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Cargo ship carrying 25 people hijacked by pirates off India
A Bangladeshi ship has been hijacked by suspected Somali pirates while transporting nickel ore from the Arabian Sea, reported by officials to now be headed to the lawless East African nation.
Jahan Moni, a Bangladesh-flagged M.V., was head from Singapore to Europe, said Rear Adm. Bazlur Rahman, chief of the Bangladesh Shipping Department.
The 25 Bangladeshis on the cargo ship include the wife of one crewman, according Capt. Habibur Rahman, principal officer of the government's Mercantile Marine department.
Satellite images showed the ship heading toward Somalia, he said. It had loaded 41 tons of nickel ore from Indonesia to reach Greece via Singapore.
Somali pirates currently hold 22 ships and 521 crew, according figures released by the European Union Naval Force. Somali pirates also have a history of holding hostages and ships for months, releasing them only in exchange for multimillion-dollar ransoms.
Somalia has been mired in anarchy since 1991, enabling piracy to thrive off its Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden coasts. A multinational force patrols the seas, but the vast distances and pirates' ability to attack further offshore mean hijackings have continued.
