Login
Enter your details below to login
If you are an existing member of The Times and The Sunday Times enjoying the full benefits of thetimes.co.uk, then simply enter your Times+ login details below and press 'Enter'
Enter your details to login
Email address
Password
Keep me logged in information Keeps you logged in for a rolling 15 days or until you logout
Pirates from Somalia have captured two ships in the Gulf of Aden on Monday.  The ships thought to be captured are the British owned St James Park chemical tanker, and the Panamanian Navios Apollon cargo ship.  This brings the total number of ships being held by the pirates to ten.  Also on Monday, pirates released a Singapore-owned cargo ship, the Kota Wajar, for US$4 million (€2.7m, £2.5m) ransom.
Gulf of Aden 
The pirate commander Mohamed Shakir told ''The Times'' “We have hijacked a ship with a British flag in the Gulf of Aden late yesterday, we have peacefully captured the ship and no shots were fired and there are no casualties.”  The ''St James Park's'' owner Zodiac Maritime Agencies released a statement saying that none of the crew had been injured and that they are working to get the crew members released.

Somalia's provisional government has vowed to fight piracy in their territory, although the pirates appear to outnumber the government.  The government receives aid from foreign nations and the European Union to help fight the piracy.  Large ransoms appear to be the motive for young Somalians and foreigners to hijack these ships.