Somali pirates strike again

TALLINN- Five of the 13 crew members of the Danish managed cargo ship thatwas taken hostage by pirates off coast of Somalian are linked with Estonia,the Estonian Foreign Ministrysaid.

Representatives from the EstonianForeign Ministry met with representatives of the ship's operator Clipper Groupin Copenhagen on Nov. 9 to get anoverview of the situation and to decide what further action will need to betaken. of further steps, spokesperson for the Estonian Foreign Ministry Kersti Luha told BNS.

"The shipping company has confirned that there are 13 people on boardthe ship held by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, one of whom is a citizen ofGeorgia and one is holder of an Estonianalien's passport. The rest of the crew members are Russian citizens, but fourof them have Estonian residencepermits," Estonian Foreign Ministry representative Kersti Luha said.

"The homes of five members of the ship's crew are in Estonia,and that is what determines the planning of our activity. On the part of theForeign Ministry Estonia's wishis to act as quickly as possible so that the families of those people would beurgently informed about all developments," Foreign Minister Urmas Paetsaid.

The company said that that it was in contact with the relatives of all thecrew members and was keeping them informed about the situation.

The company repeated earlier reports that the crew members were unhurt.

Estoniahas raised the issue of rampant piracy in Somalia'scoastal waters both in the European Union and NATO.

The Bahamas-flagged ship, CEC Future, is operated Clipper Group , a Danishcompany. There have been no reports of a ransom demand.