Cmdr. John Harbor said Tuesday the Sakoba was taken last week, but many details remain unclear. The owner has not been in touch and the ship was not registered with maritime authorities. The crew nationalities and numbers are unknown.

Pirate attacks usually peak in March and April when the seas are calmer and the past week has seen a flurry of attacks and shoot-outs between pirates and security forces.

It is very unusual for a ship owner not to report a hijacked vessel to naval authorities. Naval authorities say there has been no communication with the crew. However, Harbor said that armed pirates have been sighted onboard.

The Sakoba was last registered in Spain three years ago but the Spanish Environment Ministry, which handles maritime affairs, said the vessel is Kenyan-owned.

The ship was apparently taken about 400 miles (640 kilometers) east of the Tanzanian city of Dar Salaam last Wednesday, Harbor said. Somali pirates have been extending their reach south into the Indian Ocean because of stepped up naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden.

Harbor said the pirates may use the hijacked vessel as a 'mothership' to carry extra food, fuel and water and tow pirate speedboats hundreds of miles out to sea. The Sakoba is following the path of another hijacked ship, a Norwegian chemical tanker, which was seized on Friday near Madagascar. Both vessels appeared to be headed for the pirate stronghold of Haradheere, he said.

The failed state of Somalia provides the perfect haven for pirates, which prey on the busy shipping lanes nearby. The Somali government is fighting an Islamist insurgency and cannot take on the well-armed, well-paid pirate gangs as well. Ransoms are typically several million dollars - a fortune in a war-ravaged country where nearly half the population is dependent on aid.
 

Other ships currently being held by Somali pirates:

T Seized on Nov. 16, 2009. The chemical tanker was hijacked in the south Somali Basin, northwest of the Seychelles. The 22,294 dwt tanker had a crew of 28 North Koreans. The captain of the tanker died from gunshot wounds suffered during the hijacking, a Somali pirate said.

Seized on Dec. 25, 2009: The Yemeni-owned ship was captured in the Gulf of Aden after it left the port of Alshahr in the eastern province of Hadramout. There were six Yemeni crew on board.

Seized on Dec. 28, 2009. The British-flagged 13,924 dwt chemical tanker was bound for Thailand from Spain with a chemical used in plastics production when it sent a distress signal from the Gulf of Aden. Its 26 crew members were from Bulgaria, Georgia, India, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Seized on Jan. 1, 2010. The British-flagged vehicle carrier was hijacked about 900 miles north of the Seychelles. The 25 crew consisted of eight Bulgarians including the captain, 10 Ukrainians, five Indians and two Romanians.

Seized on Feb. 2, 2010. The 4,800-ton Libyan-owned cargo ship was seized in the strategic channel south of Yemen.

It said it was flying a North Korean flag, but was owned by White Sea Shipping of Tripoli. It carried a crew of at least 10, all Syrian. *

Seized on March 1, 2010. The Saudi-owned 5,136 deadweight ton tanker was on its way from Japan to Jeddah with one Greek and 13 Sri Lankan crew members.

Seized on March 5, 2010. Pirates hijacked the Marshall-Islands-registered tanker off Madagascar. It was carrying fuel oil from the United Arab Emirates to Tanzania and had a crew of 21. The 9,000 dwt tanker is owned by Norwegian company Brovigtank.

Seized March 2010. The Spanish-owned fishing vessel carried Kenyans, one Spaniard, one Pole, one Cape Verdean, a Namibian and two Senegalese. Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program said that it could be used as a "mother ship" to launch more attacks.
 

• Globally in 2009, there were 406 reported incidents, in which 153 vessels were boarded and 49 were hijacked. There were 84 attempted attacks and 120 vessels were fired on. A total of 1,052 crew members were taken hostage. At least 68 crew members were injured and eight were killed.

• In all, Somali pirates were held responsible for 217 acts of piracy in 2009, in which 47 vessels were hijacked and 867 crew members taken hostage. - In 2008, 111 vessels were targeted by Somali pirates resulting in 42 hijackings. Although the number of 2009 incidents has almost doubled, the number of successful hijackings is proportionately less.

• Nearly 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year, heading to and from the Suez Canal.

Sources: Reuters/Ecoterra International/International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Center/Lloyds List/Inquirer.net