Four Russians Captured by Ship Pirates off Somali Coast

Via itar-tass.com (Russia) -

MOSCOW, February 3 (Itar-Tass) - A vessel with four Russians aboard was captured by pirates off the Somali coast, learnt on Sunday at the press service of the Russian Transport Ministry.

The Svitzer Korsakov tugboat was captured by pirates on Friday off the Somali coast. Six people, including four Russians, are aboard the tugboat, built in December 2007. According to the ministry, the vessel was on its cruise from St. Petersburg to Sakhalin with a call at Singapore. “The vessel is now in the zone of visibility of passing-by ships in the area of Somali, but a SOS signal has not been received from the ship’s crewmembers.”

The vessel flies the flag of a state, included in the offshore zone of the St. Vincent and Grenadines, the Transport Ministry noted. The ship owner of the Sakhalin company – Switzer Eastern Miller Sakhalin – is already engaged, through a mediator, in clearing up the fate of the ship and its crew.