Saturday, April 10, 2010

Turkish–Flagged Ship Abandoned by Somali Pirates

A Turkish flagged bulk carrier that was hijacked while it was en route to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, have been abandoned by Somali pirates and its crew of 25 was unharmed.

This information was relayed to the media by the head of a regional maritime body. The Yasin C was seized on Wednesday some 250 nautical miles east of Mombasa. Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme reportedly said “Yasin C was abandoned yesterday. The pirates abandoned it, and I think the crew will seek aid from the navy before coming to Mombasa.” Sea gangs have seized dozens of ships, including large oil tankers, in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden over the last few years.

Because of the good weather Pirates are expected to try to capture more vessels in the coming months despite patrols by foreign warships. Mwangura did not explain why the Turkish carrier was abandoned. Pirates do sometimes abandon ships if they develop mechanical problems or run out of fuel. But according to the Reuters news agency, Somali pirates seized a South Korean oil tanker on Sunday. The 300,000-tonne Samho Dream was seized as it sailed to the United States from Iraq. The ship is now in Somali waters.

Source: Newstime Africa.

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