Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 5 (ANI): Relatives of Indian seafarers on board a Japanese ship hijacked by armed Somalian pirates held a candlelight vigil here on Saturday.
They accused the central government of not doing enough to rescue the crew.
” I would look forward to negotiate the things faster and let the people come home as soon as possible,” said Seema Goyal, wife of Prabhat Goyal, captain of the hijacked ship.
The seafarers on board M. T. Stlot Valor have been held hostage by the pirates who hijacked the cargo ship on September 15.
The ship is owned by a Japanese company and managed by Fleet Marine Limited in Mumbai. The hijackers had earlier demanded a ransom of six million dollar for the release of the crew and later came down to 2.5 million dollar.
Somali waters are one of the most dangerous in the world for pirate attacks. The International Maritime Bureau reported more than 24 known attacks in the area between April and June, and more have been committed in recent months.
Maritime experts say many attacks go unreported along Somalia”’’s 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) of coast, which is infested with pirates who operate high-powered speedboats and carry heavy machine guns and rocket launchers.
Somali pirates are holding 13 vessels captive at the moment, along with more than 200 sailors.
Some top global shipping groups had urged the world’’s naval powers to commit more warships to patrol the commercially strategic Gulf of Aden to counter rising levels of piracy off the coast of Somalia. (ANI)