Four Held in Somalia Over Hijacked UN Ship

Four held in Somalia over hijacked UN ship

NAIROBI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) — The UN World Food Program (WFP) said Tuesday Somalia’s semi-autonomous authorities of Puntland have arrested four men whom they believe were part of a group that hijacked a WFP-contracted ship off the northeastern coast of Somalia.

In a statement issued in Nairobi, the WFP said the men were arrested when they went ashore to buy supplies in the town of Bargal.

However, some four hijackers remain in control of the hijacked MV Rozen, which has stoked fears of a new surge in Somalia’s once- rampant piracy.

“The arrest is welcome news, but the safe release of the crew and the vessel remains our chief concern. We very much hope this ordeal will finish soon,” said the WFP Somalia’s Country Director Peter Goossens.

Since Monday, the ship has been anchored about 10 km off the coast of the Puntland region of Somalia, near Bargal.

“It is reported to be surrounded by five of the Puntland authorities’ police boats. Latest reports indicate the ship is now sailing southwards,” said the statement.

Pirates hijacked the UN-chartered freighter off the coast of northeastern Somalia Sunday after the ship delivered food aid to the stricken nation.

It was the first time pirates hijacked a boat near Somalia since Ethiopian troops helped Somali transitional government soldiers oust a powerful Islamist movement from Mogadishu late last year.

The ship, chartered by the WFP from Mombasa-based Motaku Shipping Agency, was hijacked after unloading 1,800 tons of food aid in Berbera and in Bossaso and was sailing empty back to Mombasa.

On board the vessel are 12 crew members, six Sri Lankans, including the captain, and six Kenyans.

Piracy was once rampant in Somalia, but stopped during recent Islamist rule and the latest hijacking was the first reported since the interim government and its Ethiopian allies routed Islamists from Mogadishu last month.

Early last year, the MV Rozen escaped an attempted hijack in southern Somali waters. Her sister vessel, the MV Semlow, was hijacked with WFP relief food on board for more than 100 days in Somali waters in June 2005.

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