Puntland Refutes a Reuters Report on a “Hijacked” Ship

[Deeq A.]

Garowe (PP News ) — Puntland State Government yesterday issued a statement on a Panama-flagged ship that was reported to have been hijacked at Bereeda coast near Cape Gardafuuy.

Puntland Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources Mohamud Hagi Salah refuted the Reuters report that a ship was hijacked by pirates in Puntland.

“The cargo ship carrying fuel bound for Mogadishu and 20 crew members was thought to have been suspiciously navigating back and forth in Puntland coast for three days when it was approached by soldiers from Puntland coast guards who found out that the cargo ship was grappling with a technical fault” Salah told Puntland Post.

Salah: The ship was grappling with a technical fault.

Salah said the prevalence of illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste along the Somali coast made it necessary to establish the identity of the ship. Reuters reported that “, six armed men hijacked the Panama-flagged Aegean II late Wednesday after it had engine problems…” Pirates do not have the habit of hijacking a ship without demanding a ransom.

“Reutets have missed the opportunity to interview senior Puntland State Government officials in Garowe about the ship” says a Bosaso-based radio journalist.

“Reuters report tarnishes the anti-piracy image of Puntland State.”

© Puntland Post, 2020

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