Thaindian News

Somali pirates have hijacked an Indian dhow with 16 crew onboard as it left the north coast port of Bosasso, in the Gulf of Aden.

Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme, speculated the seizure might have the result of “a business deal that went sour”.

Abdiwahid Mohamed Hersi, director of the Puntland region’s fishing ministry, said the boat had just unloaded goods at Bosasso and was en route to Dubai. “The pirates want to use the boat to hijack other ships,” he claimed.

On Wednesday, pirates seized a Turkish ship with 23 crew members onboard carrying sulfate from Saudi Arabia to Jordan, also in the Gulf of Aden.

It was a rare attack for the season given rough sees at this time of year which make it difficult for pirates to manoeuvre the small skiffs they generally use.

World powers are stepping up their efforts to crack down on piracy off the Horn of Africa country.

Several pirate attacks occur off Somalia’s lawless coast each week despite poor weather and the presence of international warships in the Gulf of Aden. At least 11 ships are currently being held.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, and the clan militias and insurgent groups who control the coastline have little incentive to rein in pirates, who make multi-million-dollar ransoms.

As of the end of 2008 some 15 ships, three of them Turkish, had been hijacked, along with more than 300 crew.