Somali pirates seize Greek freighter, 25 crew in the Gulf of Aden

From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Audio

Audio file created from text revision dated i2008-09-20 and may not reflect subsequent edits to this report.

Audio Help
Audio Wikinews

Somalia

Other stories from Somalia

• 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
• 12 November 2009: Judge known for jailing pirates shot dead in Bossaso, Somalia

...More articles here

Location of Somalia

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

The incident took place in the Gulf of Aden
Image: NOAA.

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), pirates have seized a Greek bulk carrier en route to Kenya with 25 crew on board in the Gulf of Aden some 370 kilometers from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

Noel Choong, who represents the International Maritime Bureau, advised ships traveling through the gulf to take extra precautions. "It appears that the pirates are now attacking ships in two areas, the eastern part of Somalia and northern parts of the Horn of Africa nation," he said. "Ships are warned to take extra measures and stay 200 nautical miles away from the coast. They must maintain a strict watch.

The Gulf of Aden is a dangerous place for ships, with many incidents of piracy occurring regularly in the Gulf.

Four hours earlier pirates had attacked another vessel, a chemical tanker from Hong Kong, which was at the time carrying 22 crew members. Following that attack, the gulf was described by the managing director of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association as an "incredibly dangerous place."

In response to this, several large shipping organisations have called for countries to deploy forces from their Navies in the Gulf of Aden.

"The shipping industry's plea is in response to a situation which it describes as in danger of spiralling completely and irretrievably out of control," said the group which consisted of the International Chamber of Shipping, Intercargo, Bimco and Intertanko. "Continued inaction against these violent acts could prompt shipowners to redirect their ships via the Cape of Good Hope, with severe consequences for international trade, including increased prices for delivered goods."

HAVE YOUR SAY
How should piracy be dealt with in the Gulf of Aden?
Add comment - View comments

The group also said that there have been 40 hijackings in the gulf, resulting in 133 crew members being kidnapped and 10 ships being held. According to the IMB six gangs totalling approximately 1,200 people have carried out these attacks.

Sources

Wikipedia has an article about List of ships attacked by Somali pirates.

• "Somali Pirates Seize Greek Bulk Carrier With 25 Crew On Board". Bloomberg L.P., September 18, 2008
• "Official: Pirates seize Hong Kong ship off Somalia". Associated Press, September 18, 2008
• "Warships needed to halt Somalia pirates-shipowners". guardian.co.uk, September 18, 2008
• Paul Mozur "Pirates seize HK tanker". The Standard, September 17, 2008
  

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.