A wheat flour shortage looms as Somali pirates hit closer home -- our dinner tables.

Fears over shortage of the commodity follows rising attacks by the hijackers who have for the first time seized grain vessels.

Two vessels that were expected in Mombasa early this month with 70,000 tonnes of wheat are currently being held by pirates, according to Mombasa Maize Millers (MMM) finance director Munir Thabit.

MV AL Khaleeg and MV Delvina were hijacked in late October and early November respectively, with each carrying 35,000 tonnes of wheat for local and Uganda millers.

The failed arrivals have affected wheat flour production by 30 per cent at MMM and Kitui Flour Millers who have had to share the limited stock, as they wait for more arrivals already in the high seas, Munir said.

"If any two more grain ships are hijacked in the coming weeks, the country will face a serious crisis and the prices of wheat flour will rise as it takes months to negotiate with pirates," Munir said, adding that ship owners are already in negotiations with pirates for the release of the two vessels.

Pirates have become sophisticated and are able to attack vessels at a wider range and as far away as Seychelles and the use of the longer Cape of Good Hope route in South Africa may not be a solution.

For instance, MV Delvina which was sailing from the Mediterranean to the port of Mombasa was seized some 250 nautical miles (460 km) northwest of Madagascar, several hundred miles away from the Somali coast where most attacks previously took place.

The attack on food vessels is the new frontier the pirates are seeking to exploit.

They are also targeting oil and chemical tankers.

"The sophistication of the operation and selected targeting of ships carrying lucrative cargo gives credence to the allegation that intelligence is passed on to the pirates from external sources," Col Victor Gamor, the military advisor at the United Nations Political Office of Somali (UNOPS) said recently.

Pirates, he said, now use GPS systems and satellite phones.

With the emerging trend, there are concerns that the country does not have sufficient mitigation measures such as buffer stocks of wheat should the problem get out of hand.

The country imports about 700,000 tonnes of wheat by millers, which is over 60 per cent of the requirement.

With the growing population, there is growing need for more wheat imports, Munir said.

About 200,000 tonnes of grains for World Food Programme (WFP) and 350,000 tonnes of grains for the Great Lakes Region also pass through Mombasa port annually.

To avoid plunging the country into wheat crisis, there is need to create sufficient buffer stocks, according to Munir.

A consortium of private investors have already asked the government to create bulk storage silos near the port to hold enough grains to last the country four months.

"We shall seek licences from the government to be allowed way leave to offload the grains from the port to the silos," Munir said.

Long term storage can only be done in silos since it is easier to fumigate the grains and is also cost effective as it does not need bagging.

The proposal will, however, open fresh row between the new investors and the Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd (GBHL), the only grain bulk handlers dealing with about 80 per cent of the grains imported by millers.

GBHL has in the past been accused of operating as a monopoly hence the high handling charges.

Although GBHL has storage silos with a capacity to handle 135,000 tonnes of grains, it cannot be used for long terminal since it operates as a discharge terminal for many users.

"Offloading grains directly to the silos for storage purposes will reduce the cost of handling by 36 percent," Munir said.