Somali pirates have released the nickel carrier MV Sinar Kudus after holding the vessel for ransom for 46 days and using it as a mother ship from which to attack other vessels.
The ship was released on Monday and is now sailing to a safe port, the European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) reports.
Between 30 and 50 pirates captured the Indonesian flagged vessel in the Arabian Sea on March 16. It was on its way to Suez (Egypt) and then the Netherlands from Singapore when it was attacked. Pirates then used it to try and hijack the Liberian flagged cargo vessel Emperor nearby. However, private security on board the ship repelled the attack after an exchange of fire.
The Sinar Kudus was carrying 8,300 tonnes of ferronickel from Indonesia.
According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), as of April 28 there have been 173 attacks by pirates this year, resulting in 23 successful hijackings. Somali pirates are currently holding 26 vessels and 518 hostages, the IMB reports.
0 comments:
Post a Comment