Tag: hijacking

15 pirates had ben arrested The successful apprehension of Somali pirates off Lakshadweep by Indian Navy and Coast Guard on Sunday has brought along a tragic story of hostages. At least five crew members of the three Thai trawlers hijacked by pirates have been reported to have died of hunger and sickness after the owner of the trawlers refused to pay ransom leading to a 10-month-long hostage crisis.According to sources, the pirates had hijacked three trawlers, Prantalay-11, Prantalay-12 and Prantalay-14, in April last year off Somalia coast with 49 crew members. The trawlers were going to Djibouti when they were hijacked off Somalia coast. The pirates demanded a ransom of US$ 9 million from the owner to release the vessels, but the owner refused to pay. "His three trawlers cumulatively cost only US$ 600,000. The pirates, however, would not relent. This led to a stand-off that stretched for 10 long months, before a Naval operation ended it on Sunday," said an officer from Yellow Gate police station. Strapped of resources, the pirates during this time provided little food to the hostages. "Four crew members on Prantalay-14 fell sick and died due to lack of medical supplies. One crew member from ...

The ship is now sailing safely China denied an early report that a Chinese-flagged commercial ship was hijacked by Somali pirates off Yemeni coast.A China Maritime Search and Rescue Center (MSA) told "Xinhua" news agency Sunday that the ship has never been hijacked, and is now sailing safely with escort of the Chinese anti-piracy navy fleet.Both the "Tien Hau" ship, which was registered in Hong Kong, China, and its 22-member crew, are safe, a MSA official confirmed to Xinhua over the phone. The center contacted the ship to make sure it was safe, he added. The ship had been followed by a suspicious boat for a while, but it was never attacked or hijacked, the official said.Earlier, Yemeni Interior Ministry had said the ship was hijacked by pirates some 20 kilometers off the Yemeni island of Al-Tair off the city port of al-Hudaida, and was heading to Somali coast. The Gulf of Aden is considered as one of the world's most dangerous waters because of rampant piracy.Source: QNA

Extended by 6 days Malaysian authorities have extended by six days a detention order against seven Somali pirates captured by Malaysian forces last month in a raid to free a hijacked oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden.A police spokesman told AFP that investigators need more time to complete their probe into the case, a historic bid by an Asian country to prosecute bandits operating off the coast of lawless Somalia."The extended detention is to enable police to complete their investigations," a spokesman from police headquarters in the capital Kuala Lumpur told AFP.The seven have been held on remand in Malaysia since January 31 when they arrived on board the tanker MT Bunga Laurel, which was seized by pirates along with its crew of 23 on January 20.The tanker was headed to Singapore with a cargo of lubricating oil worth more than $10 million when high-seas bandits armed with AK-47 assault rifles boarded and took control of the ship.Malaysian naval commandos from a vessel protecting shipping in the Gulf of Aden, along with a navy attack helicopter, responded to a distress call and captured the pirates after a brief firefight.A day later, South Korean forces captured another five pirates in ...