After a relatively cool period in the Indian Ocean, pirates are back to haunt the Kenya's shipping industry. Reports by Secretary General of the
Seafarers Union of Kenya, Andrew Mwangura , MV Jamila was attacked by pirates while being
repaired at sea in the middle of Uarseiek and El maan 40 miles from
Mogadishu.
The ship was transporting timber to Mombasa. It left Mozambique and
sailed to Mogadishu from where it was to come to Mombasa on Wednesday
but developed mechanical problems in the high seas.
It drifted to the south of Mogadishu on Thursday and local residents
began to loot it. On Friday armed men believed to be pirates boarded and
took charge of it.
The ship was attacked while enroute to Madagascar from Mozambique.
Two Kenyans, the Captain and one of the engineers are among those held
hostage by the militia with a score of Chinese sailors but the number of
crew members is yet to be known.A lot of gain have been made in the recent past as the number of ships being attacked dropped immensely in 2013.
Kenya