North Koreans hurl petrol bombs, flare guns to repel pirates

A NORTH Korean cargo ship has reportedly repelled a pirate attack by hurling petrol bombs as pursuers fired small arms and rocket propelled grenades at the ship as it sped away.

One of the 30 member North Korean crew is said to have sustained injuries, and the ship was damaged in the ambush.

A report by The Associated Press quoted Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, as saying that the North Korean vessel was adrift off the Somali coast near Mogadishu for engine work when the crew spotted 10 pirates, dressed in military clothing, approaching in two speedboats.

The North Korean ship, which was heading towards the Middle East when it was attacked, immediately started its engine and moved away, and the captain is said to have called the IMB for help when the pirates began firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, according to comments from Mr Choong.

He said the crew fought back with improvised firebombs and also fired distress rocket flares at the pirates. The ship is said to have escaped "after the captain increased speed."

Mr Choong is cited as saying that the captain later told the IMB that a US warship arrived at the scene, but the pirates had already fled. He could not confirm it was a US ship.

More than 150 ships are reported to have been attacked off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden so far this year, the report added.

(Source: www.schednet.com)