Yemeni ship is latest victim of Somali piracy
The Sirius Star was hijacked on November 15th
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Tuesday, 25, Nov 2008 10:01
Pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden area have hijacked a Yemeni ship.
The MV Amani is the latest of nearly 40 ships to be hijacked this year in the region in a growing crisis. Over 90 vessels have been attacked in 2008.
"We were just informed the Amani had been taken," Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme told the Reuters news agency.
"But it had been out of contact for about four days, so it is not known exactly when it was seized."
The Associated Press news agency quoted the Yemeni interior ministry naming the vessel as the Adina, of 517 tonnes, however.
Meanwhile the Sirius Star supertanker, the largest ship to be hijacked so far, is at anchor off the Somali coast.
Pirates are demanding a $25 million ransom, according to AFP, for the safe return of the fully-laden vessel and its 25 crew.
Insecurity in the region has already led several large shipping firms, including Frontline and Maersk, to consider abandoning the Red Sea route.
The sector is calling for action to be taken against the pirates in lawless Somalia, where most of the pirates are based. The country has been without an effective central government since 1991.
The European Union is to reinforce Nato's existing military presence in the region in the near future, a development which chiefs currently on the ground believe will make a big difference.
"The long-term solution to piracy requires an international and interagency response," Royal Navy Commodore Tim Lowe, deputy commander of the combined maritime forces patrolling the area, said.
"More forces allow us to address this issue and 'hold ground' while also continuing our ongoing maritime security operations in the area."