[Pak Daily Times] Pirates hijacked a Maltese-flagged Greek owned commerical chemical tanker off the coast of Somalia, said EU NAVFOR Wednesday. The MV OLIB G was seized in the internationally recommended transit corridor while it was sailing west through the Gulf of Aden, EU NAVFOR said. The vessel has 18 crew members including 15 Georgians and 3 Turks. Reports say the ship's cargo was "ballast".
EU NAVFOR is the European Union's counter-piracy effort in the Horn of Africa region.
A helicopter crew from the USS Princeton, Task Force 151, patrolling the area identified two pirates on board the hijacked vessel, according to an EU NAVFOR statement.
Heavy seas in the last few months have preceded a sharp decline in the number of piracy attacks off the Horn of Africa nation.
Reports say Ecoterra International, the Nairobi-based organization monitoring piracy off Somalia, said the vessel may be involved in "illegal waste dumping".
| Is that anything like ballast? |