Sri Lanka yesterday said it is seeking information on eight crew members of a fuel freighter reportedly hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean.
The foreign ministry said that although the vessel was not registered under a Sri Lankan flag, they had confirmation that the eight crew members were Sri Lankans.
The ministry said it was in touch with the shipping agents, concerned authorities, and relevant Sri Lanka missions overseas to seek information in order to ensure the safety and welfare of the crew members.
Initial media reports said that the vessel hijacked on Monday was flying the Sri Lankan flag, but subsequent inquiries revealed that it was operating under the flag of Comoros, off the eastern coast of Africa.
“The particular vessel was operating under the Sri Lankan flag only until January this year, and since it is flying under the flag of Comoros,” director general of merchant shipping Ajith Seneviratne said.
The European Union Naval Force said yesterday it has sent a maritime patrol aircraft to the coast of Somalia to investigate reports that Somali pirates have seized a commercial vessel.
“The aircraft is en route,” a spokeswoman said. “We don’t know what happened. We are not categorising it as a piracy incident at this time.”
One of the suspected pirates, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told a regional radio station that the ship was being held off the north-eastern port of Alula.
“We are not pirates, but fishermen,” he said, adding that the ship was seized because it was dumping toxic waste into the sea.
He said crew, which he put at 10 members, clashed briefly with their kidnappers, but that no one was injured.
The force known as EU Navfor runs anti-piracy operations in the area, where piracy flourished until security was tightened in 2012.
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