Somali pirates agree to release Egyptian ship with fertiliser cargo and 28 crew

From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Somalia

Other stories from Somalia

• 11 December 2009: Somali pirates release Greek-owned ship
• 3 December 2009: At least fifteen killed after suicide bombing in Somali hotel
• 1 December 2009: Somali pirates seize Greek-owned tanker
• 19 November 2009: Somali pirates attack US-flagged ship, vessel evades capture
• 18 November 2009: European Union to train Somali security forces

...More articles here

Location of Somalia

To write, edit, start or view other articles on Somalia, see the Somalia Portal

Pirates in Somalia have agreed to release the MV Blue Star, her crew of 28 and cargo of fertiliser after a ransom figure was agreed upon between the vessel's owner and the pirates.

The Blue Star was captured on January 1 near Bab al-Mandabm whilst transporting 6,000 tonnes of urea for use as fertiliser. The ship is Egyptian-owned with an Egyptian crew, and sails under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Details of the release deal are unclear. The International Herald Tribune quotes owner Abdel Rahman Awwa as saying that he expected a release "within hours", while the Melbourne Herald Sun named him as Abderrahman el-Awwa and quoted him as saying he did not expect the vessel to be freed "before four days." The Herald Tribune attributes their story to Reuters, while the Herald Sun cites the Agence France-Presse as the author of their article.

IHT also says that the ransom figure is unknown, but reports that sources within the company that owns the Blue Star as giving a figure over US$3 million. The Herald Sun again disagrees, saying Awwa told reporters that "We have reached an agreement [with the pirates] for a million dollar ransom." The Sun cites Awwa as giving the reason for delays as waiting for the pirates to select a secure location to receive their money.

HAVE YOUR SAY
What do you think is the best way to combat piracy in Somalia?
Add comment - View comments

The Egyptian crew also expect to be released soon, according to contact with their families. Engineer Ibrahim Otman reported improved treatment received from his captors, including increased food and permission to walk on the ship's deck.

Sources

Wikipedia has an article about Piracy in Somalia.

• "Somali pirates agree to free Egyptian ship". International Herald Tribune, February 6, 2009
• "Pirates to free Egyptian ship for million dollars". Melbourne Herald Sun, February 6, 2009
  

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable. Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators. Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections. Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.