Pirates want ransom; crew safe
By Wang Xiang |
July 3, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
The pirates that seized a Singapore-flagged cargo ship with 19 Chinese crew members on board have asked for ransom, according to the Shanghai-based company that chartered the ship.
The captain on the carrier "Golden Blessing" was allowed to call Shanghai Dingheng Shipping Company to prove that they were safe, the first time since they were captured on Monday, Li Jinzhong, the company's spokesman, said yesterday.
Li said the pirates did not say how much they wanted for the ship's and crew's return. The company was still negotiating with them.
The ship was carrying glycol-ethylene, an anti-freeze for vehicles, from Saudi Arabia to India when it was attacked in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said it is working closely with relevant government agencies and the ship owner while monitoring the situation closely.
This is the second piracy case involving Chinese crew members this year. A Russian carrier was seized by Somali pirates on May 5 when it was carrying crude oil worth US$52 million owned by China to Ningbo in Zhejiang Province.
The most famous hijack involving China was in 2009, when the Chinese coal ship "De Xin Hai" was held for more than two months before the Chinese navy intervened on December 28. The pirates were paid US$4 million as ransom.
"De Xin Hai," which belongs to Qingdao Ocean Shipping Co, was carrying coal from South Africa to India when it was hijacked in the Indian Ocean on October 19 off the east coast of Somalia.
Last year, Somali pirates launched more than 200 attacks on vessels from around the world and hijacked 68 ships.
The pirates made about US$50 million in combined ransom in 2009.
The captain on the carrier "Golden Blessing" was allowed to call Shanghai Dingheng Shipping Company to prove that they were safe, the first time since they were captured on Monday, Li Jinzhong, the company's spokesman, said yesterday.
Li said the pirates did not say how much they wanted for the ship's and crew's return. The company was still negotiating with them.
The ship was carrying glycol-ethylene, an anti-freeze for vehicles, from Saudi Arabia to India when it was attacked in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said it is working closely with relevant government agencies and the ship owner while monitoring the situation closely.
This is the second piracy case involving Chinese crew members this year. A Russian carrier was seized by Somali pirates on May 5 when it was carrying crude oil worth US$52 million owned by China to Ningbo in Zhejiang Province.
The most famous hijack involving China was in 2009, when the Chinese coal ship "De Xin Hai" was held for more than two months before the Chinese navy intervened on December 28. The pirates were paid US$4 million as ransom.
"De Xin Hai," which belongs to Qingdao Ocean Shipping Co, was carrying coal from South Africa to India when it was hijacked in the Indian Ocean on October 19 off the east coast of Somalia.
Last year, Somali pirates launched more than 200 attacks on vessels from around the world and hijacked 68 ships.
The pirates made about US$50 million in combined ransom in 2009.
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