Amongst a different incident, the captain of a hijacked chemical tanker was said to have died due to gunshot wounds inflicted as pirates seized the MV Theresa along with 28 North Korean crew members northwest of the Seychelles on Monday.

The spate of attacks reflected the elevated boldness of pirates roaming far from their bases in Somalia to take over vessels and sailors and hold for them ransom. The United States Navy Central Command reported four suspected pirates in a skiff came within 300 yards of the Maersk Alabama at 6.30 a.m. Wednesday, approximately 600 miles off the northeast coast of Somalia as it headed for the Kenyan port of Mombasa. A security team on board the Maersk Alabama responded with small-arms fire, long-range acoustical devices painful to the human ear and evasive maneuvers to hinder the attack. "Due to Maersk Alabama following maritime industry's best practices like, embarking security teams, the ship was able to avoid being successfully attacked by pirates," said Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of the Central Command. "This is an excellent example of how merchant mariners can take pro-active steps to prevent attacks.

According to the Navy, no injuries or damage were reported. The Maersk Alabama was taken over by pirate activities on April 8 and Richard Phillips, the ship's captain, was held at gunpoint in a lifeboat until United States Navy snipers shot and killed three attackers. Tuesday's events found Somali pirates releasing 36 crew members and their Spanish fishing vessel on, however Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero refused to comment on reports that a ransom of approximately $3.5 million had actually been paid for the Alakrana and its crew. "The government did what they had to do", he said. In the pirate stronghold of Xarardheere, Somalia, witnesses said that 80 luxury automobiles crowded the shore as friends and family members of somali pirates screamed out to get a share of the ransom money being divided amongst the pirates. "I'm here to get some money from a friend, who is getting his share today," commented one resident, Mohamoud Elmi.

On Wednesday, the press quoted an unidentified pirate as saying that, the body captain of the hijacked Theresa was still on board as it was headed towards Somalia under the attackers' control. However, there was no official confirmation of the reported events. The Theresa is registered in the Virgin Islands and operated out of Singapore, and was heading for the Kenyan port of Mombasa when it was seized approximately 200 miles northwest of the Seychelles, according to European Union's naval force. In addition to 14 commercial vessels currently under their control, pirates are holding a British couple hostage, Paul and Rachel Chandler, who were taken from their 38-foot sailboat off the Seychelles just last month.

When hijacking events broke out in April on board the 508-foot-long Alabama was en route to the Kenyan port of Mombasa and was carrying food and agricultural materials for the World Food Program, a United Nations agency, and other clients, including the United States Agency for International Development. The ship was on a usual rotation through the Indian Ocean from Salalah, a city in southwestern Oman, to Djibouti, and then on to Mombasa, according to the company's headquarters in Denmark. Built in Taiwan in 1998, the ship is able to transport over 1,000 20-foot containers.

The attempt to re-seize the ship indicates how much piracy has become a multimillion-dollar business in Somalia, a nation that has hobbled along since 1991 less a functioning central government, the country is certainly torn by civil strife.