Chinese carrier hijacked between Seychelles and Maldives

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Fears of security threat to Maldivian territorial waters have been renewed due to a Chinese bulk carrier being hijacked with 25 crews on board, by the Somalian pirates in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday. This India bound carrier was traveling from South Africa and was hijacked by the pirates between Seychelles and Maldives.

This is the first boat or carrier to be hijacked between Seychelles and Maldives. The attack occurred 400 miles northeast of the Seychelles.

Minister of State for Defense and National Security Mohamed Muiz Adnan has said that the government is doing a lot of work to maintain surveillance of the Maldivian territorial waters.

In an interview given to Miadhu Daily State Minister Adnan said that besides illegal fishing, smuggling and piracy are security threats that needs to be given due attention.

Muiz said that Maldivian coastal area is very wide and that securing this vast area would not be something Maldivian government can handle alone and so the government is seeking assistance from other major countries of the world. Muiz said that the two illegal Iranian fishing boats were seized so easily because Maldivian Coast Guards had the assistance of Indian Navy.

“Ocean surveillance cannot be maintained without joint collaborations.” said Muiz

Muiz further said that since a large number of vessels travel from and to Maldives this is something everybody has to be concerned about. Muiz said that the Maldivian fishing boats which travel far should keep this in mind when travelling and if they suspect any such things; they should alert the Coast Guard as soon as possible. He also cautioned the fishermen to not take any actions themselves as it may not be the best decision.

International media has expressed their concern about this as major foreign navies had been deployed earlier this year to monitor the Ocean between Europe and Asia but none of these navies picked up this one on their radar allowing Somali piracy to expand beyond African waters.

According to International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre, piracy attacks around the world numbered 324 during this year till Oct. 20, with 37 vessels hijacked and 639 hostages taken. In the same period in 2008 there were 194 attacks, 36 ships hijacked and 631 hostages taken.

Reader Comments

Post a comment

 characters available



The opinions expressed here are those of the individual authors and commenters and do not necessarily represent the views of Miadhu News Daily. We do not take responsibility for the opinions, facts, or claims presented by individual authors or commenters, and reserve the right to moderate or delete inappropriate comments.

Miadhu Opinion Poll
  • Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.