14 Iranian Sailors Kidnapped off Somali Coast

IRIB, Iranian state television, is reporting 14 crew members from an Iranian fishing vessel have been kidnapped by the Islamist group al-Shabab off the coast of Somalia. The station said the incident happened on Wednesday without elaborating.

It was not clear why the Iranians were fishing off the coast of Somalia. IRIB did not give a more exact location, but Somalia’s coast stretches from the Gulf of Aden bordering Djibouti, across from Yemen. An Iranian deployed naval group, which includes a frigate, is near Gulf of Aden. It was not known if the naval group deployed to prevent piracy was searching for the kidnapped Iranians. 

Al-Shabab is a Somalia-based extremist group with ties with al-Qaeda.

Iran Navy Foils Pirate Attack on Oil Tanker

Iranian Navy said it folded an attempt by pirates today to hijack an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden. IRIN’s 28^th Task Force was escorting the tanker when the pirates attacked, Fars News Agency reported. No further details were released.

“The Iranian oil tanker was attacked by 12 pirate boats this morning but they failed due to the timely action of the 28th flotilla of warships and the pirates fled the scene,” said RADM2 Siyavash Jarreh, IRIN’s deputy commander for operations. (Fars News Agency, 8 January)

The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen. The Gulf of Aden - which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea - is a vital energy corridor. 

Photo credit: IRIN RADM2 Siyavash Jarreh (Fars News Agency)

The Crew Safe: Chinese Embassy

Chinese Ambassador to Iran Yu Hongyang (C) talks over the phone with He Feng, the captain of the rescued cargo ship XIANG HUA MEN from Tehran, April 6, 2012. All 28 Chinese crewmembers aboard the Chinese cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates were rescued today by the Iranian navy.

Photo: He Guanghai / Xinhua

Iranian Navy Frees Hijacked Chinese Freighter

Iranian navy has freed the Chinese freighter “XIANG HUA MEN” hijacked by Somali pirates off Iranian port city of Chabahar on Friday and arrested all the hijackers, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

"Through the successful mission of Iranian naval forces, the ship was released and nine pirates were arrested," said Saeed Izadiyan, a port official at Chabahar [Fars, 6 April].

Iran Vows to Rescue Hijacked Chinese Ship

The Chinese Embassy in Tehran has told Xinhua that Iran has vowed that its navy will rescue the hijacked Chinese freighter “XIANG HUA MEN” and its 28 crewmembers [the Iranian media has yet to report on the country’s reaction to the hijacking].

The ship was hijacked on Friday morning at 0930 local time near the Iranian port of Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman. The freighter was headed for BIK (Bandar Imam Khomeini) in the Persian Gulf when it was hijacked.

Iranian navy said it has found the whereabouts of the hijacked ship, which is already within the visibility of at least one Iranian warship sent for rescue operations, Chinese embassy reported.

Sources: Xinhua, ChinaDaily / 6 April 2012

28 Chinese Crewmen Aboard the Hijacked Freighter

Iranian Naval Vessels in the Vicinity

The China Maritime Search and Rescue Center reports that 28 crewmembers were on board the Chinese freighter “XIANG HUA MEN” when it was hijacked by the pirates off Iranian coast near the port of Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman. All crewmembers are Chinese nationals. The number of pirates involved is still unknown. [agile-news.com].

The freighter was reportedly carrying a load of 16,000 tons of steel and heavy equipment from Shanghai to BIK (Bandar Imam Khomeini) in the Persian Gulf. The vessel was scheduled to reach BIK on 8 April.

Iranian naval vessels are now reportedly within 0.5 nautical miles from the hijacked freighter. The Iranian media have not covered the story yet, with the exception of a short report by IRNA on China’s request from Iran to help rescue the hijacked ship and its crewmembers.

The freighter was hijacked today at position 25-28N 057-32E at 0555 UTC.

File Photo: XIANG HUA MEN / MarineTraffic.com