Somali pirates fail to board ship, then track it for several hours; no Israeli crew members on board.
By JPOST.COM STAFFzim cargo 248.88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
A ship belonging to the Israeli freight company Zim was attacked by pirates on Saturday morning when the ship was sailing some 700 kilometers from Somalia.
The Foreign Ministry said there were no Israeli crew members on board the Maltese-flagged Africa Star.
The incident began when pirates atop two speedboats opened handgun fire at the ship. They tried to climb the ship, but barbed wire running around the deck prevented them from getting aboard.
After their attempt to board the ship failed, the pirates returned to the speedboats and began tailing the Africa Star, an activity they pursued for several hours. But the ship managed to out-pace the Somali pirates and another mother ship that accompanied them.
As the incident began to unfold, the emergency room at the Zim offices in Haifa contacted NATO headquarters in the Gulf of Aden through the Foreign Ministry and the Navy.
A British fighter jet was scrambled and the pilot reported spotting the pirate ships.
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