Most of the vessels carrying cargo from Dubai are currently waiting for permission from the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government in Somalia for entering the port of Mogadishu.

Gunmen in speed boats recently fired at MV Nishan, a UAE-registered vessel, on Tuesday night, said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan chapter of Seafarers’ Assistance Programme. However, the ship escaped from being captured following the intervention of government forces, he added.

On Sunday night, MV Nimatullah, an Indian registered vessel, which left Dubai carrying general cargo, was hijacked by Somali pirates in the same area, Mwangura told Khaleej Times from Nairobi.

Around 14 Indian sailors were on board while the vessel was hijacked. The pirates took the vessel to an unknown area in the north-east of Somali waters with the crew members on board the vessel.

Mwangura said MV Nishan was anchoring when pirates in two speed boats approached and opened fire. The captain contacted port authorities who sent forces in speed boats to rescue the vessel, Mwangura said.

Meanwhile, Basheer Khalid Moosa, who charted the hijacked Indian vessel from Dubai to Mogadishu, said the pirates contacted his agents in Somalia, demanding a ransom of US $ 50,000 to free the vessel and its 14-member crew.

“We are in touch with the pirates. I hope we will manage to pay the ransom and free the vessel and its crew,” he said.

An official from the Dubai-based Dhaim shipping company, which owns the vessel, said the company still doesn’t have much information on the hijacked vessel. “We are in touch with the agent. We hope the crew is safe,” said an official.

The MV Nimatullah was carrying general cargo and wheat flower from Dubai to Somalia. It was the second cargo vessel reported to be hijacked in Somali territorial waters since the Ethiopian-backed government wrested power from the Islamic court.

A UN chartered MV Rozen was hijacked on February 25 with its 12 crew members, who are still missing.

Mwangura said MV Rozen has been held by the pirates in waters off Somalia’s north-eastern semi-autonomous Puntland region. 

However, he added, the negotiations to secure the ship’s release had been stalled by a recent surge in fighting in Mogadishu.

Scores of vessels including five UAE flagged vessels had been attacked by pirates in the waters of unpatrolled 3,700-km Somali coastline between March 2005 and June last year, but these stopped during the Islamic Court’s six-month rule.