By Riyasbabu
Saturday, April 07, 2007
The vessel was hijacked by the Somali pirates on Sunday off the port of Mogadishu. It was later taken to an unknown area in the southern part of the Somali territorial waters. Basheer Khalid Moosa, who charted the vessel to Mogadishu from Dubai, confirmed his agents in Somalia went to the vessel yesterday and paid the ransom. “The pirates had demanded $50,000 but settled for $45,000,” he said. MV Nimatullah is currently docked in Mogadishu port and will set sail for Dubai after clearing the cargo, Moosa said, adding that the the crew members were all safe and healthy. The pirates in Somalia had hijacked another UN-charted vessel, MV Rozen, on February 25 this year. This vessel is still missing. Meanwhile, eight other UAE vessels anchored off the port of Mogadishu, which are awaiting permission to dock at the port, are all safe and being guarded by government-deployed armed forces. Source: Khaleej Times, April 07, 2007