The piracy problem off the coast of eastern Africa just got a lot worse this week, when at least three ships were hijacked within four days in the lawless waters in and around the Gulf of Aden.

Over the last two weeks, a total of seven ships have been taken over.

On Saturday the Saudi-owned Sirius Star was hijacked 450 nautical miles from the Somali town of Harardhere, a pirate stronghold.

The hijacking was particularly newsworthy because the 1,000 foot-long oil tanker was the biggest vessel ever seized by pirates, and possibly one of the most valuable – the ship contains over $100 million worth of crude oil. It was also seized in an area of the Indian Ocean that is not traditionally affected by piracy.

The owners of the Saudi tanker are currently in negotiations with the hijackers, who are seeking an unspecified ransom.

On Tuesday a Hong Kong-based merchant ship was hijacked off the coast of Yemen and its 25-man crew taken hostage. A Greek ship was also reportedly raided, but details have not been confirmed yet.

So far authorities have not had any contact with the Hong Kong-based ship, which was carrying 36,000 metric tons of wheat to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

Piracy has been exploding off the coast of Somalia over the past year, with more than 91 attacks so far this year in the Gulf of Aden, compared to only 13 in 2007. The practice seems destined to continue, since it is a lucrative business – hijackers earn ransoms averaging $1 million per ship. And the weak central government of Somalia, where the majority of the pirates hail from, appears to be powerless to crack down on the perpetrators.

The 2.5 million square miles of ocean off the horn of Africa are difficult to patrol, partly because of their sheer size, and partly because it can be difficult to determine who has jurisdiction over foreign-owned ships in international waters. However, in recent months the Indian Navy, the British Navy and even a group of French commandos have come to the aid of various ships.

In the meantime, more than 14 vessels and 250 crew members remain hostage in and around Somali waters.

There is a bit of good news to accompany the bad, though: just today 25 crew members on a Hong Kong-flagged ship were finally freed after a two-month hostage standoff with pirates.

Links: Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg

By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.

Can’t get enough pirates? Don’t miss the Real-Life Pirate Hunters as well as Pirates of Somalia Are No Pirates of the Caribbean.

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