Hijacked tanker's captain 'is dead'

Hijacked tanker's captain 'is dead'

European nations have increased their naval presence in the area after the increase in pirate attacks [AFP] The captain of a Virgin Islands-owned chemical tanker hijacked earlier this week has died from gunshot wounds sustained when the ship was attacked, a Somali pirate has said. The MV Theresa VIII and its 28 North Korean crew members was seized 290km northwest of Seychelles on Monday. "The captain of the chemical tanker died last night from gunshot wounds he got during the hijack," a pirate, who gave his name as Mohamed, told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday. "The ship is headed for Haradheere with the dead captain." Navfor, the European Union naval force operating in the area, confirmed on Tuesday that pirates had seized the 22,294 DWT tanker. In depth  Special programme: Pirates' haven  The pirate kings of Puntland   Video: Lucrative raids lure Somali youth  Video: Meet the pirates  Q&A: Piracy in the Gulf of Aden The ship, which operates out of Singapore, had been sailing to the Kenyan port of Mombasa but had turned round after being seized near the Indian Ocean archipelago. Navfor also said on Wednesday that the MV Maersk Alabama, a US-flagged container ship which was hijacked by Somali pirates seven months ago, had been attacked for a second time. The naval force said the crew returned fire after pirates fired at the ship, about 650km east of Somalia. No casualties were reported. Attacks off the Seychelles have surged after pirates extended their range to evade navies patrolling off the Horn of Africa. On Tuesday, Somali pirates freed a Spanish tuna fishing boat hijacked six weeks ago in the Indian Ocean, with a pirate saying that a $3.5m ransom had been paid for theAlakrana and its crew of 36.

Source: Agencies