Somali pirates hijack vessel from Dubai

Eleven Indian sailors were on board the vessel when it was taken, anti-piracy investigator Graeme Gibbon Brooks of Dryad Maritime said.

DUBAI // A cargo ship sailing from Dubai to Somalia has been hijacked by pirates off the coast of the east African country.

A source told The National that on the morning of April 1, the ship crewed by 11 Indians was stopped while on its way to Bosaso.

The pirates took the vessel and its crew to the Galmudug coastline near the port city of Hobyo.

The ship’s owner is understood to be an Indian national based in Dubai.

Graeme Gibbon Brooks of Dryad Maritime said the hijackers want a ransom for the crew and that the ship was being taken to the Eyl area of northern Somalia.

Lt Ian McConnaughey, a spokesman for the US Navy’s fifth fleet in Bahrain, said they were “aware of the reports and we are monitoring the situation”.

The fifth fleet oversees regional anti-piracy efforts.

In March, Somali pirates hijacked the Comoros-flagged tanker Aris 13, marking the first such seizure of a large commercial vessel since 2012.

* Associated Press