In yet another incident, Somali pirates hijacked a Maltese flagged vessel with 23 crew members onboard including 10 Indians several nautical miles away east from Oman. While the communication of the vessel has been cut off, pirates boarding the ship from two skiffs were captured by a maritime patrol aircraft.
MV Sinin, with 13 Iranians and 10 Indian nationals onboard had sent a distress call while sailing about 350 nautical miles east of Masirah in Oman in the North Arabian Sea, sources said. The ship that has a dead-weight of 52,466 tonnes was on route to Singapore from Fujairah (UAE) when it was attacked.
“There has been no communication with the ship since the distress signal was sent and the MV Sinin has now changed course towards the Somali coast,” said a source from shipping industry.
An aircraft from the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) had responded after receiving the distress call. The aircraft photographed two suspected pirate skiffs on board the vessel.
No ransom demand has been made yet. Pirates generally build up pressure on the owners by taking some time before making any demand. “Professional neg-otiators try to bargain with the pirates. But in return the pirates torture the crew members because of which the families of the crew members start putting pressure to pay the amount,” said Abdulgani Serang, secretary-cum-treasurer of National Union of Seafarers of India.