U.N. Food Aid Ship Hijacked off Somalia
FOXNews.comNAIROBI, Kenya — Pirates hijacked a cargo ship delivering U.N. food aid to northeastern Somalia on Sunday — at least the second time in recent years that a vessel contracted to the United Nations has been hijacked off the country's dangerous coast.
The ship, MV Rozen, had just dropped off more than 1,800 tons of food aid in the semiautonomous region of Puntland in northeastern Somalia when the pirates struck, said Stephanie Savariaud, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'s World Food Program.
It was not immediately known if any of the 12 crew members aboard — six from Sri Lanka and six from Kenya — were injured in the attack.
"We know it has been hijacked by pirates but we do not know how many pirates there are," Savariaud said. "We are very concerned about the safety of the crew."
There was an attempted hijacking on the same ship in March last year by five pirates armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but the vessel managed to outrun them.
"The pirates have not made any demands yet," said Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Program.
Y'all think they should have a naval escort? The U.N. would probably object because it may be seen as antagonistic.
