Are Somali pirates expanding the war zone?
SATURDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2008 by Natalie Duval for Biodun Iginla @ BBC News, reporting from Mogadishu MOGADISHU December 10: After heavily armed Somali pirates attacked a Dutch container ship off the coast of Tanzania on Saturday, maritime observers are now getting increasingly concerned that Somali pirates are expanding their operations Southward into the vast swathe of the Indian Ocean off the East African coast. The vessel was about 500 miles east of Dar Es Salaam when she was fired at by eight pirates and set on fire. “The problem is that the pirates are no longer just attacking ships off the Somali coast but are going further east and south where there is no naval protection,” Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur told AFP. Eight pirates reportedly fired on the Dutch operated and Hong Kong registered vessel with assault rifles and RPGs. The vessel evaded them after the Captain increased speed to outrun the pirate boats. The Sir
