Sunday, April 12, 2009
Even as negotiations resumed to free the American captain, pirates manoeuvred an Italian vessel toward the Somali coastline after hijacking it with 16 people onboard in a separate incident Saturday, pirate sources said.
Their defiance of Western naval powers showed the difficulty in dealing with the pirates wreaking havoc on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
Negotiations broke down on Saturday after US authorities insisted the pirates be arrested after handing over the American, Captain Richard Phillips, a Somali elder said.
The New York Times reported that the breakdown occurred hours after the pirates fired on a small US navy vessel that tried to approach the lifeboat in the Indian Ocean.
Quoting an unnamed US military official, the paper reported that the US boat did not return fire.
"Efforts to end the matter did not succeed Saturday and elders have left the village of Garacad Saturday midnight to resume the negotiations again," Mohamoud Jama, a Somali elder in Garacad, told AFP by phone.
"We have been told the pirates need a free passage after they release the captain and the American officials told them they are handing them over to the local authorities in Puntland," he added, referring to the northern Somali breakaway region that is a main hub for piracy.
An official in the Puntland town of Bossaso also said negotiations resumed Sunday.
"We heard that a team of elders have been taken from Garacad overnight to negotiate the release of the captain," he told AFP by phone on condition of anonymity.
"But things are still murky and we don?t know how this matter will be ending."
US navy forces have poured into the region since the attack on Phillips' Danish-operated container ship, the Maersk Alabama, but the pirates have warned against using force to rescue him.
He has been held aboard a lifeboat since the attack on Wednesday. The ship's unarmed crew managed to regain control of the ship, but the pirates bundled Phillips into the lifeboat as they escaped.
They have demanded a ransom and said Saturday they planned to move Phillips to another ship held by their "friends."
The Maersk Alabama, which was transporting 5,000 tonnes of UN aid destined for African refugees when it was attacked, docked safely in Mombasa, Kenya, on Saturday and its crew was told to remain aboard while the FBI investigates.
The American crew praised their captain after they arrived in Kenya, with one member calling him a "hero" who saved their lives.
Pirates have intensified their attacks over the past week and seized another ship on Saturday, an Italian vessel with 16 people aboard.
The announcement of the capture of the 75-metre (250-foot) Buccaneer was made in an email to the boat's owners Micoperi Marine Contractors, spokesman Claudio Bartolotti told AFP from the company's headquarters in Ravenna, northern Italy.
He said 10 Italians, five Romanians and a Croat were on board.
A pirate told AFP on condition of anonymity that the Italian boat was being directed toward the Somali coastline on Sunday.
"The tugboat is heading towards Las Qorey and there are more than 10 pirates onboard the tugboat," he said from the pirate lair of Eyl. "There are also three speedboats accompanying it to the area."
Las Qorey is located on the coast of the Gulf of Aden.
A trader who sells fuel to the pirates said a group of his customers hijacked the tugboat and have been asking for fuel.
"The pirates that hijacked the tugboat headed for Las Qorey area and they have been demanding fuel supplies for their boats," Abdi Ise said.
Residents in the pirate den of Harardhere said helicopters were seen flying at low altitude in the area early Sunday.
Source: AFP, April 12, 2009