Hijacked vessel with 23 Russians stays near Somali

02.11.2009
Thai fishing vessel Thai Union 3 with 23 Russians on board which was hijacked by pirates is currently near Somali, said Sergei Ivanov, representative of Singaporean shipowning company Sayan Fishing on Nov 1.

The crew is alive and well, he said.

There is a month's supply of fresh water and food at Thai Union 3, added Dmitry Shport, manager of the company.

The officials of Sayan Fishing will negotiate with pirates. According to Mr. Shport, they are to start talks as soon as the vessel calls at a port controlled by pirates.

Thai tunaboat Thai Union 3 was hijacked on Oct 29 in Indian Ocean 350 km north Seychelles. There are 23 Russians on board, all of them lives in Kaliningrad. Two Filipinos and two Ghanaians are also in the crew list. According to International Maritime Bureau, in 2007 pirates executed 35 attacks on vessels, in 2008 – 111, in 2009 – over 170 so far. Anti-piracy activities in the region are being performed by ships of EU, NATO, the USA, Japan, South Korea and China.

Somalian government will eliminate piracy by 2011 thanks to a number of civil and military initiatives including providing legal employment for pirates, said Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, Somali Prime Minister last week.

Source: RusNavy.com, photo: pirates (Reuters)