ID :
17876
Wed, 09/03/2008 - 11:28
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/17876
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ONE CREW OF PIRATE-HELD MISC TANKERS KILLED BY GUNFIRE
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Gunfire killed a Filipino crew of one of the two MISC Berhad tankers seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden last month, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said Tuesday.
"We understand that it was not intentional; he was hit by a ricocheting bullet," he said.
All the other crew, 65 Malaysians and 14 Filipinos, were safe, he told
reporters after launching the Chery Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV), here.
The two vessels, MT Bunga Melati Dua and MT Bunga Melati 5, were seized by the pirates in waters off Somalia on Aug 19 and 29, respectively.
MT Bunga Melati Dua was seized while ferrying palm oil from Dumai in
Sumatra, Indonesia, to Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The vessel had 39 crew on board, 29 of them Malaysians and 10 Filipinos. MT Bunga Melati 5 was seized while ferrying 30,000 tonnes of petrochemicals from Yanbu in Saudi Arabia to Singapore. The vessel had 41 crew, 36 of them Malaysians and five Filipinos.
Najib also said that a Malaysian navy elite squad was on its way to theSomalian coast to safeguard four other MISC vessels now in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden.
"Our priority is the safety of our sailors," he said.
MISC is reportedly negotiating for the release of the vessels and crew. A wire report from Nairobi quoted Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, as saying that the pirates wanted US$4.7 million (about RM16 million) to release both the MISC ships.
Asked whether the government would fork out the ransom demanded by the
pirates to secure the release of the crew, Najib said the government was not conducting the negotiations, it was between the MISC and the pirates.
"We will do what is practised by the international community ... according to international norms," he said.
Asked whether MISC vessels would have to find alternative routes as the waters off Somalia, particularly in the Gulf of Aden, were no longer safe, Najib said MISC would have to consider that option because the waters of the gulf had become pirate-infested, resulting in the seizure of several ships of several countries.
- BERNAMA
"We understand that it was not intentional; he was hit by a ricocheting bullet," he said.
All the other crew, 65 Malaysians and 14 Filipinos, were safe, he told
reporters after launching the Chery Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV), here.
The two vessels, MT Bunga Melati Dua and MT Bunga Melati 5, were seized by the pirates in waters off Somalia on Aug 19 and 29, respectively.
MT Bunga Melati Dua was seized while ferrying palm oil from Dumai in
Sumatra, Indonesia, to Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The vessel had 39 crew on board, 29 of them Malaysians and 10 Filipinos. MT Bunga Melati 5 was seized while ferrying 30,000 tonnes of petrochemicals from Yanbu in Saudi Arabia to Singapore. The vessel had 41 crew, 36 of them Malaysians and five Filipinos.
Najib also said that a Malaysian navy elite squad was on its way to theSomalian coast to safeguard four other MISC vessels now in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden.
"Our priority is the safety of our sailors," he said.
MISC is reportedly negotiating for the release of the vessels and crew. A wire report from Nairobi quoted Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, as saying that the pirates wanted US$4.7 million (about RM16 million) to release both the MISC ships.
Asked whether the government would fork out the ransom demanded by the
pirates to secure the release of the crew, Najib said the government was not conducting the negotiations, it was between the MISC and the pirates.
"We will do what is practised by the international community ... according to international norms," he said.
Asked whether MISC vessels would have to find alternative routes as the waters off Somalia, particularly in the Gulf of Aden, were no longer safe, Najib said MISC would have to consider that option because the waters of the gulf had become pirate-infested, resulting in the seizure of several ships of several countries.
- BERNAMA
