Yemen negotiates for release of hijacked cargo ship

Yemeni authorities have made contact with Somali pirates who are demanding $2 million to release a Yemeni cargo ship they seized in the Gulf of Aden, officials said on Tuesday.

"The pirates are demanding a ransom of $2 million," said one official, declining to be named.

The vessel was on its way from Yemen's port of Mokalla to the island of Socotra when it was seized. According to the defence ministry's website, the cargo was seized a week ago.

It belongs to a Yemeni businessman and was loaded with cement and 517 tonnes of iron for a building project in Socotra.

It was carrying a crew of two Yemenis, two Panamanians and three Somalis, the interior ministry said.

The cargo was due to arrive on Nov. 20 but contact with the vessel was lost two days earlier, it said. Yemeni authorities were informed of its seizure by a shipping company.

A maritime official in Nairobi, Andrew Mwangura, announced the latest hijacking earlier on Tuesday, identifying the vessel as the MV Amani.

World powers have vowed tough action against rampant piracy off Somalia's coastline, which has disrupted commercial traffic in the Gulf of Aden, a major world maritime trade route.

On Nov. 15, the largest ship ever seized by pirates was hijacked in the Indian Ocean. Pirates have demanded a ransom of $25 million for the release of the Saudi-owned Sirius Star, with a cargo of two million barrels of crude oil and a crew of 25. Somali pirates currently hold at least 17 ships and more than 250 crew.

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