Somali pirates seized a freight ship and a tanker containing highly flammable liquid gas over the weekend. On Sunday, the pirates hijacked the German freight ship Beluga Fortune about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) east of Mombasa.

The Beluga Fortune, travelling from the United Arab Emirates to South Africa, had at least two German nationals on board, German news agency dpa reported.

News of the capture came just a day after the siezure of the liquid gas tanker York. The Singapore-registered tanker has a German captain. Most of its 16-strong crew are from the Philippines. The liquid gas contained in the tanker is highly volatile and will burst into flames on contact with the air.

Interunity Management Corporation, the Greek firm which operates the York, described the 70-year old captain as "very experienced with a strong character."

A press spokesman told SPIEGEL ONLINE that the firm hadn't managed to contact the crew or the pirates since Saturday's hijacking. "We can't do anything but wait," the spokesman said. "Usually the pirates get in contact with the shipping firms to make their demands."

'Highly Dangerous Area'

The German shipowners' association VDR has urged increased protection for ships in the region. "Piracy in the Indian Ocean and in the Gulf of Aden is and continues to pose a threat to our crews," said VDR's chief executive Ralf Nagel in a statement.

Over the past two years an average of 400 sailors of various nationalities have been held hostage by pirates at any given time, he said.

Somali pirates were responsible for just under half of the 289 pirate attacks in the first nine months of this year, figures from the International Maritime Bureau show. But victims find it is hard to prosecute those accused of piracy given the precarious situation in Somalia, which been without a functioning government for almost two decades.

A group of 25 nations aim to improve safety by patrolling the region, a big challenge given the sheer size of the danger zone. "The fact is that there will never be enough warships to blanket cover this huge area," read a recent statement from Simon Church from the European Union's Navfor-Mission, charged with combating the pirates.

"In the Indian Ocean, you should consider self-defense as your only defense," he added.