3rd ship hijacked off Somalia

2005-10-11 09:24

Nairobi - Somali gunmen have hijacked a freighter off the eastern coast of the lawless Horn of Africa nation as it sailed with supplies for a United Nations-chartered ship released by pirates only last week, officials said on Monday.

Andrew Mwangura of the Seafarers' Assistance Programme told AFP the MV Torgelow had been hijacked en route to Somalia's port of El-Maan, where its sister ship MV Semlow is currently docked.

"Our contact person has told us that the ship had not arrived in El-Maan and had been hijacked," Mwangura said.

The UN-chartered Semlow and its 10-member crew were captives of pirates for 100 days on the high seas.

It had been ferrying relief food to tsunami victims when priates boarded it in July. They later abandoned the vessel and allowed its crew to sail to freedom.

The Mombasa-flagged, St Vincent and the Grenadines-registered MV Torgelow had been expected to arrive in El-Maan on Monday. Its exact location in Somali waters was unclear.

The Kenyan official said the gunmen have neither revealed their identity nor made known their demands or the reason for the hijacking.

Last month, the United States State Department renewed its regional terrorism alert for East Africa, noting in particular increasingly violent attempts by Somali pirates to seize commercial ships.

In the same month, the International Maritime Bureau said at least 21 attacks had been recorded off the Somali coast since March 15 and urged ships in the area to stay as far as possible from shore. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA