Somali pirates seized Spanish boat

Spain called for NATO help after Somali pirates boarded a Spanish fishing boat and seized the crew.

Just another incident happen with Japan when its boat the Playa de Bakio was fishing for tuna about 250 miles off Somalia and was attacked with grenade launchers at around 1 pm on Sunday and boarded by four men. It was found that the Spanish ship was boud for the Somali town of Gaan. And its 26 crew members, among them 13 Spaniards and 13 African nationals, were believed to be unharmed.

However, the details of the pirates’ demands have not been made public. Reacting on that Spain dispatch a frigate, on exercise in the Red Sea, to find the vessel and called for international help in the search. The ministry of defence has also alerted Nato and contacted France, Britain, and other allied countries with a military presence in the area.

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the prime minister told that the government was working with the African Union and Somali authorities to resolve the situation. Somalia’s authorities said that a food ship from Dubai had been attacked. Abdisamad Yusuf Abwaan, a minister for the north-east Puntland region, said that if these pirates have now gone ahead to hijack vessels bringing us food, this will badly affect activities at our port.

It is true that the waters off Somalia, which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years, are considered to be among the most dangerous in the world. Under security law the shipping is warned to approach no closer than 200 nautical miles from Somalia's coast, but pirates with long-range mother ships to carry their launches are now coming out to meet them.

Source: Telegraph"

WorldFishingToday d. 23-04-2008