Abdalle Moumin

HR Media Monitoring/ Bosasso-Somalia

Tel: 00252 6620 7263

Somali pirates holding Yasa Neslihan freighter have demanded an amount of ransom for its return, Ship owner’s spokesman says.

Yasa Holding spokesman Fehmi Ulgener said Tuesday that pirates are demanding a ransom, but he did not disclose the amount they wanted.

Pirates hijacked the Yasa Neslihan freighter last week in the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. It is one of the world’s busiest waterways.

Piracy has soared off Somalia, which is caught up in an Islamic insurgency and has no functioning government.

The International Maritime Bureau says at least 77 ships have been attacked in African waters this year. Thirty-one ships have been hijacked, and 10 remain in the hands of pirates along with nearly 200 crew members.