In response to increased naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden, pirates in Somalia are venturing hundreds of kilometers out to sea to seize vessels. The change in tactic has allowed pirates to successfully hijack numerous ships in recent days, including a private yacht with a child on board.
索马里海盗冒险到数百公里以外的海面劫持过往船只，以此应付亚丁湾日益增加的海军巡逻。海盗的策略变化使他们最近几天成功地劫持了很多船只，包括一艘私人游艇，上面还有一个孩子。
Since the beginning of April, pirates have successfully seized at least a half-a-dozen vessels off the coast of Somalia in a surge of activity that has not been seen in months.
从4月以来，海盗在索马里海岸活动猖獗，频繁程度几个月来少见。他们成功地劫持了至少6艘船。
The director of the International Maritime Bureau in London, Pottengal Mukundun, told VOA the maritime community is alarmed not only by the number of vessels seized in such a short period, but where some of the hijackings are taking place.
在伦敦的国际海事局主任穆昆敦对美国之音说，航运界不仅对如此短的时间内被劫持的船只数量感到吃惊，也对其中一些劫持行动发生的地点表示惊讶。
"I think the important change has been the fact that there are now attacks taking place hundreds of miles southeast of Mogadishu. And that is the big change," he said.
他说：“我认为重要的变化是，现在发生的海上袭击距离首都摩加迪沙东南数百公里。”
Mukundun said pirates have become active in the region of the Seychelles and Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean, where there are no international naval patrols.
穆昆敦说，海盗在印度洋的塞舌尔群岛和科摩罗群岛地区的活动开始活跃，那里没有国际海军巡逻。
On Saturday, pirates hijacked a German container vessel with more than 20 crew members more than 740 kilometers off the southern Somali port city of Kismayo. Two days later, a Taiwan-flagged fishing trawler with 29 men aboard was taken in waters near Denis Island in the Seychelles.
星期六，在索马里港口城市基斯马尤海岸740公里的海上，海盗持了一艘德国集装箱货轮和船上的20多名船员。两天以后，一艘悬挂台湾旗的拖网渔船和29名船员在塞舌尔群岛的丹尼斯岛附近水域被劫持。
On April 2, pirates, operating more than 1,000 kilometers southeast of the Somali coast, attacked a luxury British ship, carrying western tourists. None of the tourists were taken hostage, but the ship was seized along with its seven-member crew.
4月2日，海盗在索马里海岸东南1000多公里的海上活动，袭击了一艘满载西方游客的豪华英国游轮。没有任何游客被绑架，但是游轮和7名船员被扣押。
In 2008, pirates attacked more than 120 commercial and private vessels, mostly in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen at the mouth of the Red Sea. The narrow waterway is vital to ships carrying goods between Europe and the Far East.
2008年，海盗袭击了120多艘商业和私人船只，大多数在红海角的索马里和也门之间的亚丁湾。这条狭窄的水域是来往欧洲和远东商船的必经之地。
The disruption of trade and shipping in the Gulf of Aden prompted more than a dozen countries to send naval forces to escort ships and to protect shipping lanes. Their efforts in thwarting pirate attacks have been credited with significantly reducing the number of successful pirate boardings there for the first three months of this year.
亚丁湾贸易和航运被破坏，促使10多个国家派遣海军护航保护航道。他们的努力挫败了许多海盗袭击，大幅度减少了今年头3个月海盗成功登船劫持的数量。
But journalist David Hughes of Maritimenet.org said dispatching warships to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean is simply not an option.
但是Maritimenet.org的记者休斯说，派遣军舰在印度洋打击海盗并不是有效方法。
"You cannot really do too much over such a widespread area as the northern Indian Ocean. You can in the Gulf of Aden, where there is a bottleneck. But you cannot start escorting every ship down the east African coast or across the northern half of the Indian Ocean," he said.
他说：“无法在北印度洋这样一块广阔的海域上有所作为。在亚丁湾或许可以，那里有一个瓶颈。但是不能给每艘驶往东非海岸或者穿越印度洋北部的船只护航。”
In a reminder of the limitations of naval operations even in the Gulf of Aden, pirates hijacked a large Italian-operated bulk carrier there early Monday.
即便是在亚丁湾，海军护航的能力也有限。海盗星期一清晨在那里劫持了一艘意大利大型散装船。
Meanwhile, officials in France said they know the location of a French yacht hijacked Saturday by pirates off the northeast coast of Somalia. The yacht, carrying two couples and a three-year-old boy, was more than 640 kilometers off the Somali coast when it was seized.
另外，法国官员说，他们知道海盗星期六在索马里东北海域劫持的法国游艇的地点。这艘游艇上乘坐了两对夫妇和一个3岁男孩。劫持地点在索马里海岸大约640多公里的海上。 |