Nairobi: An Indian dhow has been hijacked by
Somali pirates off the coast of the Horn of the African
nation.
The dhow identified as 'Laxmi Sagar', which operates
frequently between Saudi Arabia and the pirate-infested
African coast, was seized by Somali pirates yesterday.
"The crew is Indian. I have not established where the
dhow was heading from and its destination," Andrew Mwangura,
the East African Coordinator of Seafarers' Assistance
Programme (SAP), was quoted as saying by official Chinese news
agency Xinhua.
Piracy has become rampant off the coast of Africa,
especially in the waters near Somalia, which has been without
an effective government since 1991. An estimated 25,000 ships
annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia's northern
coast.
Last week, an Indian Navy warship had successfully
repulsed a pirate attack on a US-owned tanker in the Gulf of
Aden off Somalia coast.
The Indian Navy has been taking part in global
anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden against the Somali
sea brigands since October last year and one of its Frigates
had "a kill" last November when a mother ship of the pirates
was destroyed.
-PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 00:28