Security forces of northern Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland have stormed and seized control of Indian cargo ship from pirates who had hijacked the vessel over the weekend, said officials on Tuesday.
The authorities said that the security forces arrested four of the hijackers after a gun battle, while four other pirates managed to escape. They added that all the 13 crewmembers on board the vessel were unharmed in the operation.
It was the 30th ship to be hijacked off the coast of Somali this year, including the MV Faina, a Ukrainian vessel that was hijacked in September with Russian arms on board. The pirates who hijacked the ship are still in control of the Faina, and are negotiating the terms for the release of the vessel with its owners.
Soon after the Ukrainian ship was hijacked in September, as many as 10 foreign naval vessels, including USS Howard of the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, have surrounded the hijacked vessel to prevent it from unloading its dangerous cargo.
The coast of Somalia has been affected by piracy in the recent months and more than thirty pirate attacks were reported in the country's waters since the beginning of 2008. Generally, the crew and the vessels are returned unharmed on receiving the demanded ransom.
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