21 April 2010

Somali Pirates Seize Liberian Bulk-carrier

Link to Article

Somali pirates seized a Liberian-owned bulk-carrier with 21 Filipino crew aboard Wednesday, reports quoting the Philippines Foreign Affairs Department and the EU Naval Force said.

Cmdr. John Harbour, a spokesman for the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR), said Panamanian-flagged 'Voc Daisy' was taken about 200 miles south-east of Oman, outside the corridor where international warships guard convoys of merchant vessels.

EU NAVFOR confirmed that all the Filipino sailors are safe.

Voc Daisy, which had been heading to the Suez Canal from the United Arab Emirates, raised an alarm before four armed pirates, carrying three AK-47s and one RPG, stormed the vessel and cut its lines of communication.

The Philippines is the world's leading supplier of ship crew with over 350,000 sailors, which constitutes a fifth of the world's seafarers, manning oil tankers, luxury liners, and passenger vessels worldwide, exposing them to piracy attacks.

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