China warns ship crew to avoid Somalia

China is warning its ships' crew to stay away from the coast of Somalia after a cargo ship was captured by pirates on Monday.

Chinese officials said Tuesday that they will make "every effort" to free the 25 crew members who were captured when pirates hijacked the De Xin Hai, which was carrying a load of coal from South Africa to India.

Chinese vessels' crew had already been advised to stay at least 1,100 kilometres off the East African coast. The De Xin Hai was roughly 1,300 kilometres off the coast of Somalia when it was captured.

"As far as I'm aware, the ship is heading to the northwest, which would be towards the Somali coast, which is not surprising," said Cmdr. John Harbour, a spokesman for the European Union Naval Force.

This is the first time a Chinese ship has been captured since China deployed three war ships to the Gulf of Aden last year.

The pirates use sophisticated equipment and so-called larger "mother ships" to enable them to strike hundreds of kilometres offshore.

Pirate attacks increasing worldwide

Pirate attacks worldwide in the first nine months of 2009 exceeded last year's total because of more frequent raids in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Somalia, an international maritime watchdog said Wednesday.

The number of attacks rose to 306 between January and September, surpassing the 293 incidents recorded throughout 2008, according to a statement released by the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur.

The higher number was due mainly to increased Somali pirate activity off the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, and the east coast of Somalia, which combined accounts for 147 cases, the report said.

Among other nations that reported significant attacks over the same nine months:

• Nigeria had 20.
• Malaysia, 14.
• Bangladesh, 12.
• India and Peru,10 each.