Indian cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates rescued but 8 crew missing

Mogadishu (Somalia) : Somali security forces have rescued an Indian cargo ship from the pirates who hijacked it, but only two of the ten-crew members were retrieved. The Indian ship was carrying cargo including wheat and sugar from Dubai via Yemen to Somalia’s Bossaso port when it came under attack.

Abdulahi Ahmed Ali, district commissioner for the pirate-hub region of Hobyo, told local press yesterday that the “Al Kauser” ship had been held off the Indian Ocean coast near Yemen after the hijacking on March 31.

“We have the boat and two of the crew members but eight other members of the crew are still missing because the pirates took them off the boat,” said the district commissioner. Ali said the two rescued crew members from India were healthy and that authorities were seeking their colleagues. Their abductors are believed to be holding them near Hobyo.

Somali security forces exchanged fire with the hijackers who fled in a fast boat, taking eight of their hostages with them, Ali said.

Somali pirates have been staging attacks since 2005 disrupting a major international shipping route and costing the global economy billions of dollars.