Somali pirates’ seize Kenya-flagged fishing boat

A maritime watchdog says suspected Somali pirates hijacked a Kenyan-flagged fishing boat with European and African crew last week.

“The vessel was taken hostage in waters off the Kenyan and Seychellois coasts last week” Andrew Mwangura, the head of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, said Tuesday.

The Kenya-base watchdog added that the fishing boat, called MV Sakoba, had a Spanish captain and 15 other crewmembers from Kenya, Poland, Senegal, Cape Verde and Namibia.

The European Union’s anti-piracy naval mission in the region, EU NAVFOR Atalanta, confirmed the hijacking, adding that it was heading towards the Somali pirate lair of Harardhere, where pirates keep ships and their crew hostage for millions of dollars in ransom.

The pirates use some of the captured vessels as “mother ships” to launch attacks on more ships and an Atlanta spokesman warned that the pirates could now steer MV Sakoba and seize more victims in the dangerous waters of the Indian Ocean.

Despite international efforts to curb piracy off the coast of Somalia, the trend has spread further into the Indian Ocean, widening the area of the mission’s patrol.

On Monday, the French Defense Ministry claimed one of its frigates had seized 35 suspected pirates, four “mother ships” and six skiffs in various sweeps off the coast of Somalia.