John
04-11-2009, 05:19 PM
It's a US-owned and Italian-flagged tugboat that was taken around 1100 this morning in the Gulf of Aden," said Andrew Mwangura.
"The 16 crew members are all safe," he added. He did not know the name of the boat.
Saturday's attack was just the latest in a series of raids on internatinal shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Somali pirates have continued to operate despite the presence of an international task force gathered to defend shipping in what is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
Another group of Somalis are holding a US captain hostage off the Somali coast after having abducted him during an unsuccessful bid to hijack his ship, the Maersk Alabama.
The four pirates guarding Captain Richard Phillips on the lifeboat they used to escape have warned US forces in the area not to attempt to rescue him.
French yachtsman Florent Lemacon died Friday as French marine commandos stormed his boat, the Tanit, freeing four other hostages including his three-year-old son, killing two pirates and capturing three others.
The pirates had been taking the yacht in towards the Somali coast and had refused offers of a ransom, said a spokesman for the French president on Friday.
"The 16 crew members are all safe," he added. He did not know the name of the boat.
Saturday's attack was just the latest in a series of raids on internatinal shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Somali pirates have continued to operate despite the presence of an international task force gathered to defend shipping in what is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
Another group of Somalis are holding a US captain hostage off the Somali coast after having abducted him during an unsuccessful bid to hijack his ship, the Maersk Alabama.
The four pirates guarding Captain Richard Phillips on the lifeboat they used to escape have warned US forces in the area not to attempt to rescue him.
French yachtsman Florent Lemacon died Friday as French marine commandos stormed his boat, the Tanit, freeing four other hostages including his three-year-old son, killing two pirates and capturing three others.
The pirates had been taking the yacht in towards the Somali coast and had refused offers of a ransom, said a spokesman for the French president on Friday.