Somali pirates hijack Greek carrier

Published on Saturday 2 May 2009 19:38

SOMALI gunmen hijacked a Greek-owned bulk carrier yesterday, with a crew of 24 on board, a maritime official said.

"MT Ariana was seized at 0200 GMT, north of Madagascar en route to the Middle East from Brazil. The Ukrainian crew are said to be unhurt," Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme said.

The ship, which was flying a Maltese flag, belongs to All Oceans shipping in Greece and is managed by London-based Seven Seas Maritime. It is believed to be carrying 35,000 tons of soya.

Meanwhile, a Portuguese warship seized four sticks of dynamite from suspected Somali pirates after thwarting an attack on a Norwegian-owned oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, a Nato spokesman said yesterday.

It was the first time Nato forces found pirates armed with explosives, Lt-Cmdr Alexandre Santos Fernandes said from the Portuguese frigate the Corte-Real.

"Portuguese special forces performed the boarding with no exchange of fire," Fernandes said. The tanker was unscathed.

However, the 19 pirate suspects were released because they had not attacked Portuguese property or citizens. Decisions on detaining piracy suspects fall under national law; Fernandes said Portugal aimed to change its laws to allow for pirate suspects to be detained.