Maersk Alabama after arrival in Kenya
Maersk ship hijacked Wednesday, 08 April 2009 14:45 KR News
Pirates have hijacked a Maersk ship off the Somalian coast with a US crew
Pirates have attacked and hijacked a Maersk ship this morning off the coast of Somalia. The Danish shipping company said the ship was flying under a US flag and had a crew of 20 Americans on board when it was captured 500 kilometres off the coast.
According to CNN, the 17,000 tonne ship was carrying general supplies, but a Maersk spokesman would not specify exactly what the cargo consisted of.
The Danish company said that the Maersk Alabama was part of the East Africa service network and was on course for the Kenyan port of Mombasa when the attack occurred.
This is the second time a Maersk ship has been hijacked off the African coast.
In February, the Svitzer Korsakov tugboat from Maersk-owned shipping line Svitzer was hijacked. It was released more than six weeks later with all crew unharmed.
Maersk ships have previously come under fire from pirates in the area, but have evaded capture. It is thought that this is the first time an all American crew has been captured by pirates, in an area that witnessed 15 attacks in March.http://www.cphpost.dk/news/international/45366-maersk-ship-hijacked.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fgw-somali-pirates11-2009apr11,0,4669254.story
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