Hijacked vessel freed after pirates get ransom
Source: Agencies |
March 18, 2011, Friday
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SOMALI pirates freed a Panama-flagged chemical tanker and its mostly Tunisian crew yesterday after payment of a ransom, -pirates and the Tunisian TAP news agency said.
The European Union anti-piracy taskforce meanwhile reported that pirates had seized an Indonesian-owned bulk carrier in the Somali basin on Wednesday as it headed for the Suez Canal.
TAP said the 24,105-ton Panama-flagged Hannibal II had been released and was now headed for Djibouti. Armed pirates hijacked it about 1,400 kilometers east of the Horn of Africa in November.
A pirate source said US$7 million had been handed over but TAP estimated the figure at US$2 million. "We received a ... ransom late yesterday afternoon and divided it throughout the night. We abandoned the ship early (this) morning," said a pirate who identified himself as Abdukadir.
Andrew Mwangura, a regional maritime expert based in Kenya's port city of Mombasa, confirmed the vessel's release.
The crew is composed of 23 Tunisians, four Filipinos and one each from Russia, Georgia, -Morocco and Croatia.
Separately, the EU's anti-piracy taskforce said a pirate gang had hijacked the Indonesian-owned bulk carrier MV Sinar Kudus in the Somali basin on Wednesday as it headed for the Suez Canal.
EU Navfor reported up to 50 pirates had boarded the 7,700-ton ship and were now operating the bulk carrier as a mothership.
By commandeering larger vessels to operate as motherships, pirates have extended their reach as far south as Madagascar and as far as east as a few hundred kilometers off India.
The European Union anti-piracy taskforce meanwhile reported that pirates had seized an Indonesian-owned bulk carrier in the Somali basin on Wednesday as it headed for the Suez Canal.
TAP said the 24,105-ton Panama-flagged Hannibal II had been released and was now headed for Djibouti. Armed pirates hijacked it about 1,400 kilometers east of the Horn of Africa in November.
A pirate source said US$7 million had been handed over but TAP estimated the figure at US$2 million. "We received a ... ransom late yesterday afternoon and divided it throughout the night. We abandoned the ship early (this) morning," said a pirate who identified himself as Abdukadir.
Andrew Mwangura, a regional maritime expert based in Kenya's port city of Mombasa, confirmed the vessel's release.
The crew is composed of 23 Tunisians, four Filipinos and one each from Russia, Georgia, -Morocco and Croatia.
Separately, the EU's anti-piracy taskforce said a pirate gang had hijacked the Indonesian-owned bulk carrier MV Sinar Kudus in the Somali basin on Wednesday as it headed for the Suez Canal.
EU Navfor reported up to 50 pirates had boarded the 7,700-ton ship and were now operating the bulk carrier as a mothership.
By commandeering larger vessels to operate as motherships, pirates have extended their reach as far south as Madagascar and as far as east as a few hundred kilometers off India.
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