Somali pirates release British ship with 6 Indians on board

New Delhi, May 14 (PTI) Six Indians on board a British
vessel hijacked by Somali pirates in December last year from
the Gulf of Aden have been released alongwith 20 other
multinational crew after a ransom was paid.
"We have received information from the owner’s
representatives that the British vessel St James Park has been
released on May 13 and all the 26 crew including 6 Indians are
safe," a senior official in the Directorate General of
Shipping told PTI on Friday.
"The vessel hijacked on December 28 last year from the
Gulf of Aden is currently on route to a safe port of refuge,"
the official said.
The official said the vessel was released after ransom
was paid to the pirates at a Somalian port but there was no
word on the amount.
In Brussels, the European Union anti-piracy mission said
owners of the chemical tanker had dropped the ransom to the
pirates holding the vessel in the Somali port of Garacaad
Thursday.
The 14,000 tonne freighter had been heading for Thailand
when it was seized on December 28. The statement said the crew
included six Indians, five Bulgarians, three Turkish, three
Filipinos, three Russians, two Romanians, two Ukrainians, one
Georgian and one Pole.
The number of Indians still held hostage by the pirates
is 57 including those on board a Belgium-bound chemical tanker
M V Marida Marguerite with 22 crew members including 19
Indians, hijacked on May 9 from the Gulf of Aden.
The tanker en-route from Kandla in Gujarat to Antwerp in
Belgium was carrying approximately 11,000 MT of chemicals.
Somali pirates had seized 11 dhows (slow-moving vessels)
with over 120 Indians on board over a month ago.
Of them, five vessels, including a dhow, and 38 Indians
continued to be in their custody.
Repeated attacks on Indian vessels had also prompted the
government to issue warning to dhows about the dangers in
those waters, particularly along the sea-lanes of Salalah and
Male.
The merchandise conducted on seas is worth about USD 110
billion annually, with Indians being among the major players.
PTI NAM
RBT



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