“The Kenyan-based Ecoterra maritime monitoring agency said pirates had taken control of a roll-on, roll-off ship called the MV Iceberg 1 on Monday.
‘The owners reported to NATO that pirates boarded the ro-ro vessel MV Iceberg 1 today just 10 miles outside Aden Port in the Gulf of Aden,’ Ecoterra said. ‘The vessel with her 24 member crew is now commandeered toward the Somali coast.’
Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East Africa Seafarers Assistance Programme told Reuters the Panama-flagged ship’s crew had citizens of Ghana, Pakistan, India, Sudan and Yemen, and it was seized while en route to the United Arab Emirates.
A spokesman for Mogadishu traders told reporters that another seven boats had been seized as they headed for the Somali capital’s seaport. Until now ships bound for Mogadishu have been largely spared by pirates, whose attacks have become bolder and more frequent.”
(Pirates seize Somalia-bound ships, others rescued | Reuters)