Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Somali Pirates Take World Food Program Ship to Sea Again

Reported here, the Somali pirates holding UN World Food Program ship and its crew have renounced all deals and taken the ship to sea again continuing the 90+ day saga.
In what appeared to be a deal to end the standoff in the lawless Indian Ocean waters off Somalia, the militiamen on Monday brought the boat into El Maan port, north of Mogadishu.
But on Thursday, the ship left again with the food and hostages on board after the pirates apparently issued new ransom demands to the Kenyan shipping agent leasing the vessel.
"It got so close, I really thought we were coming to an end of this," WFP spokesman Robin Lodge told Reuters in Nairobi.
"But they have made new financial demands...The port authorities said they would not allow the ship to stay, so they left this afternoon, in the direction of Mogadishu it seems."

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