The owner of a UAE ship that has been hijacked by Somali pirates said they have yet to hear word from the crew.
The MV Jubba XX was seized on Sunday. The tanker was captured in the northern Indian Ocean and had a crew of 16 on board, including Indian, Bangladeshi and Somali sailors.
It was seized while loaded with oil on a regular route from the UAE to the Somali port of Berbera.
Jubba General Trading, which is based in Sharjah, said on Tuesday they have not been able to contact the crew.
“No one is answering their phone. Occasionally, someone does pick up the phone and speaks in a language that we do not understand, “said Sayyad Alawi, a coordinator in the operations department of Jubba General Trading.
“The pirates have not put forward any ransom demand so far. We are concerned about the crew’s safety.”
Piracy has grown in recent years in war-ravaged, drought-stricken Somalia. The Horn of Africa nation has not had a functioning central government for more than 20 years.
A number of other UAE ships have also been hijacked, including the MV Iceberg 1, which has been held for 16 months.
This article was posted by MaritimeSecurity.Asia via 7days.ae. To find out more, please visit MaritimeSecurity.Asia
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