Somali pirates attacked the Italian merchant ship, the Jolly Smeraldo, on Thursday for a second day in a row but it managed to escape, the Italian coastguard said.
”The ship was attacked twice, first at around 6am in the morning [local time], and then again around two hours later,” a media spokesperson told AFP.
”Several gunshots were fired both times, but without causing any damage, thanks mainly to the skill of the ship’s crew,” he added.
The first attack on the ship en route to Saudi Arabia occurred some 270 nautical miles from the coast of Somalia.
The Jolly Smeraldo also survived a pirate attack on Wednesday.
The attack came days after pirates attacked an Italian cruise ship, the Melody, carrying more than 1 500 people. Israeli security guards on board ship fought them off in a shootout.
After the attack on the Melody nine suspected pirates were detained by a Spanish warship on Monday, and on Tuesday a Russian destroyer seized a boat with 29 Somali suspects.
All together, Somali pirates are holding 16 ships and more than 250 seaman for ransom including the Italian tugboat the Buccaneer, captured three weeks ago.
Attacks surged this month as calm seas allowed them to approach their prey more easily and dodge a growing naval presence in the region.
Last year Somali pirates took control of about 50 ships in the area, prompting the international community to send some 20 warships to patrol the sea lanes between the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean and the east African coast. — Sapa-AFP