Thaindian News

Rome, April 21 (IANS/AKI) Pirates hijacked an Italian cargo ship in the Arabian Sea with 21 crew members, including six Italians, on board, the Italian government confirmed Thursday.

“At the time the ‘Rosalia D’Amato’ was hijacked, the Italian ship was around 320 miles off the coast of Oman,” said Italy’s foreign ministry in a statement.

“The Italian foreign ministry’s crisis unit is following the situation, in close collaboration with the defence ministry,” it added.

The hijack occurred early Thursday when two small boats approached the ship and the pirates managed to get on board and take possession of the Italian ship, which was heading from Brazil to Iran with a cargo of soyabeans.

“They are all well, we spoke half an hour ago with the commander,” said Carlo Miccio, an official at Perseveranza, the Naples-based operators of the vessel.

Perseveranza officials also spoke briefly with the pirates after they captured the ship, who told the officials they were all well, Miccio said.

“We don’t know where the ship is now sailing to or its precise location. We’re in the process of trying to track it via satellite systems to see if it’s moving,” Miccio added.

All the relatives of the crew have been informed of the hijacking and Perseveranza had made contact with the Italian foreign ministry, he said.

There had been no demand for ransom from the pirates, Miccio stated.

In February, pirates seized an Italian oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, some 800 miles off the coast of Somalia. The pirates in that attack fired assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades but there were no injuries.

Piracy has surged off the lawless east African nation in recent years.

–IANS/AKI
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