Warships Sent in As Attacks Increase

So dangerous have the waters off Somalia become that shipping companies are considering shunning one of the world's busiest trading routes, even though this would increase some journeys by three weeks.

To go the long way round Cape Horn rather than sailing through the Suez canal would send the cost of goods shooting up. It could make this a disappointing Christmas for some if companies shipping items such as computer games from the far east to Europe decide the area is too dangerous.

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) there have been 92 pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia this year. Of these, 36 were hijackings. More than 500 crew members have been taken hostage and 14 hijacked vessels are still being held. Nine crew members have been killed and another nine are missing, presumed dead.

Insurance premiums in the Gulf of Aden have increased tenfold because of the problem, crews are getting harder to find, and there are fears that an environmental disaster could follow if pirates run a ship such as an oil tanker aground, or even sink one.

The IMB's director, Captain Pottengal Mukundan, said: "Pirates are growing increasingly brazen, attacking vessels, including tanker and large bulk carriers, with impunity. This major international seaway requires immediate increased protection.

"The types of attacks, the violence associated with the attacks, the number of hostages taken, and the amounts paid in ransoms for the release of the vessels have all increased considerably."

Until the seizure of the Sirius Star, the most striking attack this year was on the Ukrainian freighter MV Faina, which was loaded with battle tanks. It continues to be held.

In the summer the increase in the attacks prompted the UN, backed by Somalia's weak interim government, to authorize foreign counties to send warships into the dangerous waters to combat piracy. Two British frigates, HMS Cumberland and HMS Northumberland, are in the region.

There have been some successes. Last month French special services stormed the yacht of a French couple who had been captured by pirates and rescued them. Earlier this month British commandos killed two suspected pirates believed to have been part of a crew that tried to seize a Danish bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden.

It is thought that this increased military activity may have prompted the pirates who hijacked the Sirius Star to start preying on ships further out into the Indian Ocean, away from the zone the navies are patrolling.

The pirates' tactics are increasingly sophisticated. Many now operate skiffs with powerful outboard engines launched by "mother ships", which use GPS systems and satellite phones. Boarding time, from first sighting to capture, has been cut to 15 minutes. As a result ships are now warned to stay at least 200 nautical miles offshore.