Japan chemical tanker hijacked near Somalia

21 August 2008 12:52  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--A Japan-operated chemical tanker carrying around 10,000 tonnes of flammable products, was hijacked on Thursday by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, said International Maritime Bureau (IMB) director Pottengal Mukundan.

The attack on the tanker Irene followed the hijacking on Tuesday of a tanker loaded with crude palm oil in the same stretch of water.

An Iranian bulk carrier was also supposed to have been hijacked on Thursday, bringing the number of ships seized in the last 48 hours to three.

According to the IMB, over the last six weeks hijackers had seized three ships and were holding them in the small inlets around Eyl with the latest three now heading in that direction.

"The situation is getting completely out of hand," Mukundan said. "Three separate incidents in the last 48 hours, added to the three hijacked vessels already in Eyl, is evidence that the situation is spiralling out of control."

Somalia has no central government and armed militias are often involved in supporting piracy in what is regarded as one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world.

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By: Dan Horlock
44 20 8652 3214

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