Somali pirates use seized ship to hijack Lutuf

Somali pirates used a previously hijacked vessel to seize the Cameroon-flagged cargo ship Lutuf off Somalia, Puntland security officials said.

The officials said eight gunmen hijacked the Lutuf on Monday after launching the attack from the MV Sward, a ship seized in April. The Lutuf was heading for Dar es Salaam in Tanzania when it was captured.

The hostages include six Indians, a Georgian and a Turk. Turkish military helicopters circled the hijacked ship later on Monday but did not attempt to board it.

The Puntland security officials said there were already four merchant vessels being held hostage in Somali waters. They said pirates had also used the Sward to hijack two Iranian fishing boats last month, which were released after ransoms were paid.

The officials said they were surprised the Lutuf had travelled within three nautical miles of the Somali coast during a recent rise in attacks. They also said the pirates boarded before the vessel's armed guards could fire.

A new group of pirates from Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region has led a resurgence of attacks on shipping since April, after more than a decade in which Somali piracy had been reduced by international security measures.

Relatives of some hijackers told AFP that illegal foreign trawlers had damaged the local fishing industry and helped drive some men into piracy. A clan elder, who said he was the uncle of one hijacker, said he did not support the attacks but that fishing livelihoods had collapsed.