Somali pirates seize South Korean fishing boat near Kenya

Somali pirates seize South Korean fishing boat near Kenya

2010-10-17 14:36:01 GMT+7 (ICT)

SEOUL (BNO NEWS) -- Somali pirates have seized a South Korean fishing with 43 crew members in Indian Ocean waters, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.

Seoul officials reported that the 241-ton trawler Keummi 305 has a crew of two South Koreans, two Chinese and 39 Kenyans on board. It was hijacked on October 9 while fishing in waters about 10 miles away from the island of Lamu, Kenya.

According to South Korea's Yonhap agency, the boat was taken to the pirate base of Harardhere, north of Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

"It would put the hostages in even more danger if the government tried to negotiate directly with the pirates," a ministry official told Yonhap. "We're trying to find out more about the incident using all possible channels."

One of the kidnapped, the captain of the fishing boat, is also president of the Keummi fishing company based in the South Korean city of Busan.

The Kenyan waters where the boat was fishing are considered safe. Located more than 400 miles away from pirate bases, the waters are patrolled by Kenyan maritime authorities.

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