 28 crew members on board the 300,000-ton ship.

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CNN: Pirates seize Greek ship off Seychelles

Suspected Somali pirates hijacked a Greek-owned bulk carrier Wednesday with 22 crew members aboard, according to the European Union's Naval Force for Somalia.

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Christian Science Monitor: Are Somalia's pirates linked to Al Qaeda?

Reports that pirates may want to swap a British couple they captured last week for fellow pirates detained by foreign navies have fueled speculation that the pirates are linking up with Islamist militants.

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Bloomberg: Somali Pirates Attack, Board Thai Vessel, EU Naval Force Says

Somali pirates in two skiffs attacked and then boarded a Thai-flagged fishing vessel, the Thai Union 3, north of Seychelles and off the coast of Somalia, the European Union Naval Force said.

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BBC: Somalia to 'purge piracy by 2011'

Somalia's prime minister has said his government will eradicate piracy off its coast within the next two years.

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BBC: Somali piracy's economic impact

The news that Somali pirates say they have seized a yacht carrying a British couple means another incident will probably have to be added to a growing list.

In fact, there has been a dramatic increase in that list this year.

New figures from the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre show that this year already exceeds the whole of 2008 for attacks, and it says the increase is down to activity off the Somali coast.

And it's not just huge tankers now but small ships which are being taken for ransom.

So what impact is this increase in attacks having on the global shipping industry?

or here.