Thursday, May 29, 2008
Gunmen seized the MV Amiya Scan and its nine Russian and Filipino crew as it passed through the
“We will use force to release the ship if necessary. We have sent troops on two ships towards Ras Bina, 755km east of Bosasso, where the Dutch ship is being held,” said Adde Muse, president of the Puntland, a relatively stable Somali region.
“We ask the international community and in particular the country of the ship’s origin not to pay ransom to the pirates,” he added.
Piracy is rampant off
Muse said his government would also position ground troops at the coast to block reinforcements from reaching the pirates.
“We placed troops at the coast near Ras Bina from where the pirates might get support from their fellows on the ground or where they might get the chance to escape,” he said. “We ask the world to help our military forces.”
Generally, pirates are known to treat their captives well in the hope of securing a ransom.