Fate of six Indian sailors in hijacked UK ship uncertain

Mumbai, Dec 30 (PTI) The fate of six Indian sailors in
the hijacked British vessel St James Park remained uncertain
Wednesday, two days after it was seized by pirates with
authorities yet to establish any contact with the ship.

The shipping company, UK-based Zodiac Maritime
Agencies, has been trying to contact the hijacked vessel but
is yet to succeed as the pirates have switched off all
communication devices, Director General of Shipping Lakshmi
Venkatachalam said.
"The shipping company is unable to contact the vessel.
We are in constant touch with the company. There is no news
from the crew. The communication devices of the ship have been
switched off," Venkatachalam told PTI here.
The ship was hijacked a day after pirates released
another vessel --Kota Wajar-- carrying three Indian sailors,
after more than two months in captivity.
Pirates are now holding 45 crew members, including
six Indians in the seized UK-flagged chemical tanker and a
Panamanian carrier off the pirate-infested Somalia's coast.
So far, the pirates have not made any ransom demand or
contacted the authorities, Venkatachalam said.
The vessel was sailing to Thailand from Spain with a
chemical used to make plastics when it sent a distress signal
from the Gulf of Aden.(MORE) PTI SD
RDM