Ship seized by pirates off Somalia was German owned

One of the two cargo freighters hijacked off the Somali coast this week was a German owned vessel registered in Gibraltar, a Kenyan maritime official said Friday.

The MV Lehmann Timber seized on Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden, was managed by Kehdisgerland GMBH, said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan branch of the Seafarers’ Assistance Programme.

The vessel was captured on the same day as the Turkey-flagged MV Arean—owned by Arkia Company of Malta—bringing the number of freighters seized in the region this week to three.

“We have established that the two vessels were taken by the same pirates who had split into two groups,” Mwangura added.

Mwangura said they were yet to receive information about the crew, the vessels’ ports of origin and destination.

On Sunday, hijackers took control of Dutch-owned MV Amiya Scan along with its nine Russian and Filipino crew in the same region that has seen a string of attacks recently.

The International Maritime Bureau (IBM) urged vessels sailing in the Gulf of Aden to take precautionary measures and maintain a strict 24 hour anti-piracy watch.

“Pirates are firing automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades in an attempt to board and hijack vessels,” the bureau said an alert on the region issued Wednesday.

The waters off Somalia, which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years, are considered to be among the most dangerous in the world.

According to the IBM, more than 25 ships were seized off Somalia’s 3 700km of coastline last year despite patrols by an international force based in Djibouti. - AFP