Another Greek ship hijacked
Armed Somalis hijacked yet another Greek-owned cargo ship off Madagascar on Saturday, maritime officials in the region said. The MT Ariana was reportedly seized in the early hours of Saturday morning north of the African state as it was en route to the Middle East from Brazil. The 24-member crew, all Ukrainians, were safe yesterday, a spokesman for the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Program told Reuters. The Maltese-flagged bulk carrier, which belongs to a Kifissia-based firm called Alloceans Shipping but is managed by the London-based Seven Seas Maritime, had been loaded with 35,000 tons of soya beans. The MT Ariana was the latest in a series of Greek vessels to have been seized this year in the pirate-infested waters of the Indian Ocean off Somalia. A Hellenic Navy contingent has played a key role in thwarting several attempted hijackings in the region as part of the European Union’s pirate crackdown Operation Atalanta.
