Somali Pirates Hijacked Italian Ship With Ukrainians Aboard

12.10.2011 Somali pirates captured Italian vessel with 23 crewmen on board including Ukrainian sailors, reported AFP on Oct 10 referring to announcement of shipowner D'Alesio Group.

According to the company, five pirates took part in the assault. The incident occurred 620 miles eastward Somalia on Oct 10. "At 6.44 am (local time) MV Montecristo sent a distress call. It was said in the last message received from shipmaster that the vessel had been attacked by 5 armed people", reported AFP citing the shipowner's announcement.

Reportedly, the crew consists of 23 men including Italian, Ukrainian, and Indian sailors.

Other details have not been reported so far.

Somalia can not cope with piracy because had ceased to exist as united state in 1991 with falling of Siad Barre's dictatorship who had been governing the country since late 60's. Currently, world community recognizes Federal Government of Somalia as the only lawful authority in the country; however, the mentioned government controls only a part of a capital city, Mogadishu and some outlying regions.

Anti-piracy campaign off Somali is carried out under EUNAVFOR – Operation Atalanta launched in 2008 and NATO Operation Ocean Shield started in 2009. Apart from counter-piracy warfare, the latter operation also implies rendering assistance to regional countries in developing own ways to resolve the problem. Russian warships participate in maritime security operations as well.