Pirates holding Taiwan crew hostage
Source: Agencies |
May 9, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SOMALI pirates have hijacked a Taiwan fishing boat off the Horn of Africa with 26 crew members on board, a regional maritime official confirmed yesterday.
Andrew Mwangura, East Africa coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program, said the ship's Taiwanese owner lost contact with the "Tai Yuan 227" two days ago north of the Seychelles as it headed for the Maldives.
When the owner resumed contact with the vessel a day later, he was told by hijackers to pay a ransom for the crew.
"The fishing boat lost contact two days ago and has 26 crew members from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Kenya and Mozambique. We received the reports on Friday and it seemed the hijack took place two or three days ago," Mwangura told the Xinhua news agency.
The International Maritime Bureau also confirmed the hijack.
The boat had changed direction to sail toward Somalia, so this may very well have been done by the Somali pirates, according to Taiwan authorities.
"We hope that the many other boats sailing in the area can stay alert and avoid the pirates from launching another attack," said the authorities.
The officials refused to provide contact details for the owner, saying he wanted to remain anonymous until the crew was released.
Pirate attacks have continued to climb despite the presence of about 35 international warships patrolling the waters off the lawless Somali coast. Pirates currently hold more than 300 hostages taken from ships attacked off East Africa in the past several months.
Eleven suspected Somali pirates were indicted in United States federal court late last month, but the international community has had problems formulating an accepted policy to try to jail pirate suspects.
Pirates boarded the Russian tanker Moscow University off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday.
They were arrested on Thursday after special forces from a Russian warship stormed the tanker.
A gunbattle ensued in which one pirate was killed and 10 others were detained. The pirates seized were released because of "imperfections" in international law, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday, a claim that sparked skepticism -- and even suspicion that the pirates might have been killed.
Andrew Mwangura, East Africa coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program, said the ship's Taiwanese owner lost contact with the "Tai Yuan 227" two days ago north of the Seychelles as it headed for the Maldives.
When the owner resumed contact with the vessel a day later, he was told by hijackers to pay a ransom for the crew.
"The fishing boat lost contact two days ago and has 26 crew members from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Kenya and Mozambique. We received the reports on Friday and it seemed the hijack took place two or three days ago," Mwangura told the Xinhua news agency.
The International Maritime Bureau also confirmed the hijack.
The boat had changed direction to sail toward Somalia, so this may very well have been done by the Somali pirates, according to Taiwan authorities.
"We hope that the many other boats sailing in the area can stay alert and avoid the pirates from launching another attack," said the authorities.
The officials refused to provide contact details for the owner, saying he wanted to remain anonymous until the crew was released.
Pirate attacks have continued to climb despite the presence of about 35 international warships patrolling the waters off the lawless Somali coast. Pirates currently hold more than 300 hostages taken from ships attacked off East Africa in the past several months.
Eleven suspected Somali pirates were indicted in United States federal court late last month, but the international community has had problems formulating an accepted policy to try to jail pirate suspects.
Pirates boarded the Russian tanker Moscow University off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday.
They were arrested on Thursday after special forces from a Russian warship stormed the tanker.
A gunbattle ensued in which one pirate was killed and 10 others were detained. The pirates seized were released because of "imperfections" in international law, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday, a claim that sparked skepticism -- and even suspicion that the pirates might have been killed.
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