A hijacked trawler has been taken to port in Somalia with pirates still in charge of the vessel, the Spanish government said Sunday.The fishing boat is purported to be headed to Harardhere, a well known pirate lair. See here:
The Spanish-owned fishing boat Alakrana was hijacked by pirates early Friday. It is being monitored by two navy warships, rescue force commander Gen. Jaime Dominguez said.
Dominguez also said at a press conference that two suspected pirates had been captured as they navigated a small boat in the vicinity of the Alakrana.
The two had just come off the Alakrana aboard a motorized skiff that carried 14 containers of fuel, Dominguez said.
A Spanish tuna trawler with a 36-member crew was heading Saturday to the port of Harardhere a day after it was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, pirates and the Spanish military said. "Our colleagues contacted us to tell us that they will arrive at Harardhere in several hours. This boat has been fishing illegally for a long time and fortunately it is now in our hands," a pirate who gave his name as Abdi Mohamed told AFP by telephone. Spanish military operations chief Jaime Dominguez Buj said a frigate dispatched by Madrid is expected to catch up with the Alakrana later on Saturday and prevent the trawler from reaching the Somali coast.Photo is from Spanish Ministry of Defense. Video available (in Spanish) here.
UPDATE: Arrows point to general area where Spanish fishing vessel is reportedly being held.
Click to enlarge.
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