[Iran Press TV Latest] Somali pirates on Tuesday seized a British-flagged chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden on the same day a Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier was also hijacked. Reports said that the vessel, the St James Park, was captured in the Gulf of Aden en route to Thailand from Spain and is believed to be heading towards pirate lairs on the Somali coast.
St James Park has a crew of 25 with different nationalities and another 19 crew members were onboard the bulk carrier which was hijacked off Somalia's southern coast. The St James Park is the first merchant ship seized in the area in more than six months.
Nigel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center said the tanker issued a distress signal late Monday when it came under attack.
On the same day, the pirates reportedly released three vessels -- a Chinese coal ship, De Xin Hai, an Indian fishing dhow, the Laxim Sagar, and the Singapore-flagged container ship, Kota Wajar. Pirates said Saturday they had received a 3.5 million ransom for the Chinese coal ship.
Two Britons kidnapped by the sea bandits in October on the journey around the world are still in the pirates' captivity despite efforts to secure their release.
A multinational European Union-led naval armada dispatched to the region to battle piracy in the Horn of Africa has so far failed to tackle the growing crisis in one of the world's busiest shipping routes. The vastness of the region makes it impossible to patrol all areas at once, and the anti-piracy presence has pushed the outlaws to expand their operations.