Port Of Hobyo News

Pirates who hijacked an Indian cargo dhow with 11 crew on board have moved the vessel to an undisclosed location within Galmudug waters off the Somali coast until their ransom demands are met, a pirate leader told Reuters on Tuesday. The vessel, Al Kausar, was initially taken to El Hur, near the port of Hobyo in Somalia's semi-autonomous Galmudug state but was then moved to avoid approaching security personnel, pirates said. Pirate leader Aw Kombe said negotiations were ongoing with businessmen in Kismayu over the release of Al Kausar, which was seized on Saturday. "The traders want the dhow released without (any) ransom (being paid) but my friends say they (will) not release it without (getting) at least some cash," he added.

IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos expressed concern that adverse weather conditions and other contributing factors may bring about an accident to the supertanker Maran Centaurus – hijacked by pirates on 29 November 2009 with a cargo of 2 million barrels of crude oil – possibly resulting in an environmental catastrophe off the coast of Somalia, where the vessel is currently being held. The vessel, with a 28-member crew, was some 800 miles from the Seychelles Islands when it was hijacked and then taken to an area off the port of Hobyo in Somalia. Weather conditions are said to be changing for the worse in the area which, coupled with reported unsafe anchorage conditions…