- Title: KENYA: Released Greek ship arrives in Mombasa
- Date: 4th December 2008
- Summary: EYL, SOMALIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) MV YASA - BULK CARRIER ON WATER/ HIJACKED BY SOMALI PIRATES ON OCTOBER 29, 2008 STOLT STRENGTH - CHEMICAL TANKER ON WATER/ HIJACKED BY SOMALI PIRATES ON NOVEMBER 10, 2008 DIFFERENT IMAGES OF HIJACKED SHIPS INCLUDING YASA, AT SEA PIRATE HOLDING A GUN SHIPS AROUND EYL VARIOUS PIRATES THREE SHIPS AT SHORE
- Embargoed: 19th December 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Kenya
- Country: Kenya
- Reuters ID: LVAENDZQJ4WC5NEDGM3QEO2AUM2U
- Story Text: A Greek ship released by Somali pirates arrived in Mombasa. More ships have been released but more are still in held along Somali coast The Greek ship, MV Centauri arrived at Kenya's port of Mombasa on Wednesday (December 03) after it was released by Somali pirates last week.
The Centauri had a crew of 26 Filipinos and was due to discharge 17,000 tonnes of bulk salt at the Kenya port when it was hijacked in mid September off Somalia's waters, said to be the most dangerous in the world.
The ship's crew recounted their 71 day ordeal in the hands of the pirates with Leornado Landicho, the ship's electrician, showing bullet holes on the ship's cabin caused by gunfire during the attack.
MV Centauri's owners are listed as Lantauni shipping limited of Malta and is managed by navigation maritime limited of Greece.
It was not immediately clear whether any form of ransom was paid to secure the ship's release from the pirates.
Somali pirates have freed a Yemeni cargo ship they seized last week after successful talks between regional authorities, clan elders and the gunmen, officials said on Wednesday (December 3). The ship was seized on Nov. 25 in the Gulf of Aden.
Yemeni ambassador to Somalia, Ahmed Omar, who was in Puntland to participate in the negotiations to release the ship, said the crew of the MV Amani are safe and no ransom was paid.
"It's a fact that the ship was released and these efforts were made by the Somali president and Puntland administration president, and they made a lot of effort. As far as I know there was no ransom paid," said Omar said in the northern Puntland port town of Bosasso.
The MV Amani, owned by Yemeni shipping firm Abu Talal, has seven sailors on board. It was seized on November 25 as it carried 507 tonnes of steel from Yemen's Mukalla port to Socotra Island.
There have been nearly 100 attacks in Somali waters this year, despite the presence of several foreign warships. The sea gangs are holding about a dozen ships and nearly 300 crew.
Among the captured vessels are a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million of crude oil, the Sirius Star.
The MV Faina, the Ukrainian cargo ship carrying a controversial cargo of 33 tanks and other military hardware 30 Soviet-era tanks, will now be released after Somali pirates reached a deal with its owners.
The pirates and owners of the MV Faina were discussing arrangements for delivering the money, according to regional maritime officials.
The pirates had previously demanded a $20 million ransom when they hijacked the ship on September 24 as it headed for the Kenya coast of Mombasa.
Somali pirates have taken advantage of chaos on the Somali mainland to launch attacks offshore in a major global sea artery used by about 20,000 vessels a year. The gangs normally seek and often received large ransoms, and it is rare for pirates to release vessels without some monetary incentive.
The attacks have pushed up insurance costs, brought the gangs tens of millions of dollars in ransoms, and prompted foreign warships to rush to the area.
On Tuesday (December 2) the U.N. Security Council renewed its authorisation for countries to use military force against the gunmen operating off the anarchic Horn of Africa nation. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None