Somali Pirates On Two Ships With Romanians Aboard Open Fire Against Anti-Pirate Troops

The UK-flagged tanker was seized on December 28 by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and has two Romanian sailors aboard.

The other sailors that make up the captured ship’s 26-member crew are from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Bulgaria, the Philippines, Poland, India and Turkey.

According to Ecoterra, which supervises the maritime traffic, the ship approaching St. James Park did not fire back and left the area. After the Tuesday night’s incident, the UK tanker sailed away and is now located near Kulub.

North Korea-flagged tanker Rim was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on February 2, 2010 and has 10 sailors on board, of whom one is Romanian.

The tanker approached the Somali coast in the Gulf of Aden and met with Puntland pirate-fighting forces in a gunfire exchange. Rim sailed along the northeast African coast into the Indian Ocean.