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Thursday, February 04, 2010 NAIROBI: Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden have hijacked a Libyan-owned cargo ship thought to be carrying 17 seafarers from Romania and Libya, a Kenya-based maritime group said on Thursday. Ecoterra, which monitors shipping off Somalia, said the 4,800-tonne MV Rim was seized on Tuesday in the strategic channel south of the Yemen coast. It said it was flying a North Korean flag, but is owned by White Sea Shipping of Tripoli. "Her crew usually comprises 17 sailors and, based on outdated crew lists, it could be assumed that they are holding Romanian and Libyan nationalities," Ecoterra said. The group said local reports suggested the hijackers were from Somalia's semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland. "It is assumed the vessel is now commandeered to one of the Puntland pirate lairs," it said in a statement. A European Union counter-piracy force confirmed the hijacking but had no information on the make-up of the crew.

Updated at: 0231 PST, Saturday, January 02, 2010 NAIROBI: Somali pirates seized an Indonesian chemical tanker Friday with 24 crew members in the Gulf of Aden, a maritime watchdog reported. The Singapore-flagged Premoni was captured while en route to India -- the third vessel since August to be taken in the region patrolled by foreign navies -- said Andrew Mwangura of the East Africa Seafarers Assistance Programme. It also marked the first attack this year. Among the crew are 17 Indonesians, five Chinese nationals, a Nigerian and a Vietnamese, said Mwangura, adding that the sailors were safe. On Monday, pirates seized the St James Park, a UK-flagged chemical tanker with a crew of 26 from nine different countries, while Yemeni authorities said the same day that a Yemeni freighter with 15 crew members had also been taken.