From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Sep 03 2008 - 14:17:13 EDT
Somali pirates seize French vessel: official
Wed 3 Sep 2008, 13:08 GMT
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somalia pirates have seized a yacht with two French nationals aboard off the coast of East Africa, a maritime official and the French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"The ministry confirms that a yacht with two French on board has been the target of an act of maritime piracy in the Gulf of Aden," it said in a statement from Paris.
The ministry has activated its crisis centre and is examining the case in cooperation with all relevant government services.
Earlier Andrew Mwangura, head of the East Africa Seafarers' Assistance Programme, said a vessel had been seized but it was not clear whether it was a yacht or cruise ship.
Earlier this year a yacht with 30 crew aboard was seized and held for a week. Six pirates were captured by French commandos after the hostages were released.
Somali gunmen have seized at least 30 vessels so far this year, making the water off the Horn of Africa country the most dangerous in the world.
The European Union is preparing a mechanism to help coordinate protection of vessels from pirates and is considering a beefed up operation at a later stage, diplomats said on Tuesday.
© Reuters 2008. All Rights Reserved.
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