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Somali pirates release German chemical tanker
Source: Agencies |
December 28, 2010, Tuesday
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SOMALI pirates have released a German operated chemical tanker with its crew of 22 after receiving a ransom payment, a maritime group said today.
The Marshall Islands flagged MT Marida Marguerite was seized in May by pirates firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, 120 miles south of Oman.
It was sailing from Kandla in Gujarat, India, to the Belgian port of Antwerp with a crew of 19 Indians, two Bangladeshis and one Ukrainian.
"MT Marida Marguerite is now sailing out to safe waters. All 22 crew members are said to be safe and sound," Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme told Reuters.
About US$5.5 million was paid in ransom on Sunday and the ship was released yesterday, Mwangura said, adding it was probably headed to its original destination in Belgium.
Pirates are making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, despite efforts by foreign navies to clamp down on such attacks.
The hijackings have driven up insurance premiums and forced ships to take longer, costlier routes to avoid piracy hot spots.
Industry officials say marine insurers in London's insurance market have widened the stretch of waterways deemed at high risk from Somali pirates as the armed gangs strike further out at sea.
The Marshall Islands flagged MT Marida Marguerite was seized in May by pirates firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, 120 miles south of Oman.
It was sailing from Kandla in Gujarat, India, to the Belgian port of Antwerp with a crew of 19 Indians, two Bangladeshis and one Ukrainian.
"MT Marida Marguerite is now sailing out to safe waters. All 22 crew members are said to be safe and sound," Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme told Reuters.
About US$5.5 million was paid in ransom on Sunday and the ship was released yesterday, Mwangura said, adding it was probably headed to its original destination in Belgium.
Pirates are making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, despite efforts by foreign navies to clamp down on such attacks.
The hijackings have driven up insurance premiums and forced ships to take longer, costlier routes to avoid piracy hot spots.
Industry officials say marine insurers in London's insurance market have widened the stretch of waterways deemed at high risk from Somali pirates as the armed gangs strike further out at sea.
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