Maersk ship shakes off pirates near Seychelles

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk's container ship Nele Maersk was attacked by pirates off the Somali coast on Tuesday but evaded them unharmed, a company official said.

"They were approached by white skiffs of the kind Somali pirates often use and believe they were shot at," a Maersk spokesman said. "The ship sped up, made some evasive manoeuvres, and was able to escape."

In April, another Maersk-owned vessel, the Maersk Alabama, was briefly seized by Somali pirates and its skipper held hostage for several days on a skiff.

The Nele Maersk was attacked near the Seychelles, the spokesman said, on its way to Oman from South Africa.

Shipping nations agreed in September on new guidelines to curb rampant piracy off the Horn of Africa, such as increasing lookouts and keeping fire pumps ready to repel would-be pirates.

Efforts are also underway to boost cooperation among naval patrols in the region, to arrange for prosecution of suspected pirates and to help Somalia and its neighbours secure their territorial waters against marauders.