Somali pirates board oil tanker; warship en route

Somali pirates armed with automatic weapons boarded an oil tanker with $50 million (about NIS 186 million) of oil on Wednesday but the ship's Russian crew locked themselves into a safe room to wait for a Russian warship rushing to the scene, a European Union Naval spokesman said. The pirates launched the attack on the Liberian-flagged ship at dawn.

EU Naval Force spokesman said the crew evaded the pirates for several hours while sending out distress calls. They locked themselves in a secure room when the pirates boarded. A Russian warship was heading to the ship at full speed but had not arrived by nightfall. He declined to say how long the warship would take to arrive or what action it might take, citing security. (AP)