KENYA: Somali pirates release hijacked Norwegian ship

Record ID: 360697

  • Title: KENYA: Somali pirates release hijacked Norwegian ship
  • Date: 21st July 2010
  • Summary: MOMBASA, KENYA (JULY 20, 2010) (REUTERS) SHIP (NOT NORWEGIAN VESSEL RELEASED BY PIRATES) HEADING TO MOMBASA PORT WHILE HOOTING. EAST AFRICAN SEAFARERS' ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME CO-ORDINATOR, ANDREW MWANGURA, LOOKING AT OCEAN WIDE OF SPEED BOAT IN THE OCEAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) EAST AFRICAN SEAFARERS' ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME CO-ORDINATOR, ANDREW MWANGURA, SAYING: "UBT Ocean
  • Embargoed: 5th August 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Reuters ID: LVA1SADAPE2CNGCMOYD4MA3SCLH8
  • Story Text: Somali pirates have released a Norwegian owned fuel oil tanker seized in March, a maritime official said on Tuesday (July 20).
    "UBT ocean has been released by pirates and now she is heading to safe waters and we believe she is heading to her original destination which is Dar es salaam. The chemical carrier was hijacked by pirates on the 15th of March this year near Seychelles and crew members on board are 21 Burmese and we are informed all of them are safe and sound," said Andrew Mwangura, co-ordinator for the East African Seafarers Association.
    The UBT Ocean is a Marshall Islands-registered tanker hijacked off Madagascar while carrying fuel oil from the United Arab Emirates to Tanzania.
    The ransom claims could not be independently verified.
    "Regarding ransom, it is not yet clear but we think money has changed hands between the ship owner and the gunmen, that's what we believe because she has been there for so long and they can not let her go just easily," added Mwangura.
    Somali sea gangs have plagued the busy shipping lanes off Somalia for several years earning ransoms worth millions of dollars from most vessels captured.
    Somali pirates were held responsible for more than half of the 406 reported incidents in 2009. They hijacked 47 vessels and 867 crew members were taken hostage, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
    Most vessels and crew are released unharmed after a ransom has been paid, although some sailors have been wounded during hijackings and others have had health problems after protracted periods of captivity off the Somali coast.
    Pirate attacks globally declined by nearly a fifth in the first half of 2010 from the same period last year due to a strong naval presence in the Gulf of Aden.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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