Somali pirates hijack 2 ships, NATO scuppers attack

By Alison Bevege

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somali pirates hijacked a Greek and a Ukrainian ship on Saturday and a NATO warship briefly detained 19 pirates armed with high explosives after foiling an attack on a Norwegian tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

Pirates said they were taking the Ukrainian ship, hijacked in the Indian Ocean with a cargo including United Nations' vehicles, to the Somali coastal town of Haradheere.

"We have hijacked a ship carrying industrial equipment including white cars with the U.N. logo, our friends are on board it," a pirate who said his name was Hussein told Reuters by telephone from Haradheere.

Maritime and U.N. officials were not immediately available to confirm the hijack.

Gunmen also seized a Greek-owned bulk carrier, the MT Ariana, with a 24-strong Ukrainian crew, Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme told Reuters.

"MT Ariana was seized at 3:00 a.m. British time (0200 GMT) north of Madagascar en route to the Middle East from Brazil. The Ukrainian crew are said to be unhurt," he said.

The ship, which was flying a Maltese flag, belongs to All Oceans shipping in Greece and is managed by London-based Seven Seas Maritime.

Heavily-armed Somali pirates have stepped up their attacks on vessels in Indian Ocean shipping lanes and the Gulf of Aden, capturing dozens of vessels, kidnapping hundreds of hostages and raking in millions of dollars in ransoms.