Somali pirates have released a German-operated cargo ship after receiving a 5.5-million-dollar ransom, the leader of the pirate group said Monday.
'We have received our money after a plane dropped it by parachute this morning,' Khalif Dahir, who said he was the leader of the group that seized the ship, told the German Press Agency DPA by telephone. 'Our people are leaving the ship and it will be released this evening.'
Pirates seized control of the Marshall Islands-flagged Marida Marguerite and its crew of 19 Indians, two Bangladeshis and one Ukrainian off Oman's coast on May 8. Piracy is rife off the coast of lawless Somalia, where over 25 ships and 601 hostages are being held, according to the European Union's anti-piracy force.
Analysts said merchant shipping f
aced mounting costs. Some shipping companies and a growing number of mariners are backing the use of private armed guards on board vessels. Armed Maritime security Transits are available at leading Somali Piracy ports including Mombasa(Kenya), Dar Es Salaam(Tanzania), Nacala/Beira(Mozambique) and Durban(South Africa. If you need those services, Please send us an e-mail at : africanshippingdubai@gmail.com"The number of hijackings is increasing, and insurers will presumably have to charge more in order to be able to financially absorb the greater cost of claims," said John Drake, senior risk consultant with AKE Ltd.
"We are now not opposed to the use of armed guards on ships," said Andrew Linington, with seafarers' union Nautilus International adding that "With this massive expansion of piracy areas, it becomes more essential that seafarers have some form of protection. There is only so much naval forces are able to do."
Despite successful efforts to quell attacks in the Gulf of Aden, international naval forces have struggled to contain piracy in the Indian Ocean owing to the vast distances involved. This has led to mounting worries among ship owners and seafarers who feel their lives are in the firing line as pirates launch increasingly violent attacks.
"The threat to seafarers who have to run a gauntlet of small arms fire and risk of capture and incarceration is unacceptable," said Peter Hinchliffe, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents about 80 percent of the global industry.
