Somali pirates hijacked a Turkish vessel with 25 crew onboard on Wednesday, the EU Naval Force said, the day after a hostage drowned during a separate encounter between naval forces and a pirated vessel.
The MV Yasin C was taken around midday 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the Kenyan coast, said EU naval spokesman Cmdr. John Harbour, adding the crew onboard the 36,000-ton bulk carrier are believed to be Turkish.
It is the closest successful hijacking to Kenya’s coast, said Karen Jacques of Dryad Maritime Intelligence, but two other attacks on March 31 were much closer — one a mere 85 miles (135 kilometers) from the bustling southern port of Mombasa.
“The attacks were too far apart to be from the same group,” she said, which she said indicates that at least two pirate groups are threatening shipping coming to the Kenyan port.
Somali pirate attacks have spiked in recent weeks and both pirates and navies are becoming more aggressive.
Somali pirates hijack Turkish ship with 25 crew
Published: April 7, 2010
