Fate of hijacked Iran vessel unknown

The fate of the 13 crew members of an Iranian fishing vessel seized by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean six weeks ago is still unclear, the vessel’s owner says.

Pirates attacked two Iranian fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean near the Gulf of Aden in late September.

One of the vessels escaped the attack but pirates seized the second one, Mehr News Agency reported on Tuesday.

“The pirates asked for USD 2 million in ransom in return for their release but unfortunately they have not contacted us since then,” the vessel’s owner Majid Salehi was quoted by Mehr as saying.

He said the families of the abducted crew would have a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki this week to be informed on the latest developments regarding the fate of the vessel.

Iran announced on Saturday it had sent its tenth fleet of vessels to the Gulf of Aden to protect its merchant vessels and oil tankers from Somali pirates.

The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is a strategic energy corridor, particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West via the Suez Canal.

Despite international efforts to curb piracy in the dangerous waters of the Gulf of Aden, Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships in recent years and have taken in tens of millions of dollars in ransoms.