Saturday 11 Dezember 2010
DHAKA, SOMALIA - A Bangladesh-flagged ship hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea off India's coast has reached the Somali coast, but there has been no contact yet with its captors, the vessel's owner said Saturday.
The M.V. Jahan Moni, which has 25 Bangladeshi crew and the wife of the chief engineer on board, was captured on Sunday 550 kilometres (340 miles) off the coast of Cochin in southern India while sailing to Greece.
"The vessel anchored along the Somali coast after Friday midnight. But we have not been able to restore communications with the hijackers or any of the ship's crew," Mohammad Shahjahan, the owner of the vessel, told AFP.
Shahjahan said no group has claimed responsibility for the hijack and there has been no demand for a ransom. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has assured "all-out" support to free the vessel and crew, he said.
A senior Bangladesh Shipping Ministry official confirmed the berthing of the ship in civil war-torn Somalia, saying the vessel's location had been confirmed through satellite tracking.
The government was trying "all routes" to talk to the hijackers, the official said, without elaborating.
"Our first priority is to bring back the lady as soon as possible," he said, referring to the wife of the chief engineer. He asked not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the hijacking.
Source: AFP