The German army on Sunday confirmed that pirates have hijacked a German freighter after attacking it 1,930 km (1,200 miles) off the coast of Kenya.
German shipping company Beluga-Reederei owns the vessel. The number of people on board was not immediately known.
The incident came just a day after pirates seized a Singapore-flagged liquefied-gas tanker with 17 crew on board 170 km off Mombasa. The captain of the ship was German.
Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said that the vessel, MV York, was transporting gas from Mombasa to Mahe in the Seychelles, adding that they were jointly working with the ship’s owner, York Maritime Co., and the government agencies to secure an early release of the ship.
In a statement Sunday, the European Union Naval Force said a Turkish warship has launched a helicopter to check out the hijacking and found pirates on MV York fully armed.
Fourteen Filipinos, two Ukrainians and a German are among those being held hostage.
The EU Naval Force said nearly 20 ships have been seized and more than 400 people had been kept hostage so far this year by pirates.
Somali pirates normally release the crew and ship once the countries pay ransom to them after lengthy negotiations.
Source: AHN (http://www.allheadlinenews.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment