ID :
25936
Wed, 10/22/2008 - 09:52
Auther :

Pirates seize Indian vessel with 13 crew members off Somalia

Jaishree Balasubramanian

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 21 (PTI) An Indian cargo ship with 13
sailors on board heading towards Africa was hijacked by armed
pirates off the northern coast of Somalia, even as suspense
persisted over the fate of Indian crew members of the Hong
Kong vessel M.V. Stolt Valor.

Somali pirates boarded the ship which was heading to
Somalia and hijacked it south of Socotra island over the
weekend, an official of the International Maritime Bureau said
here Tuesday.

The whereabouts of the ship and the fate of the crew
members was not known as the maritime bureau received the
distress report from a third party on Monday.

"We are still verifying the time and date of attack,"
the official said.

The hijack pushed the number of attacks by pirates this
year in Somali coast to 74. A total of 30 ships have been
hijacked and 10 remain in the hands of the pirates along with
nearly 200 crew members.

A concerned Indian Government has dispatched a powerful
stealth warship to the area as momentum has been growing for
coordinated international response to the spate of hijacking
being unleashed by Somali pirates using speed boats.

A powerful U.S. naval flotilla is already in the
vicinity of the hijack area monitoring the boarding of a
Ukranian ship M.V. Faina which was carrying tanks and other
heavy weaponry.

The U.S. warships have been joined by naval ships from
N.A.T.O. and Russia. Another Russian warship crossed the Suez
Canal to join two other Russian vessels already there.

The hijack has prompted the head of the maritime
bureau's chief Noel Choong to issue a warning for ships to
maintain a strict vigil to thwart the pirates.

"The momentum is still there, the attacks are still
continuing in this key shipping route. So there is a need to
be watchful," Choong said.

Some naval commanders have also suggested that shipping
companies should consider hiring private security firms to
guard the ships on the dangerous waters.

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