BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Anarchy in Somalia, lack of a coordinated international strategy to fight the kidnapping epidemic and a vicious ransom-weaponry cycle have resulted in rampant piracies in the waters off Somali, analysts say.

    Eyes across the world recently have been staring at the Gulf of Aden, an area almost twice the size of Alaska flanked by Yemen and Somalia, where Somali pirates are making newspaper headlines by capturing several vessels within a few days including the largest oil tanker Sirius Star ever kidnapped.

Saudi-owned crude oil supertanker Sirius Star is seen during its naming ceremony in South Korea in this undated handout picture released on June 18, 2008 and obtained by Reuters on Nov. 18, 2008. . (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The Gulf of Aden is a major route leading to Egypt's Suez Canal, one of the major waterways linking Europe and Asia. Some international ships now are forced to skirt the Cape of Good Hope to avoid pirates, adding another 4,000 km to their journeys.

    According to UN International Maritime Organization, some 120 attacks by pirates have been registered this year, with 35 ships seized and more than 600 seafarers kidnapped, causing the deaths of two seafarers.

    The anarchy of Somalia, which has been without an effective central government since the toppling of a military dictatorship by warlords in 1991, is the root cause of rampant piracies, observers say.

    Pirate gangs are mainly based in northern Somalia's Puntland, which declared autonomy from Somalia in 1998, Michael Weinstein, a Somalian expert and professor of political science at Purdue University in the United States, told media.

    "The Puntland regime, which had been seen as relatively stable, has basically crumbled," he said. "The administration there is honeycombed with officials with links to the pirates."

    Poverty in the region and huge profits have driven many locals to take on the kidnapping business.

    Meanwhile, lack of international coordination among naval powers patrolling the area has added to the pirates' rampancy.

    Pirates off Somalia can carry out assaults on the sea, disappear on land, and reappear on the sea. Security analysts say the only way to eliminate pirates is to overrun their land bases.

    This would not happen unless naval powers, possibly together with land and air forces, from different countries gather their strengthen and coordinate their movement to stamp out the bases.

    With piracy growing more and more unstrained, many countries now have joined the choir of pledging to eradicate Somali pirates.     

    Another factor fostering piracy is that the cycle of getting ransom and acquiring more advanced weapons by pirates. But what is different from their early days, Somali pirates now are equipped with heavy-machine guns, grenade-propelled rockets, satellite phones, and even Global Positioning System, which they buy with the ransoms they get. Meanwhile, the advanced weaponry and equipment have also facilitated their attempts to get more ransom by hijacking ships.

    Given the above reasons, analysts believe that a daunting task for the international community to annihilate notorious Somali pirates in the near future.

Time to get down to business with pirate scourge off Somalia

    BEIJING, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- With their Nov. 15 capture of the Sirius Star, one of the world's largest oil tankers carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil, the biggest vessel ever hijacked at sea, Somali pirates leaped into the global spotlight, setting alarm bells ringing on the seriousness of the threat they pose.  Full story

Somali pirates wreak havoc along key shipping route

    BEIJING, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Attacks by pirates off the coast of Somalia have fiercely intensified, with five vessels reportedly hijacked in the past week, including Saudi-owned supertanker Sirius Star, the largest vessel ever seized at sea.

    On Wednesday, a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship was confirmed to have been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden near the coast of Yemen. Full story

Chinese FM: China to exert utmost effort to rescue its fishing ship hijacked by Somali pirates

    BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Foreign Ministry was further checking the information about the hijack of a Chinese fishing ship seized by Somali pirates, and would exert utmost effort to rescue the ship and the crew aboard, according to the consular news released Friday evening by Chinese Foreign Ministry on its web site.

    Chinese Foreign Ministry was going to spare no effort to rescue the seized ship and the crew aboard, in coordination with relevant organizations and Chinese overseas representative offices, according to the news. Full story

Hijacked supertanker moors off Somalia as eight pirates escape prison 

    MOGADISHU, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The hijacked Saudi-owned supertanker has anchored off the coast of northeastern Somalia while eight pirates escaped from prison in the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland, officials said Tuesday.

    The Sirius Star, capable of carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil, along with its international crew of 25, was hijacked over the weekend by Somali pirates 450 miles off the coast of the Kenyan port town of Mombasa and has since been heading towards the Somali port town of Harard here in Puntland. Full story

Somali pirates seize Hong Kong ship

    NAIROBI, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Somalia pirates have hijacked a Hong Kong cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden near the coast of Yemen, a regional maritime official confirmed on Wednesday.

    The vessel Delight, loaded with 26,000 tons of wheat, was bound for Iran's Bandar Abbas Port when it was hijacked. Full story