Somalian Pirates Hijack Oil Tanker Bound for the U.S.

The M/V Maran Centaurus, a 300,000-ton tanker, was commandeered about 600 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles, on its way to New Orleans, Louisiana from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia by Somalian Pirates

Attacks in the region have significantly increased this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors shipping crimes. But successful attacks have gone down as a result of a strong presence of international monitors. From January 1 through September 30, pirates worldwide mounted 306 attacks, compared with 293 in all of 2008, it said. More than half of this year's attacks were carried out by suspected Somali pirates off the east coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, a major shipping route between Yemen and Somalia.

Though there seems to be more international monitors, the attacks have increased. I think the Somalian government should crack down on their piracy problems because over half these crimes were carried out by Somali pirates.