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MOGADISHU, Somalia: A French luxury yacht seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden has arrived in the northern town of Eyl, Somali officials confirmed on Sunday, a day after gunmen attempted to seize a German aid worker in the region.
Abdirahman Mohamed Bangah, the Minister for Information in the semiautonomous northern region of Puntland, said local officials had "no objection" to the presence of international forces in the area.
"We hope they will rescue this ship," he said. Eyl is about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu.
Local fisherman Mahdi Daud Anbuure, told AP via VHF radio that he had seen the ship, which was seized Friday in the Gulf of Aden, arriving.
"We also saw a small boat apparently carrying food supplies to the pirates heading toward it," he added.
District commissioner Hareed Iise Umar said fishermen had reported seeing heavily armed pirates leaving the coastline nine days ago, although it was not possible to say whether they were they same ones holding the 88-meter (288-foot) Le Ponant.
About 10 pirates seized the ship Friday as it returned without passengers from the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, toward the Mediterranean Sea, officials with French maritime transport company CMA-CGM said.
On Saturday, the French prime minister said he hoped to avoid using force to free the 30-member crew but no options had been ruled out. There are 22 French citizens, including six women onboard. Other nationalities include Ukrainians.
A French frigate, Le Commandant Bouan, was temporarily diverted from NATO duties and was tracking the yacht, military spokesman Cmdr. Christophe Prazuck said on Saturday. He said an airplane dispatched from a French base in Djibouti had flown over the yacht and all appeared calm aboard.
A French diplomat working on the case said Sunday that the hostages were being treated well, and that they have been provided food and given the opportunity to wash. The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, declined to say how officials had learned the information.
The diplomat said the Foreign Ministry has been in close contact with the hostage's families.
He said efforts were ongoing to try to establish contact with the hostage-takers. France's No. 1 concern is their security, he said.
According to the company's Web site, the three-mast boat features four decks, two restaurants, and indoor and outdoor luxury lounges. It can hold up to 64 passengers.
Le Ponant was next scheduled to carry passengers as part of a trip from Alexandria, Egypt, to Valletta, Malta, starting April 19. Prices started at €2,205 (US$3,465), not including air fare or taxes.
Pirates seized more than two dozen ships off Somalia's coast last year.
Denmark's government paid a ransom to win the release in August of the crew of a Danish cargo ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates about two months after they were taken captive.
The U.S. Navy has led international patrols to try to combat piracy in the region. Last year, the guided missile destroyer USS Porter opened fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied to a Japanese tanker.
But an increase in naval patrols has coincided with a rash of kidnappings of foreigners on land. Bangah said that two police had been killed and another wounded late on Sunday during the attempted kidnap of a German aid worker. Four of the men attempting to seize the woman had been arrested, he said.
Wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have its own navy, its armed forces are poorly paid and a transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to assert control against Islamist insurgents.
Late on Sunday, Islamist fighters took possession of Balad, 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Mogadishu, said resident Abdi Ibrahim. It is the ninth town they have taken in the past few months, in a series of hit-and-run attacks that usually sees them voluntarily withdraw after capturing equipment and freeing prisoners. Ibrahim said he was unaware of any casualties.
The insurgency, bandits and clan militias all contribute to the insecurity.
Associated Press Writers Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu, Somalia and Pierre-Yves Roger in Paris, France contributed to this report.
SOURCE: AP, April 8, 2008