Pirates seize two ships off Yemen

Two vessels have been seized by suspected Somali pirates off the coast of Yemen, adding to the dozens of ships hijacked in the area this year.

An Indonesian tugboat contracted to French oil company Total was seized, a Total spokesman said.

It was heading from Yemen to Malaysia when it was attacked.

A Turkish cargo ship, MV Bosphorus Prodigy, owned by Isko Marine Company, was also captured, a US Fifth Fleet spokesman said.

Merchant vessels have been among targets for Somali pirates

The container ship is 330ft (100m) long and carries the flag of Antigua-Barbuda.

The tugboat had mainly Indonesian crew, the Total spokesman said.

The latest seizures came as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime called for more policing of the seas off Somalia, and for arrested pirates to tried in the country that the arresting officers come from.

The executive director of the office, Antonio Maria Costa, said: "Pirates cannot be keelhauled or forced to walk the plank, nor should they be dumped off the Somali coast.

"They need to be brought to justice."