MV Saldanha: Hijacked by Pirates

Earlier today the Greek-owned cargo ship MV Saldanha was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden. The BBC brings us more on this story.

The BBC’s Jonah Fisher, on board a UK warship 100km (60 miles) away, said the captain of the MV Saldanha radioed that pirates had boarded his ship.

The Saldanha is now heading to Somalia under pirate command after the UK navy’s HMS Northumberland judged it was beyond its remit to pursue the ship.

The warship is part of an EU task force patrolling the waters off the unstable Horn of Africa to deter pirate attacks.

But when the captain of the Saldanha made contact with HMS Northumberland, he told the ship that pirates had warned the British warship to stay away.

Trying to retake captured ships is not what the EU’s anti-piracy task force does, our correspondent reports from on board the UK vessel. BBC.co.uk

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