07/05/2006 – 16:05:12
Pirates hijacked a commercial ship off the coast of Somalia, killing an Indian crew member and wounding two others before releasing the vessel a week later to return to its home port in the United Arab Emirates, officials said today.
The ship, the Al Taj, had about 20 crew members on board, said Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Program. He did not know what cargo the ship was carrying.
The vessel was hijacked last week and released on Saturday night, he said.
Salad Mo’alin of the Kissima Trading Co., which had cargo on board the vessel, said he made contact with the boat today. “The captain told us that he was sailing back to Dubai,” he said.
Somalia has had no coastguard or navy since 1991, when warlords ousted long-time dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other – carving the nation of an estimated eight million people into a patchwork of anarchic, clan-based fiefdoms.
Piracy rose sharply last year, with the number of reported incidents at 35, compared with two in 2004, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The bandits target both passenger and cargo vessels for ransom or loot.
The increase in piracy included attacks on vessels carrying food aid for Somalis, hindering UN efforts to provide relief to drought victims. Pirates also have attacked a cruise ship.
Source: Evening Echo, May 7, 2006
