Somali pirates have seized a Chinese ship in the Indian Ocean. China's Xinhua news agency says the ship 'De Xin Hai' is carrying coal and has 25 crew on board.
The ship, which was en route from South Africa to India, was seized some 1000 kilometres to the northeast of the Seychelles. It is the first time pirates have hijacked a ship so far from the shore. Since the European Union began its anti-piracy naval mission off the coast of Somalia last year, pirates have been operating further offshore in the Indian Ocean. The pirates are also believed to be taking advantage of the mild weather between monsoons.
The Seychelles has asked for international help to fight piracy as its economy is heavily dependent on tourism from cruise ships and tuna fishing.
There are currrently six vessels in the hands of Somali pirates. According to NGO Ecoterra International, at least 179 attacks have been carried out by Somali pirates since the start of the year; 52 of them have been successful.
Somali pirates
Photo by Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Wikimedia Commons
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I am very far from this scenario when I picture my beautiful carnival cruise ships dream vacation, I must confess. I have forgotten pirates actually exist still. The news deserves all my due respect. It is by far the most interesting thing that I got to read in a while. And honestly, I support the measure, since economy can be really affected by this phenomenon.
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