Somali pirates hijack ship with 23 crew, including 10 Indians

Nairobi: Somali pirates hijacked a ship with 23 crew, including 10 Indians and a Danish warship freed a hijacked Yemeni fishing vessel that had been held for nearly a year, maritime authorities said on .

The Maltese-flagged bulk carrier MV Sinin had 13 Iranians and 10 Indians onboard when it came under attack Saturday, the European Union Naval Force said.

The ship subsequently lost communications and a maritime patrol aircraft photographed two skiffs onboard the vessel. The MV Sinin was taken about 560 kilometers east of Masirah in Oman.

In a separate incident, a Danish warship freed a hijacked fishing vessel and arrested 16 suspected Somali pirates, NATO said.

The HDMS Esbern Snare stopped a suspicious vessel with two skiffs on deck. The warship fired warning shots and sent a boarding party to the hijacked Yemeni vessel.

NATO said there were 16 suspected pirates and two Yemeni hostages onboard.

The original fishing crew of nine people had been held for a year but most of them had been released.

Sometimes owners of small vessels without insurance are unable to raise the ransoms demanded by the pirates. Somalia has not had a functioning government in two decades, and piracy has flourished off its coast.