Yemeni ship hijacked by Somali pirates
Somali pirates have hijacked a Yemeni cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, a regional maritime group said on Tuesday, a day after sources said the gang holding a Saudi Arabian supertanker were demanding a $15 million ransom.
Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, identified the Yemeni vessel as the MV Amani. "We were just informed the Amani had been taken," Mwangura told Reuters. "But it had been out of contact for about four days, so it is not known exactly when it was seized."
This development came 10 days after gunmen from Somalia captured the Saudi supertanker in history's biggest maritime hijacking. The Nov. 15 capture was of the Sirius Star which is loaded with oil worth $100 million and 25 crew members from Britain, Poland, Croatia, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.