Somali pirates strike again: kill crew member
By SwizStick • Jun 6th, 2007 • Category: Seafreight, SecurityI said just a few days ago that things would only get worse as shipowners gave in to ransom demands. Another ship hijacked and finally someone puts their foot down and says “no” - however, now the pirates are killing crew members until the owners give into demands:
The pirates killed their captive on Saturday and had threatened to take the life of another if their demands were not met, said Andrew Mwangura, director of the Kenyan-based East African Seafarers Assistance Program.
The ship, Ching Fong Hwa 168, was captured in mid-May and had two Taiwanese and 14 Chinese crew members on board. It was not clear if a Taiwanese or Chinese crew member had died.
“Since they took her captive, there has been communication between the owners and the captors but it seems that the owner wasn’t co-operative,” Mr Mwangura said from the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
“They want a ransom and have said they’ll kill another crew member if the ship owner doesn’t pay.”
Mr Mwangura’s seafarers association gathers information from a variety of sources including radio monitors, shipping firms and relatives of crews.
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