The Basque tuna seiners “Alakrana” with 36 crew members aboard, was hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean, reported today the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries of the Basque Government, Pilar Unzalu.
In a press conference, the Basque counselor has confirmed that the tuna seiner has been hijacked by pirates around five thirty in the morning of today.
Two luxembourg planes that are part of the Atalanta operation have flown over the fishing boat and have confirmed the presence of armed persons on board .
The ship, which was fishing, is located about 415 miles from the Seychelles islands and 375 miles from Somalia.
Early this morning, Minister Elena Espinosa has been in contact with the regional government to transfer the “strong suspicion” that there had been a kidnapping, news that was confirmed later.
The hijacked ship has not sent any signal for help, according Unzalu and has been the lack of response to security devices operation Atalanta which has enabled alerts.
Basque councilor has said that no information about injuries among the crew of the Alakrana, which consists of seven Basques, nine gallegos, eight from Indonesia, four from Ghana, three from Senegal, two of Ivory Coast, two of Malaysia and one from Seychelles.
The Basque Government will contact throughout the day today with relatives of Basque fishermen to provide information in their possession.
Unzalu explained that the hijacked ship had no special security measures inside to repel such attacks, and was monitored by the operating Atalanta.
The last Basque ship hijacked by Somali pirates was the “Playa de Bakio” and as the Minister of Fisheries pointed out, experience suggests that the resolution of such kidnappings usually is “complex.”
In this sense, explained that what is important in these first hours of the abduction is to follow the ship to know where it’s going and collaborate with the central government to try to resolve this kidnapping as soon as possible.
The Deputy Minister for Fisheries, Jon Azkue, has pointed to the possibility that the ship “Alakrana” is heading for Tanzania, but has said it is still difficult to ascertain exactly their way.
However, he assured that the ship’s movements are controlled by the operating Atalanta.
He has also denied that the hijacked ship is the same as the Sept. 4 escaped a pirate kidnapping attempt in the Indian Ocean. That was the “Alakrana II”, he said.
The Minister of Fisheries has emphasized the importance of joint efforts with the Government of Spain “to resolve the abduction soon and end the anguish of the families.”
It is reported that the lehendakari Patxi Lopez has been in contact with the company owner responsible for the “Alakrana” and announced that on 5 October in Brussels the lehendakari will ask for an increase in security measures for EU vessels operating in the Indian Ocean.
[audio:alakrana.mp3]
The tuna boat belong to Echebastar Fleet
Source: Deia.com
