hijacking

I am not going to tell you how much it was, or three other hijackings I have been involved in since.

Emergency Management Department spokesman said the town has been recognized armed hijackings occurred.

Hijackings off the coast of Somalia accounted for a third of global piracy incidents this year, reports the International Maritime Board.

NATO ships began anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast in late October, but they have failed to stop the hijackings.

Somalia pirates have set up a "stock exchange" in their main lair to fund their hijackings offshore, Reuters reported.

EU ships are patrolling the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce pirate hijackings.

The BBC's South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey says that hijackings are not uncommon in the Philippines.

The IMB report, released Monday, also said Somali pirates were responsible for 35 of the 39 hijackings during that same period.

Most hijackings, however, do end peacefully although it can be a lengthy process.

Experts say the four hijackings were easy.

With the latest hijackings, pirates now hold 12 vessels and 263 crew members, said Mr. Choong.

Yet the number of recorded hijackings rose from 32 in 2008 to 42 in 2009.

Pirates are currently holding several ships in the Gulf of Aden area , following a sharp increase in such hijackings last year .