<p> The small Indian cargo vessel was seized only 14 nautical miles off Bosasso, the main port in Somalia’s northern semi-autonomous state of Puntland.<br /><br />“It was used as a mothership in an unsuccessful attack on VLCC tanker Elephant,” said Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme. A VLCC is a “very large crude carrier” such as the Saudi-owned Sirius Star, which Somali pirates held for two months after capturing it in November 2008 with two million barrels of crude oil.<br /><br />The latest capture brings to at least 15 the number of ships held by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.</p>
<p> The small Indian cargo vessel was seized only 14 nautical miles off Bosasso, the main port in Somalia’s northern semi-autonomous state of Puntland.<br /><br />“It was used as a mothership in an unsuccessful attack on VLCC tanker Elephant,” said Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme. A VLCC is a “very large crude carrier” such as the Saudi-owned Sirius Star, which Somali pirates held for two months after capturing it in November 2008 with two million barrels of crude oil.<br /><br />The latest capture brings to at least 15 the number of ships held by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.</p>