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Indian crew seized by Somali pirates

Indian crew seized by Somali pirates

Nairobi: A Panama-flagged ship with 15 Indian crewmen on board was hijacked early Wednesday off the Tanzanian coast, according to a maritime watchdog. Ecoterra International, an NGO monitoring maritime activities in the region, said the ship 'MT Aspahalt Venture' was sailing to Durban in South Africa from the Kenyan port of Mombasa when it was seized at about 4 a.m. local time (0100 GMT).?Ecoterra said the vessel, now under the control of the pirates, is headed for Harardhere, one of the main bases of the pirates on the eastern coast of Somalia. It belongs to Company Bitumen Invest As, based in the United Arab Emirates (Sharjah), said the NGO.?The latest hijacking came after a Greek-owned chemical tanker carrying a crew of 15 Georgians and three Turks was hijacked earlier this month in a protected corridor in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia. [30/09/10]?