Pirates seize ship with 2 Indians, 22 others; free them later

Striking yet again, Somalian pirates seized a vessel in the Gulf of Aden but later released the entire crew of 22, including two Indians.

The cargo ship flying a Panamanian flag was hijacked on Friday. However, a day later, the crew was released in safe condition, officials here said.

"We have received information that a general Cargo ship MV QSM DUBAI, with 24 crew members, hijacked on June 2 morning in the Gulf of Aden has been released yesterday," a senior official in the Directorate of Shipping told PTI.

The crew included two Indians, 11 Pakistani, 9 Egyptians, one Bangladesh and one Ghanaian, the official said.

"It is also reported that the two Indian nationals on board are safe," the official said, adding, the directorate is in contact with the managers of the vessel for updates of the crew and vessel.

The owner of the vessel had reported that it was seized on Wednesday after it had sailed off from Brazil. 

Over the past few months, the Somali pirates had seized 11 dhows (slow-moving vessels) with over 120 Indians on board about two months back. However, they later released some
of the vessels after a ransom was paid by the owners.

Over 50 Indians are still in their captivity. 

Repeated attacks on Indian vessels had also prompted the government to issue warning to dhows about the dangers in
those waters, particularly along the sea-lanes of Salalah and
Male.

The merchandise conducted on seas is worth about $110 billion annually, with Indians being among the major players.