Somali pirates hijack UAE vessel with 5 Indians

A UAE-based vessel carrying 16 members on board including five Indians were hijacked by Somali pirates off an island which forms part of Yemen. Sources in the Ministry of shipping reported on Thursday that they were trying their best efforts to find out the details of the five Indians who were a part of the 16 member crew  that had been hijacked by the pirates on July 16. Vessel MV Jubba of Juba General Trading was on its regular route from United Arab Emirates to the port of Berbera, Somalia with the crew members including a Sri Lankan, three Bangladeshis, a Sudanese, a Myanmarese, a Kenyan and four Somalians. According to the preliminary information, the vessel was located by a Maritime Patrol aircraft 100 nautical miles north-west of Socorta Island, leading to the Northern Somalian coast. The sources say that the hijacked vessel was a general cargo freighter having a capacity of 2,100 tonne. The Pakistan's human rights activist and former federal minister Ansar Burney, said that they had received information about the hijacking of the vessel and reported that nine suspected Somali pirates were on board. Burney who made certain negotiations with the pirates, demanded the United Nations and NATO to take stern actions against the Somali pirates to get MV Iceburg, MV Juba XXX and over 40 other vessels released and to ensure the safe and secured recovery of more than 700 crew members on board including those from India and Pakistan. Reported by       AR