Nine hijacked vessels with 95 Indians traced to Mogadishu

Nine hijacked vessels, carrying 95 Indians, have been traced to Mogadishu off Somalia and efforts are being made to secure their release, official sources said today.Somali pirates, who seized 11 dhows (slow-moving vessels)over the past 10 days have released two boats with 26 Indianson board and the government believes the remaining hostagesare safe.The nine vessels, along with 95 Indians, still in captivity of the pirates, have been traced to Mogadishu off Somalia, an official of the Shipping Ministry told PTI.The government is in constant touch with Indian High Commissions in Seychelles and Nairobi to secure their saferelease.     India has approached Somalian government for help toensure release of the captured dhows.     "We believe the captured Indians are safe as the pirateshave not caused any harm to the seafarers on board two Dhowsreleased so far," he said.      Pirates have so far released two Indian Dhows. SixIndian Dhows with 78 seafarers and three foreign vessels with17 Indian crew are still in the custody of Somali pirates.      Repeated attacks on Indian vessels prompted thegovernment to issue warning to warning to Dhows about thedangers in those waters, particularly along the sea-lanes ofSalalah and Male.      The merchandise conducted on seas is worth about USD110 billion annually, with Indians being the major players.     India has positioned a naval warship in the Gulf of Adenregion since October 2008 to provide escort to its merchantships. However, the latest hijackings took place far from theGulf of Aden, indicating that the pirates are operatingmuch beyond.     Sources said there were indications that the pirateswere operating in south of the Indian Ocean as Maldives hasspotted some of them. PTI NAM AKKAN04051702NNNN