Somali Pirates Hijack Ship off Tanzania

VOA News     Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Maritime officials say Somali pirates have hijacked a cargo ship with 15 Indian crew members.

Officials say the ship was headed to South Africa from Kenya overnight Tuesday to Wednesday when it was attacked off the Tanzanian coast.

In a separate incident, the European Union’s anti-piracy force says it freed an

Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that had been captured by pirates. The force said there were 10 pirates and seven crew members on the vessel, which was initially spotted near Tanzania.

Somali pirates seized another cargo ship Saturday, but abandoned the ship after its 12 Ukrainian crew members locked themselves in the engine room and prevented the pirates from redirecting the vessel toward Somalia.

The EU force has warned that Somali pirate attacks are likely to increase with the end of the regional monsoon season.

EU ships are patrolling the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce pirate hijackings. The force has had success stopping attacks near the Somali coast.

Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships in recent years, taking in tens of millions of dollars in ransom.

 

Some information in this story was provided by AP and AFP.