Somali pirates hijack Yemeni cargo ship

SANA'A, Jan. 03 (Saba) - A Yemeni cargo ship has been hijacked in
the Arab Sea by Somali pirates, the state-run 26sep.net reported on
Saturday.

The Ship was carrying over 2,000 tones of diesel heading to the
south eastern port of Nashtoon in Mahrah province, according to
well-informed sources.

The sources told the website that the Yemeni authorities are
contacting now with pirates for the ship's release.

It is worth to mention that Somali pirates have released recently
the second Yemeni fishing boat "al-Qana'a" hijacked early in
December off Somalia's coast along with another boat called "Faluja".

Eight fishermen were onboard the released boat when it arrived in
the Aden port on January 1st, according to official in the
coastguard authority.

The pirates captured the two boats to use them for carrying out
piracy attacks against vessels and merchant ships passing through
the Gulf of Aden.

In 2008, around 112 ships were reported to have been attacked by
pirates and 42 hijacked. A total of 14 of the hijacked vessels and
more than 240 crew members are still being held by pirates,
according to press reports.