Somalia: Pirates shoot at Danish tanker off Somalia

(SomaliNet) Pirates fired shots at a Danish tanker in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia\'s coast during a failed attempt to commandeer the ship, Denmark\'s navy says.

According to the navy, no crew members were injured in the incident Sunday. The pirates disappeared by the time a Danish navy helicopter arrived and the navy says it is searching for the pirates in the area.

The Gulf of Aden connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and is one of the world\'s busiest waterways with around 20,000 ships passing through each year.

Somalia is caught up in an Islamic insurgency and has no functioning government, navy or coast guard to police its coast. While maritime piracy worldwide has declined in recent years, piracy off Somalia has soared. -AP