Somali Pirates: Turkish Cargo Ship Taken 1000 miles at Sea

Early reports: Turkish Cargo Ship Hijacked By Somali Pirates | AHN:

Somali pirates have hijacked a Turkish-owned Malta-flagged ship and her 21 crew members 1,000 miles off the Somali coast near India, according to the European Union Naval Force.

The ship, MV Frigia, was enroute to Kaousichang, Thailand, from Egypt’s Port Said when it came under attack outside the heavily guarded International Recommended Transit Corridor.

“The hijacking took place approximately 1,000 nautical miles east of the northern coast of Somalia. This position is closer to India than Somalia and is approximately 400 nautical miles outside the normal EU NAVFOR operation area,” said the statement.

It added, “MV Frigia has a crew of 21 (19 Turkish and two Ukrainian). The ship was heading east but has now turned around, is heading west and and appears to be heading for one of the known pirate ports off the coast of Somalia.”

From EU's MSC(HOA):

Malta Flagged cargo ship hijacked in Indian Ocean

23/03/2010 11.16 UTC

This morning, 23 of March, the Malta flagged Turkish owned (Garanti Finansal Kiralama) cargo ship MV FRIGIA, deadweight 35,000 tonnes, was reported hijacked in the Indian Ocean.

The hijacking took place approximately 1000 Nautical miles east of the northern coast of Somalia. This position is closer to India than Somalia and is approximately 400 N Miles outside the normal EU NAVFOR operation area. The ship was heading from Port Said to Kaousichang in Thailand. MV FRIGIA has a crew of 21 (19 Turkish and 2 Ukrainian). The ship was heading east but has now turned around, is heading west and and appears to be heading for one of the known pirate ports off the coast of Somalia. EU NAVFOR will continue to monitor the situation.

UPDATE: BBC notes here that the Somali pirates are moving "toward India." This trend was discussed previously in posts here - see March 2010 A Somali Pirate Attack Off India?, Dec 2009 Somali Pirates: Indian Merchant Ship Evades Attack - Off India? and Somali Pirates: Update on tanker attacked off India.



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