China warns ships to avoid Somali waters

Wed Oct 21, 2009

Chinese ships have been warned by the government to avoid waters off Somali coast due to the seizure of a Chinese coal ship De Xin Hai.

Beijing is still trying to recover the De Xin Hai and its crew of 25 Chinese nationals which was abducted about 700 nautical miles east of Somalia, where piracy has become a bane to the region's busy sea lanes.

China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the government had set in motion efforts to rescue the captured ship. Pirates told Reuters that the crew could be killed if authorities try such an operation.

"Experts said it was more likely that a ransom would be paid than a rescue operation mounted," reported the China Daily, the country's official English-language newspaper.

The China Transport News warned that the growing effectiveness of naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden and seasonal shifts bringing milder winds made it more tempting for pirates to go after ships in the broader seas of the Indian Ocean.

"This may lead to increased hijackings," said the Chinese-language newspaper. "In particular, vessels with low freeboards and slower speeds must be especially vigilant."

Indian coal traders feared that Monday's incident — the first reported hijacking of a coal vessel by Somali pirates — could mean the gunmen would start targeting other coal ships because these dry bulk vessels lie low in the water and have few crews onboard.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/109231.html.