French citizens, tourists grabbed in pirate attack off Somali coast

Two French citizens and a handful of tourists have been taken hostage after pirates seized a sailboat off the coast of Somalia late Tuesday.

A cabinet minister in Puntland, a semiautonomous region in northeastern Somalia, confirmed his government was aware of the hijacking but provided no details. It was not immediately clear how many tourists were on-board the vessel.

A multinational naval force is monitoring the hostage situation.

The sailboat's seizure, which occurred in the Gulf of Aden connecting the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, is the ninth hijacking undertaken by pirates there since July 20. More than 260 vessels were grabbed last year.

One of the busiest waterways in the world, the Gulf of Aden is currently being patrolled by Canadian warships on the lookout for pirates.

"They've taken larger and larger ships, bigger cargoes, more valuable cargoes, holding the crews hostage and demanding sizeable ransoms," said Cmdr. Kelly Larkin, aboard HMCS Calgary.

The Canadian commander has urged a maritime version of the sky marshals be used on all vessels traversing the narrow passage. 

A Canadian helicopter and its crew recently managed to scare off other pirates mid-attack, the CBC's David Common reported from the region on Wednesday.

Warships can fire on attacking pirates but only up until a crew has been taken hostage. After that, Larkin said, Canadian crews won't try to board a ship under attack because of the high risk posed to the hostages and the rescue team.

HMCS Ville de Québec was deployed to the area in August at the request of the UN World Food Program to provide protection for ships carrying food and other supplies through the waters off Somalia.

The Canadian frigate, which was diverted from a NATO exercise, will resume its original duties once its month-long mission in Somalia ends. It  left Halifax in July and is scheduled to return by December.