Somali pirates seize Saudi tanker

Somali pirates have hijacked a Saudi-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden with 14 crew members on board, a regional maritime official confirmed on Wednesday, March the 3rd .
Andrew Mwangura, East Africa Coordinator of Seafarers’ Assistance Programme said the MT Al Nisr Al Saudi vessel which was seized on Monday was now in the Somali coast.
“The ship was hijacked on Monday but we received confirmation today. The vessel has 14 crew members,” Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone from Mombasa.
Mwangura said the 13 crew members aboard the ship are Sri Lankans and one Greek master. “The owner and manager of the 5,136 deadweight ton ship are all Saudis,” he said.
The development came after a regional maritime official confirmed last Sunday that Somali pirates have released a Greek- owned Panama-registered cargo ship which was hijacked in December last year.
Piracy has become rampant off the coast of Africa, especially in the waters near Somalia, which has been without an effective government since 1991.

Hijackings off East Africa are a cause of growing international concern, spurring a number of international navies to patrol the pirate-wracked Gulf of Aden.
Hundreds of other people remain hostage aboard hijacked ships in the Gulf of Aden and its surrounding seas.
An estimated 25,000 ships annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia’s northern coast.
Meanwhile, Gunbattles in the Somali capital of Mogadishu have killed at least nine people, according to agencies’ reports on Wednesday.
The exchange of gunfire erupted since last Tuesday between insurgents and forces of the Somali government when the government troops moved into an neighborhood held by the rebel groups in the war-ravaged capital. More than 30 people were wounded in the clashes and taken to hospital.

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