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Pirates make off with ship
28/04/2006 17:48 - (SA)
Nairobi - Somali pirates have hijacked a ship with some Indonesian crew and have taken the vessel into the lawless country's territorial waters to avoid intervention by US Navy ships in the region, a maritime official said on Friday.
There was no immediate information on the vessel's name, type or the number and nationalities of all crew members on board, said Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme.
"The ship raised an alert that they were in danger of being captured. This alerted all nearby vessels," Mwangura said. "Satellite tracking shows that it is in southern Somalia."
It was not immediately clear when the ship was captured, but the alert was raised before Friday.
Several pirate groups operate along Somalia's 3 000km coastline, Africa's longest.
The Horn of Africa nation has had no effective government since opposition leaders ousted a dictatorship in 1991 and then turned on each other, carving the nation of an estimated 8.2 million people into a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms.
Piracy rose sharply last year, with the number of incidents rising to 41 since March 15 2005. Only two incidents were reported in 2004, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The bandits target both passenger and cargo vessels for ransom or loot.
The increase in piracy included first-time attacks on vessels carrying food aid for Somalis, hindering UN efforts to provide relief to drought victims. Pirates also have attacked a cruise ship.
On March 15, the UN Security Council encouraged naval forces operating off Somalia to take action against suspected piracy.
In the past two months, US Navy ships have confronted two groups of pirates, killing one person and injuring five others. One group of pirates the US navy confronted is now facing trial in neighbouring Kenya.
A United Arab Emirates-registered oil tanker, a Georgia-registered cargo ship and a Korean fishing vessel are currently being held by pirates in Somalia's central region.
Their captive crew include Philippine, Korean, Chinese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Indian, Sri Lankan and Tanzanian nationals, Mwangura said.
Pirates recently killed a Somali who was negotiating with them for the release of the oil tanker, stalling mediation efforts.
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