Thaindian News

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) — Somali pirates on early Monday morning hijacked a German-owned vessel carrying eight crew members off Oman, the European Union Naval Force - Somalia confirmed on Tuesday.

EU Naval Force spokesman Per Klingvall said the 5,200 tonne cargo ship MV EMS River was pirated approximately 175 nautical miles (325 kilometers) northeast of the port of Salalah, a city in the southern Omani province of Dhofar. It is carrying eight crew members, all Filipino except one who is Romanian.

Klingvall said the German-owned, Antigua and Barbuda-flagged MV EMS River was on its way to San Nicolas in Greece from Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates at the time of the hijacking. “The pirated vessel MV Motivator was in the vicinity of EMS River throughout the attack which further enforces the current pirate modus operandi of the use of motherships,” he added.

Currently, Somali pirates are holding at least 26 vessels with a total of 609 hostages, according to the European Union Naval Force - Somalia, which keeps a record of pirating incidents. Most hijackings usually end without casualties when a ransom has been paid. This, however, often takes many months.

On Saturday, Somali pirates hijacked the Thailand-land flagged cargo ship MV Thor Nexus about 450 nautical miles (833 kilometers) northeast of the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean. It is carrying 27 crew members, all whom are from Thailand.

In recent years, Somali pirates have hijacked hundreds of ships, taking in tens of millions of dollars in ransom. Ships are patrolling the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce hijackings, but the anti-piracy force has warned that attacks are likely to increase now that the regional monsoon season has ended.