An Italian vessel hijacked in the Gulf of Aden has reached the Somali coast, according to the East African Seafarers’ Association.
The MV Buccaneer, a tugboat with 16 crew, has reached the shore, Andrew Mwangura, head of the Nairobi, Kenya-based association’s assistance program, said in a telephone interview today. He didn’t say how he got the information and doesn’t know the exact location of the vessel.
The MV Buccaneer was seized yesterday as it was towing two barges, said Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman for NATO’s Northwood Maritime Command Center near London.
Ten of its crew are Italian nationals, five are Romanians and one is from Croatia, Mwangura said. The hijackers haven’t made any demands so far, he added.
The tug was seized as negotiations continue for the release of the captain of a U.S. container ship being held by four Somali pirates in a lifeboat.
Richard Phillips, 53, was captured on April 8. His ship, the Maersk Alabama, docked in Mombasa, Kenya, yesterday. The FBI has declared the ship a crime scene.
Pirates have taken more ships this past week than in the first three months of the year, according to U.S. and French navy data.
Source: Bloomberg.com
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