DarkStar
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2008
- Messages
- 116
- Reaction score
- 0
Somali pirates hijack US vessel, crew retake control
* US officials say crew apparently contacted private company that operates the vessel
NAIROBI: Pentagon officials said on Wednesday that American crew of a US-flagged cargo ship had retaken control from Somali pirates who hijacked the vessel far off the Horn of Africa.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because information was still preliminary.
But they said the hijacked crew had apparently contacted the private company that operates the ship.
The Somali pirates hijacked the US-flagged, Danish-owned container ship with 20 American crew on board in the latest of a sharp rise in attacks off the Horn of Africa nation, officials said.
Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, said the 17,000 tonne Maersk Alabama had been seized off Mogadishu far out in the Indian Ocean, but all its crew were believed to be safe.
Denmarks AP Moller-Maersk confirmed the US-flagged Maersk Alabama had been attacked by pirates about 500 km off Somalia and had probably been hijacked. The company said it had 20 American crew on board.
The ship is owned and operated by Maersk Line Ltd, a Norfolk, Virginia-based subsidiary of AP Moller-Maersk.
A company spokesman said it had been carrying general goods to Mombasa from Djibouti when it was attacked.
A US naval spokeswoman in Bahrain, Lt Stephanie Murdock, said a US-flagged, Danish-owned ship reported being attacked by pirates early on Wednesday about 440 km southeast of Eyl, Somalia.
In the latest wave of pirate attacks, gunmen from Somalia seized a British-owned ship on Monday after hijacking another three vessels over the weekend.
In the first three months of 2009 just eight ships had been hijacked in the busy Gulf of Aden, which links Europe to Asia and the eastern Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal.
Foreign navies had rushed warships to the area in response and reduced the number of successful attacks. reuters
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
* US officials say crew apparently contacted private company that operates the vessel
NAIROBI: Pentagon officials said on Wednesday that American crew of a US-flagged cargo ship had retaken control from Somali pirates who hijacked the vessel far off the Horn of Africa.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because information was still preliminary.
But they said the hijacked crew had apparently contacted the private company that operates the ship.
The Somali pirates hijacked the US-flagged, Danish-owned container ship with 20 American crew on board in the latest of a sharp rise in attacks off the Horn of Africa nation, officials said.
Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, said the 17,000 tonne Maersk Alabama had been seized off Mogadishu far out in the Indian Ocean, but all its crew were believed to be safe.
Denmarks AP Moller-Maersk confirmed the US-flagged Maersk Alabama had been attacked by pirates about 500 km off Somalia and had probably been hijacked. The company said it had 20 American crew on board.
The ship is owned and operated by Maersk Line Ltd, a Norfolk, Virginia-based subsidiary of AP Moller-Maersk.
A company spokesman said it had been carrying general goods to Mombasa from Djibouti when it was attacked.
A US naval spokeswoman in Bahrain, Lt Stephanie Murdock, said a US-flagged, Danish-owned ship reported being attacked by pirates early on Wednesday about 440 km southeast of Eyl, Somalia.
In the latest wave of pirate attacks, gunmen from Somalia seized a British-owned ship on Monday after hijacking another three vessels over the weekend.
In the first three months of 2009 just eight ships had been hijacked in the busy Gulf of Aden, which links Europe to Asia and the eastern Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal.
Foreign navies had rushed warships to the area in response and reduced the number of successful attacks. reuters
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
