Tuesday, March 23, 2010
BRUSSELS (AFP) — Suspected Somalia pirates seized a Turkish-owned cargo ship in the Indian Ocean Tuesday, well outside a patrolled zone, the European Union's anti-piracy naval force announced.
The Maltese-flagged Frigia, with a mainly-Turkish crew of 21, was heading from Port Said in Egypt to Thailand when it was hijacked in the early morning, the EU's NAVFOR naval force said.
"The action took place some 1,000 nautical miles east of the north coast of Somalia, i.e. 400 nautical miles outside of the normal EU naval force operating area,," said NAVFOR spokesman Commander John Harbour by phone.
"She has turned around and is clearly heading towards one of the Somali pirates' strongholds," Harbour added.
The crew comprised 19 Turks and two Ukrainians, he said.
Turkish reports said the boat was loaded with fertilizer and was now heading towards the southern Somalian port of Eyl.
In the past few weeks, NAVFOR, NATO and the US-led combined task force have disrupted 17 pirate attacks.
"By disrupting such a large amount of pirates activity, the pirates have again had to move their operations well away from the Somali coast to achieve success," said Harbour.
Tuesday's attack took place nearer the Indian sub-continent than Africa.
Somali pirates have become a chronic hazard for shipping in the region. They hijack vessels exclusively for ransom payments, which are regularly made.
Source: AFP