NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- A chemical tanker with 30 crew has become the latest ship to be hijacked off Somalia, a commercial shipping expert said Friday.
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<!--===========/IMAGE===========--> <!--===========CAPTION==========-->A French soldier cleans a weapon as the frigate Nivose escorts shipping off the coast of the Djibouti.<!--===========/CAPTION=========-->
<!-- /PURGE: /2008/WORLD/africa/11/28/somalia.pirates.chemical.tanker/art.frigate.afp.gi.jpg --><!--endclickprintexclude-->The Liberian-flagged Biscaglia is carrying 25 Indians, two Bangladeshis, and three Britons, said Andrew Mwangura, the head of the Kenya Seafarers Association.
The vessel is managed by Singapore-based Ishima and is owned by Winged Foot Shipping in the Marshall Islands, Mwangura said.
Also Friday, pirates released the Greek ship MV Centauri, which was hijacked in September off the coast of Somalia, Mwangura said.
There was no immediate information about the 25 crew members on board the ship when it was taken.
A multinational naval force including vessels from the U.S., the UK and Russia has been patrolling the Indian Ocean waters seas near the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, following a sharp increase in pirate attacks in the region.
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So far this year, pirates have attacked almost 100 vessels off the coast of Somalia coast and successfully hijacked nearly 40, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center.
The most high-profile hijacking so far came earlier this month, when pirates seized a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million worth of oil and a crew of 25, although that attack occurred outside the pirates' normal operational range, 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya. Pirates are still holding the ship.
Another vessel held since September is the Ukrainian MV Farina, which was carrying a cargo of weapons and tanks and a crew of 22.
In an interview provided to CNN this week, a pirate leader claimed attacks on shipping would continue as long as life in Somalia remained desperate.
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<!--endclickprintexclude-->"The pirates are living between life and death," said the pirate leader, identified by only one name, Boyah. "Who can stop them? Americans and British all put together cannot do anything."
The interview was conducted in August by journalists working for the Somali news organization, Garowe. <!--startclickprintexclude-->
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<!-- /PURGE: /2008/WORLD/africa/11/28/somalia.pirates.chemical.tanker/art.frigate.afp.gi.jpg --><!--endclickprintexclude-->The Liberian-flagged Biscaglia is carrying 25 Indians, two Bangladeshis, and three Britons, said Andrew Mwangura, the head of the Kenya Seafarers Association.
The vessel is managed by Singapore-based Ishima and is owned by Winged Foot Shipping in the Marshall Islands, Mwangura said.
Also Friday, pirates released the Greek ship MV Centauri, which was hijacked in September off the coast of Somalia, Mwangura said.
There was no immediate information about the 25 crew members on board the ship when it was taken.
A multinational naval force including vessels from the U.S., the UK and Russia has been patrolling the Indian Ocean waters seas near the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, following a sharp increase in pirate attacks in the region.
<!--startclickprintexclude-->Don't Miss
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So far this year, pirates have attacked almost 100 vessels off the coast of Somalia coast and successfully hijacked nearly 40, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center.
The most high-profile hijacking so far came earlier this month, when pirates seized a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million worth of oil and a crew of 25, although that attack occurred outside the pirates' normal operational range, 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya. Pirates are still holding the ship.
Another vessel held since September is the Ukrainian MV Farina, which was carrying a cargo of weapons and tanks and a crew of 22.
In an interview provided to CNN this week, a pirate leader claimed attacks on shipping would continue as long as life in Somalia remained desperate.
<!--startclickprintexclude-->
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<!--endclickprintexclude-->"The pirates are living between life and death," said the pirate leader, identified by only one name, Boyah. "Who can stop them? Americans and British all put together cannot do anything."
The interview was conducted in August by journalists working for the Somali news organization, Garowe. <!--startclickprintexclude-->
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