Male: A Bolivian cargo ship was on Monday
hijacked, apparently by Somalian pirates in the territorial
waters off Maldives, officials said on Monday, even as Maldivian
forces have sought Indian Navy`s help for its rescue.
The Bolivian ship was hijacked inside our territory in
the morning, 7 miles inside our exclusive economic zone, which
is just 193 miles from the shore, Maldives National Defence
Force (MNDF) has said.
MNDF media official Colonel Abdul Raheem said that the
boat was hijacked northwest of Ha.Hoarafushi. He said that the
incident took place this morning and MNDF received information
in the afternoon. Neighbouring countries have been requested
for assistance following this incident.
Indian Navy is also helping MNDF in the rescue mission.
India and Maldives have established a communication line
in connection to this hijacking and concerned authorities from
both countries are working together.
MNDF said that the boat is slowly moving towards
Arabian Sea but still it is in Maldivian territory, and one of
MNDF Coast Guard vessel is travelling to the spot.
MNDF got the information at afternoon through a message
that was delivered to them at Global Maritime Distress Service
Centre at nearby island of Villigili.
Raheem also said that our country is safe and they don`t
know who have hijacked the ship and for us we believe that
it`s has been hijacked by Somalian Pirates.
PTI
