UAE ship hijacked off Omani coast

Times of Oman
Tuesday, February 21, 2012

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International maritime security forces confirmed yesterday that MV Leila, owned and operated by a UAE shipping company, was hijacked by Somali pirates last Wednesday.

According to International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reports, the vessel was captured around 50 nautical miles south-southwest off Ras Al Madrakah, Oman.

However, the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) reports that the vessel was captured on Thursday with 24 crew on board, while the IMB states there were only 15 crew on board.
‘24 on board’

The hijacking was confirmed to the Somalia Report by local pirates, who said that, “a group of pirates hijacked a new vessel this week. The pirates contacted their friends in the Ceel-Dhanaae area after they had hijacked the vessel.
“The hijackers told us that it is a Panama-flagged ship with 24 crew on board,” said a pirate in Garacad.

“I don’t know more details about the vessel right now. The pirates are out of phone service and we are not currently in contact with them.”

The Panama-flagged roll on/roll off cargo vessel is owned and operated by New Port Cargo & Shipping of Dubai (UAE) and was built in the year 1973.

The Somalia Report adds that pirates have hijacked the UAE-owned MV Savina-Fahad, which was carrying charcoal.

Apparently, the vessel was captured in the Indian Ocean while sailing from the Somali town of Kismayo to the UAE.
An anonymous source said that the vessel had at least 10 Pakistani crew on board. The vessel will most likely be used as a mother ship and not ransomed.

In 2009, the vessel was subject to a legal action and its crew held in Somaliland for several months, Neptune Maritime Security reports.

Continuing unabated
This year till yesterday, at least 40 ships have come under attack by the pirates.

The chaos in Somalia has seen piracy off its shores expand into an international criminal enterprise that the One Earth Foundation said costs the world economy up to $7 billion a year.
Pirate gangs, their investors and financiers, brought in at least $155 million in ransoms in 2011.

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