Two European owned chemical tankers have been hijacked in the Somali basin in the past 24 hours. A 9,000 tonne Greek owned Panamanian registered vessel with its 19 crew was attacked approximately 450 miles east of Kismaayo yesterday afternoon. The 23,000 tonne Norwegian owned and Bahamian registered vessel and its 27 crew was also captured 250 miles east of Kismaayo this morning. An alert has been posted on the MSCHOA site notifying all vessels in this area to be aware of this increase in pirate activity.