News

26-03-2009

Pirates seize tankers off Somalia

BBC News - The Greek-owned vessel Nipayia, with 19 crew on board, was seized on Wednesday, the Nato Shipping Centre said.
The Norwegian-owned tanker Bow Asir was captured by pirates on Thursday. It had a crew of 27 on board, the Norwegian Shipowners' Association said.
The Gulf of Aden sees frequent attacks on merchant vessels, accounting for 40% of 293 pirate attacks last year.
Warships from more than a dozen nations, including the UK, the US, France, Germany and Iran are now patrolling the Gulf of Aden in an attempt to deter the pirates.
Crew 'unharmed'
The 23,000-tonne Bow Asir, which is registered in the Bahamas, is reported to be a chemical tanker. It is not known what cargo it was carrying at the time of the hijack.
Polish foreign ministry spokesman Piotr Paszkowski said the ship's Norwegian owner had informed the ministry that five sailors on board were Polish, the Associated Press news agency reports.
The vessel has a Norwegian captain, the Norwegian Shipowners' Association said. It is believed to have been seized by a group of 16 to 18 pirates.
The 9,000-tonne Nipayia was captured about 450 miles from the southern Somali port of Kismayo, a spokesman for the EU's anti-piracy mission told the BBC.
The crew in both hijacked vessels were believed to be unharmed, the spokesman said.
Both tankers are far smaller than the Sirius Star, the Saudi supertanker that was captured by Somali pirates last November carrying 2m barrels of oil.
The Nato Shipping Centre said three other vessels had reported being pursued by small boats on Wednesday and Thursday.
Somali pirates also hijacked a yacht with two people on board after it left the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles state broadcaster said on Wednesday.