Dubai: A petrol tanker belonging to the
United Arab Emirates hijacked by Somali pirates on July 16 has
been released, state news agency WAM reported on Thursday.
Seventeen sailors from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
Sudan, Myanmar, Kenya and Somalia were on board the tanker,
according to WAM.
The MV Jubba 20, a laden tanker, was released
yesterday "without any ransom payment or giving any
concessions," WAM said.
The EU's anti-piracy body announced on July 18 that
the tanker was pirated in the northern Indian Ocean, on her
regular route from the UAE to the port of Berbera in the
breakaway state of Somaliland.
The MV Jubba 20 was seized while "carrying 3,500
tonnes of oil products."
Last month, the UN Security Council warned that Somali
pirates were attacking growing numbers of ships in the Indian
Ocean and that the attacks were becoming more violent and
extreme.
There were 266 cases of piracy at sea in the first six
months of 2011, compared to 196 the previous year. Sixty per
cent of these involve Somali pirates, who at the end of June
were holding 20 ships and 420 hostages.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, July 28, 2011, 23:32