UN debates Somalia piracy strategy

The United Nations Security Council is meeting Wednesday to discuss the growing problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia, as reports circulated that the captain of a vessel captured Monday had died of his wounds.

The UN meeting also comes on the same day reports surfaced that Somalian pirates had attacked a U.S. vessel for the second time in seven months, but were repelled by private guards on board armed with guns and a high-decibel noise device.

The two incidents are likely to be front and centre as the Security Council tries to determine the best way to protect ships travelling in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

Two weeks ago the United Nations International Maritime Organization pledged to help Somalia repress piracy off its coast and in the gulf, including helping to create a national coast guard.

The issues for Somalia run deeper, however, as the country has not had an effective central government for 18 years, with the UN-backed leadership controlling little beyond the capital of Mogadishu. At issue is whether sending more peacekeeping forces to the country can be effective when so much of the country is ruled by rival militant groups.

As a result of the lawlessness, Somalia has become the world's piracy hotspot, with the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur estimating there were 147 attacks in the Gulf of Aden between January and September of this year.

Captain of tanker dies

Pirates have been particularly active in recent weeks, as seasonal rains have subsided.

On Monday, pirates hijacked a Virgin Islands-owned chemical tanker and took captive 28 crew members from North Korea. On Wednesday a self-proclaimed pirate who gave his name only as Sa'id said the captain of the ship was wounded during the attack and died Tuesday night from internal bleeding.

Also on Wednesday, the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain reported that the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama had repelled an attack Tuesday around 6:30 a.m. local time.

The Maersk Alabama had previously been hijacked last April, with pirates holding ship captain Richard Phillips hostage in a lifeboat for five days, until Navy SEALs rescued him in a daring nighttime attack.

On Tuesday, on-board security forces using small-arms fire and a long range acoustic device, which can beam high-frequency alarm tones, repelled the pirate attack, the fleet said.

Spanish ship freed Tuesday

Vice Adm. Bill Gortney of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said using private security forces on ships in the region was following industry "best practices."

But Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think-tank Chatham House, said the international community is still opposed to armed guards on vessels and would prefer if shipping security was the responsibility of states and navies.

On Tuesday, another self-proclaimed pirate said that hijackers had been paid $3.3 million U.S. for the release of 36 crew members from a Spanish vessel held for more than six weeks, an indication of how lucrative the trade can be for the pirates.

Spain acknowledged the crew had been freed, but did not comment on whether any ransom had been paid.