Pirates Hijack Ship With 22 Ukrainians off Somali Coast

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry officially confirmed Friday that gunmen have hijacked a vessel manned by a 22-strong Ukrainian team off the coast of Somalia, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

The hijacked Panagia
The Panagia was hijacked on Oct. 18 as it sailed north from South Africa to Turkey carrying iron ore, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Earlier, international news agencies reported that the ship was hijacked in the pirate-infested waters off the coast of lawless Somalia.

Pirates seized the MV Pagania, flying a Liberian flag, on Wednesday as it sailed northward from South Africa to Europe with a cargo of iron ore and have demanded a $700,000 ransom for its release, media reports said.

“They took over the vessel about 90 nautical miles off the Somali coast, near the Puntland region,” said Andrew Mwangura of the seafarers’ assistance program from the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

“They are demanding $700,000 before they release the ship and the crew,” he told AFP.

In Mogadishu, officials with Somali militias in control of the capital confirmed the attack and said negotiations between the hijackers and the vessel’s owners had already begun. “The gunmen are inside the ship now,” one official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “The negotiations are under way, some money must be paid.”

Piracy has become epidemic in the unpatrolled waters off the coast of Somalia, where are least 23 hijackings and attempted seizures have been recorded since mid-March, according to the international maritime bureau (IMB).

“Ships are advised to keep as far away as possible from the Somali coast,” the IMB said in its latest weekly piracy alert issued on Tuesday before the Pagania was seized.

Source: MosNews