Somali pirates up the ante

IT has been a busy and profitable past week for Somali pirates — they hijacked a South Korean bulk carrier last Wednesday, released another South Korean cargo ship the next day, and let a hijacked Thai ship go on Saturday after getting a ransom.

Somali minister Ali Abdi Aware reported the release of the Thai ship after the ransom, but said yesterday it was not clear exactly how much money was paid.

Somalia, which has had no effective government since 1991, has become the world’s piracy hotspot.