WFP ups efforts to free hijacked tsunami aid ship

NAIROBI – The World Food Programme (WFP) said yesterday it had stepped up efforts to win the release of a UN-chartered vessel carrying aid for Somali tsunami victims that pirates hijacked off the coast of Somalia last week.

At the agency’s request, a delegation of 16 Somali community elders and influential local officials left Mogadishu for Harardheere, the nearest coastal town to where the ship is being held, to negotiate with the hijackers, it said. “We are trying to win the unconditional release of the cargo, crew and ship,” said WFP spokeswoman Rene McGuffin, adding that previous attempts by Somali leaders to secure their freedom had not yet yielded results.On Monday, the WFP suspended all food shipments to Somalia due to the “insecurity of Somali waters,” a decision it said would be reviewed if and when the hijacked bessel was released.The ship, its 10-member crew and 850 tonnes of of Japanese- and German-donated rice for victims of last year’s tsunami in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region were seized by hijackers in pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast on June 27.The gunmen later demanded a US$500 000 ransom for their release, a demand thus far rejected by both the WFP and the owners of the the St Vincent and the Grenadines-registered MV Semlow.”It is against our policy to even consider paying a ransom,” McGuffin told AFP, expressing hope that a negotiated settlement not involving money could be reached and renewing WFP demands that the ship, crew and cargo be released immediately.”WFP believes that engaging in this kind of dialogue is our only option,” she said.”It is our hope that it will work.We do remain hopeful.”The ship was boarded and seized by an unknown number of gunmen about 300 kilometres north-east of Mogadishu on its way from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Bossaso in Puntland.The incident took place in waters deemed highly unsafe by marine safety authorities where both the International Maritime Board (IMB) and the United States have issued increasingly dire alerts about threats to shipping.Last month, the IMB advised vessels not making calls in the region to stay at least 85 kilometres, and preferably further, from the coast of the lawless nation due to the risk of pirate attacks.The WFP hijacking was the sixth reported piracy incident in Somali waters since March, including one in early June in which a US naval destroyer intervened to save a vessel under attack.- Nampa-AFP”We are trying to win the unconditional release of the cargo, crew and ship,” said WFP spokeswoman Rene McGuffin, adding that previous attempts by Somali leaders to secure their freedom had not yet yielded results.On Monday, the WFP suspended all food shipments to Somalia due to the “insecurity of Somali waters,” a decision it said would be reviewed if and when the hijacked bessel was released.The ship, its 10-member crew and 850 tonnes of of Japanese- and German-donated rice for victims of last year’s tsunami in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region were seized by hijackers in pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast on June 27.The gunmen later demanded a US$500 000 ransom for their release, a demand thus far rejected by both the WFP and the owners of the the St Vincent and the Grenadines-registered MV Semlow.”It is against our policy to even consider paying a ransom,” McGuffin told AFP, expressing hope that a negotiated settlement not involving money could be reached and renewing WFP demands that the ship, crew and cargo be released immediately.”WFP believes that engaging in this kind of dialogue is our only option,” she said.”It is our hope that it will work.We do remain hopeful.”The ship was boarded and seized by an unknown number of gunmen about 300 kilometres north-east of Mogadishu on its way from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Bossaso in Puntland.The incident took place in waters deemed highly unsafe by marine safety authorities where both the International Maritime Board (IMB) and the United States have issued increasingly dire alerts about threats to shipping.Last month, the IMB advised vessels not making calls in the region to stay at least 85 kilometres, and preferably further, from the coast of the lawless nation due to the risk of pirate attacks.The WFP hijacking was the sixth reported piracy incident in Somali waters since March, including one in early June in which a US naval destroyer intervened to save a vessel under attack.- Nampa-AFP