Concern grows for ship's crew

2007-11-18 14:31

Nairobi - Communication has been lost with a Comoran-flagged cargo ship captured by pirates off the Somali coast last month, raising fears of the crew safety, a maritime monitoring group said on Saturday.

The MV Al Marjan, with 22 mostly Asian crew members on board, was seized on October 19 as it sailed to Mogadishu port from the United Arab Emirates port of Dubai.

"We are worried that the ship has cut communication with the owner and the rest of the world," said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan branch of the Seafarers' Assistance Programme.

"This is the second week since it cut communication, which means there are no negotiations going. This is a very bad indicator on the fate of the crew," he said.

The freighter is owned by Shahmir Maritime of Saint Vincent and Grenadines, but operated by Dubai-based Biyat International.

Mwangura explained that "cutting communication" between the pirated vessels and the outside world in the past has been an indication that "something bad" has happened onboard.

"When pirates killed a sailor in Ching Fong Hwa 168, they cut communication. That is why we are worried this time round," he said.

Ching Fong Hwa 168 was a Taiwanese-flagged ship seized by pirates in June before being released on November 5. One crew member was killed and another injured.

Mwangura said negotiations were underway to free Japanese tanker, Golden Nori - believed to be carrying benzene - that was kidnapped on October 28 with 23 crew members from Myanmar, Philippines and South Korea. Their condition is unknown.

The vessel was sailing from Singapore to Israel when its was seized.

"I expect that the pirates will ask for ransom of more than a million dollars to free the tanker," he told AFP.

Mwangura explained that the size of ransom normally depends on the cost, type and ownership of the cargo, the value and nationality of the ship as well as the nationality of the crew.

- SAPA