Somali pirates Hijack UAE vessel with 5 Indians

Somali pirates

Hijack UAE vessel with 5 Indians

A UAE-based vessel carrying 16 members on board including five Indians were hijacked by Somali pirates off an Island which forms part of Yemen.  Sources in the Ministry of Shipping on Thursday said they were trying to ascertain the details of the Indians who were part of the 16-member crew that has been hijacked by pirates on July 16. Vessel MV Jubba of Juba General Trading was on its regular route from the United Arab Emirates to the port of Berbera, Somalia with the crew members including a Sri Lankan, three Bangladeshis, a Sudanese, a Myanmarese, a Kenyan and four Somalians.

According to preliminary information, the vessel was located by a Maritime Patrol aircraft 100 nautical miles north-west of Socotra Island, heading to the northern Somali coast. The sources said the hijacked vessel was a general cargo freighter having a capacity of 2,100 tonne. In a related move, Pakistan’s human rights activist and former federal Minister Ansar Burney, whose office had also received information about the hijacking of the vessel, said at present little information was available, but it was reported that nine suspected Somali pirates were on board. Mr. Burney, whose trust has been on forefront of negotiation with pirates, demanded with the United Nations and NATO to take stern action against the terrorist Somali pirates to get MV Iceberg, MV Jubba XX and over 40 other vessels released and ensure safe and secure recovery of more than 700 innocent crew members on board including those from India and Pakistan.

                                            Prof. John Kurakar