by Jim Wilson
Monday, October 11, 2010
The owner of the Taiwanese fishing vessel Feng Guo reported the vessel as hijacked as it had not been in contact for two days.
The vessel was reported as pirated 250 nautical miles from Antisiranana, Madagascar, which would have been the most southerly hijacking since the beginning of the European naval deployment (EU Navfor) to the area.
Confirmation that the vessel is in fact free was warmly welcomed by the Europeans.
According to EU Navfor, the latest news means that Somali pirates are now holding 17 ships and 369 hostages. A Horn of Africa based non-governmental body, Ecoterra, puts the figure at 24 foreign vessels plus one barge with at least 434 hostages.
Ecoterra attributes the discrepancy to what it claims is a difference in what is being counted. Ecoterra claims to be counting small dhows and their crews in their numbers.
Source: Lolyd's List