Somali pirates hijacked a German tanker loaded with liquefied petroleum gas Thursday off the Horn of Africa. The ship’s 13-man crew was reported safe even though gunshots were heard over the ship’s radio.
The MV Longchamp is the third ship captured this month in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer
This photo released on Wednesday Jan.28, 2009 by the French Defense ministry, shows suspected pirates intercepted by Marine commandos of the French Navy in the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia’s coast, Tuesday Jan.27, 2009. The soldiers from the ‘Le Floreal’ frigate intercepted nine people trying to take over the Indian cargo ship ‘African Ruby’.(AP Photo/Ecpad/French Defense Ministry/HO)
The Longchamp, registered in the Bahamas, is managed by the German firm Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, which said in a statement that seven pirates boarded the tanker early Thursday.
Spokesman Andre Delau said the ship’s master had been briefly allowed to communicate with the firm and had said the crew of 12 Filipinos and one Indonesian were safe.
“We think that everything is in order, nobody is injured,” he told The Associated Press.
No ransom demands have been made yet, the company said.
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