, part of the EU force , responded to the attack , which caused no casualties . The 200-meter MV Jolly Rosso continued its voyage . Pirate attacks off the coast of east Africa have significantly increased this year , according to the International Maritime Bureau , which monitors shipping crimes . But successful attacks have gone down as a result of a strong presence of international monitors . The first nine months of this year has seen more pirate attacks than all of last year , the bureau reported on Wednesday . From January 1 until September 30 , pirates worldwide mounted 306 attacks , compared with 293 in all of 2008 , it said . More than half of this year 's attacks were carried out by suspected Somali pirates off the east coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden , a major shipping route between Yemen and Somalia . Out of those attacks , Somali pirates successfully hijacked 32 vessels and took 533 hostages . Eight others were wounded , four more killed and one is missing , the bureau said . On Monday , pirates hijacked a Chinese merchant ship and its 25-member crew
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Pirates seized control of a cargo vessel near the Seychelles Thursday , one of two attacks that took place within minutes of each other off the coast of east Africa , according to the European Union Naval Force . The International Maritime Bureau say attacks off the east coast of Africa have increased this year . The EU maritime patrol responded to the early morning attacks , along with the Seychelles Coast Guard . The crew of the Panama-flagged MV Al Khaliq said two pirates had boarded the vessel before communication was cut off with the crew . The EU force confirmed that six pirates have boarded the 180-meter long bulk carrier , with two attack skiffs in tow . They hoisted the `` mother skiff '' onto the vessel with a crane , the EU force said . A second attempted hijacking took place at approximately the same time , but the Italian-flagged cargo ship evaded the attack , the EU said . Armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades , pirates opened fire on the MV Jolly Rosso about 460 miles -LRB- 740 km -RRB- east of Mombasa , Kenya . A Belgium warship