Somalia: Pirates hijack fishing vessel off the coast of Somalia
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- Posted On 27-05-2017, 02:38PM
Somali pirates were reported have hijacked a South Korean fishing vessel suspected of carrying out illegal fishing off the coast of Somalia, Garowe Online reports.
On Saturday South Korea has dispatched a naval unit after losing contact of the vessel near Somalia’s waters, according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry.
The 234-ton vessel had a crew of three South Korean and 18 Indonesian and noticed it was being followed by suspected pirates before losing communication.
South Korean’s military said it is looking into options to save the vessel from the pirates and requested from Japan, Germany and India to conduct reconnaissance and sea patrol in the area.
The fishing vessel is registered in Mongolia and owned by South Korean businessman.
This is the second hijacking incident within a week. Earlier an Iranian fishing vessel was reported being hijacked off the coast of Puntland by local pirates.
Local fishermen complained about the return of unlicensed international fishing vessels to Somali waters, blaming them for reducing the local catch and vowed to fight back illegal vessels.
GAROWEONLINE
