Dutch boxship's speed foils rare pirate attack off Tanzania

A CONTAINERSHIP suffered a rare pirate attack off the African coast, and put out a fire on board ignited by a rocket propelled grenade, but outran the pirates, as high-speed, high-decked boxships usually do, an International Maritime Bureau official told CNN.
The attack on the Dutch-operated ship was also rare because it happened far to the south, off the Tanzanian coast, 500 miles out to sea, well beyond the range of pirates preying on slower, lower tankers and bulk carriers in the Gulf of Aden as they steam to or from the Red Sea.
American Shipper said the attack is evidence that pirates are expanding their zone of operation, first off the East Coast of Somalia, and now south off Kenya and Tanzania.
Ironically, a Danish warship rescued seven suspected pirates adrift with a broken motor on their speedboat. The Danish crew provided provisions, confiscated their RPGs and AK-47s, and sank their speedboat after picking them up 90 miles off Yemen, but did not arrest them.
The Danish Navy said it did not make arrests because the men were not caught in an act of piracy. The Somali men were instead handed over to the Yemeni coast guard.