16 Sep 2009
Somali pirates have failed to hijack a North Korean cargo ship after the crew responded with Molotov cocktails while speeding away, says a maritime official.

The North Korean ship was adrift off the Somali coast near Mogadishu on September 5 for engine work when the crew saw 10 pirates approaching in two speedboats, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center based in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

The captain later told the maritime bureau that a US warship arrived at the scene, but the pirates had already fled, Choong added. He could not confirm it was a US ship.

The vessel was heading to the Middle East when it was attacked.

In a separate incident, a Greek-managed ship with 22 Filipino crewmen was freed by Somali pirates after they had spent five months in captivity, the Philippine officials said.

So far this year, 156 ships have been attacked off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Piracy has flourished off the coast of Somalia, which has not had an effective government since 1991.

presstv