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Wednesday, April 09, 2008
NAIROBI (AFP) — Somali pirates seized a fishing vessel from Yemen and have been holding its crew hostage since April 1, a Kenya-based maritime expert told AFP Wednesday.
"Reports from Somalia indicate that Somali gunmen are holding captive a Somali-owned fishing vessel from Yemen," said Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers' Assistance Programme.
Mwangura could not immediately provide further details on the location of the boat and the size of its crew.
Numerous attacks have occurred over the past year off Somalia's 3,700-kilometre (2,300 miles) coastline, prompting the International Maritime Bureau to advise sailors to steer clear.
Hostage situations often last several weeks and generally end when a ransom is paid to the pirates, who also run a lucrative business of migrant smuggling from northern Somalia across the Gulf of Aden.
Somalia lies at the mouth of the Red Sea on a major trade route between Asia and Europe via the Suez canal. It has not had a functional government since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
Somali pirates are currently holding a French luxury cruise ship with 30 crew members onboard, most of them French.
Source: AFP, April 09, 2008