Armed Somali Pirates

A little time, they are away from the news and they hit the field again. Somali pirates have struck again. As reported by some news websites, this is the biggest hijacking ever. The Somali Pirates have captured 8 boats taking nearly 120 Indian sailors as hostage. The trapped sailors were on their way from Somalia to Dubai when the pirates attacked.

The relatives of the those hostaged by the pirates have appealed to the Indian government for help to ensure their fast ans safe release.

In the meantime, sources have reported that the hijacked Indian vessels have been traced near Seychelles.

Among the sailors that are hostage to the pirates, they belonged to the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat in India. They had anchored last in the rebel territory of Kismayo in Somalia where they loaded cargo into their boats. Just moments after they left the port, the pirates hit again and captured them.

Sources in the Indian Navy have confirmed the news of the hijack and have said efforts are on in full swing to contact the pirates and get the Indians back safely. According to the sources, the pirates have not demanded for any ransom as of now.

If we talk of the Somali pirates, for that matter, India has remained a target for the pirates. On December 23rd last year, an Indian ship named M T Agrasen was attacked by armed pirates off the Indian coast of Maharashtra. The 41 member crew, however, managed to fight off the attack and thwart the attempted seige.

The Somali Pirates have many a times attacked Indian ships and taken Indians crew members hostage. On December 15, pirates seized Indian vessel Laxmi Sagar off the Somalian coast and took 10 members on board hostage. Indians were taken hostage on October 24 along with two Burmese nationals when a Panama flagged ship Al Khaliq was hijacked. The ship was however released later after receiving a ransom of 3.1 million dollars.