Spain said Friday it was pressing ahead with diplomatic efforts to secure the release of a Spanish trawler and its crew of 26 who were hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia at the weekend. "The government is permanently mobilised to resolve this situation, with the main priority being safeguarding of the safety of the 26 crew members of the trawler," Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa de la Vega told a news conference.Madrid was "working on all fronts" and carrying out "intensive diplomatic and operational activities" to deal with the situation, she said.
The 76-metre-long (250-foot-long) Playa de Bakio with its crew of 13 Spaniards and 13 Africans was seized while fishing for tuna in the waters off Somalia on Sunday by pirates armed with grenade launchers. Spain's ambassador to Kenya has since held talks with officials in Mogadishu, including Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, to try to secure their release. Spain has also dispatched a frigate, the Mendez Nunez, to the waters off Somalia as well as a Spanish air force reconnaissance plane to Djibouti which neighbours Somalia.
The pirates are believed to be seeking a ransom payment.