Somalia/France

Pirates demand ransom for French yacht

Article published on the 2008-09-04 Latest update 2008-09-05 10:59 TU

Le Ponant, the ship freed by French military last April
(Photo: Reuters)

The Somali pirates who seized a French yacht earlier this week are now demanding more than one million dollars (690,000 euros) to release the luxury boat, according to a Kenya-based piracy watchdog group, the Seafarers Alliance Programme. The claim has not been confirmed.

"Yes, that's what we have. Their demands are for one million dollars to release the vessel and the crew members on board," Andrew Mwangura, of the Seafarers Assistance Programme told RFI.

"And we understand there are only two crew members on the the ship, and both of them are French nationals," he added.

The 16-metre boat was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden late Tuesday.

The French Foreign Ministry confirmed that two French nationals were kidnapped with the Venezuelan-registered boat.

French armed forces are standing by in Djibouti, the site of a major French military base, and they have a frigate at sea, armed forces spokesperson Christophe Prazuck said.

No military manoeuvre has been ordered, but the forces in the area are "ready to fulfil any mission entrusted to them", Prazuck added.

French military intervened back in April after pirates hijacked another French yacht and kept the 30-strong crew for a week. French naval forces freed the ship and arrested six pirates.

Since the end of July, eight ships have been hijacked off the coast of Somalia, considered one of the most dangerous waterways in the world.