Somalian pirates free one more vessel with 11 Indian sailors

The vessel Al-Kadri was near Oman coast and on way to Dubai, he said. "We came to know about the release of the vessel after captain of Al-Kadri, which was hijacked by Somalian pirates on March 28, contacted his family members in Mandvi (Kutch)," Bholim told reporters.  "All the 11 sailors are from Mandvi taluka in Kutch, while the boat owner is from Mundra taluka," he added.

Bholim said that the pirates looted all the navigation equipment of the vessel and other valuables before releasing it early today. "They were near Oman coast and would be reaching Dubai soon," he added.

The release of Al-Kadri comes close on the heels of release of another vessel 'Krishna Jyot' yesterday with 15 sailors on board. There is still no word about the remaining six dhows hijacked by Somalian pirates in the last week of March.

Expressing concerns over hijacking of vessels by Somali pirates, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had recently written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to accord top priority for safe release of the sailors.

India has approached Somalian government for help to ensure the release of the captured dhows and around 85 Indian sailors are still in captivity of pirates. The incidents of hijackings over the last one week took place near the Somalian coast which has of late become prone to pirate attacks.