Somali forces to storm hijacked ship, Yemeni owner says (Roundup)

Sana'a, Yemen - The owner of a Yemeni ship hijacked by Somali pirates a week ago said Wednesday that Somali security forces were preparing to storm the vessel, as he had refused to pay the demanded ransom. The ship, Erina, was attacked as it sailed from the south-eastern Yemeni port city of Mukalla to the Indian Ocean island of Socotra on November 19. It is now off the Eyl port, in the semi-autonomous Puntland region in northern Somalia. 'Security troops were sent from Bosasso to Eyl to rescue the ship by force,' ship-owner Attas Salim Aboud, told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa by telephone from Mukalla. The vessel is now being blockaded by Somali forces, Aboud said. Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade, a senior adviser to Puntland president, confirmed that plans were in place to storm the ship. 'We will attack soon if the pirates holding the Yemeni ship don't release it unconditionally' he told dpa. 'We are preparing to send troops to Eyl and to rescue the ship.' Aboud said the troops were backed by dozens of tribesmen who had rushed to Eyl to press for the ship's release. 'The pirates are now surrounded and could not get even food supplies,' Aboud said. He said the ship 'will be stormed' if the pirates insist on their ransom demand. The pirates have demanded 2 million dollars in ransom for the release of the vessel. Aboud, a Yemeni national of Somali origin, said on Tuesday he would not pay any ransom for the release of his ship. 'We will not pay even ten cents for the pirates,' he told dpa, adding that tribal chieftains boarded the ship Tuesday, and that they were negotiating with the pirates. Eight crew members (three Yemenis, three Somalis and two from Tanzania) were taken hostage by the pirates. The ship is carrying 570 tons of steel and construction equipment belonging to the Juraiba and Bin-Makhzoum Construction company in Mukalla. Piracy off the Horn of Africa nation has surged in recent months as Somalia descends further into chaos and the ineffectual central government continues to squabble rather than govern. According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), there have been almost 100 attempts at piracy in the region this year, around 40 per cent of them successful. Around 17 ships are in the hands of pirates along with over 300 crew members, including Saudi supertanker the Sirius Star, which was carrying 100 million dollars worth of crude oil when it was taken. Somali pirates Wednesday lowered their ransom demands for the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying military equipment that was hijacked in September. The surge in piracy has prompted increased patrols by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Russia, the US-led coalition forces, India and France along the Somali coast. The European Union has also authorized a force of between five and seven frigates, which is expected to arrive in the Gulf of Aden early December. World media have rushed to cover the story, and reports said Wednesday that a British and Spanish journalist sent to cover the story had been kidnapped from the port city of Bossasso, Puntland.