Indian Navy seeks report on abduction of Indian sailors off Somalia

The Indian Navy has sought a report from the director general of shipping on the reported abduction of 120 Indian sailors off the Somali coast, an officer said on Tuesday.

The Indian Navy has sought a report from the director general of shipping on the reported abduction of 120 Indian sailors off the Somali coast, an officer said on Tuesday.

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"We have heard about the reported abduction of 120 Indian sailors and have sought a report on this from the director general of shipping," an Indian Navy officer said in New Delhi.

Media reports early Tuesday had said that Somali pirates hijacked eight Indian dhows carrying 120 sailors off Kismayo in southern Somalia.

The sailors, who are said to be from Gujarat's Kutch and Saurashtra regions, were bound for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the reports said.

On Monday, a maritime official in Mombasa was quoted as saying that Somali pirates had seized a UAE-owned cargo ship with 24 crew in the waters off Somalia.

Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said the 4,500-tonne Panamanian-flagged Iceberg 1, owned by Iceberg International Ltd, was carrying general mechanical equipment from Aden to the UAE.

The Icerberg I crew was composed of Indians, Yemenis, Filipinos, Pakistanis, Ghanaians and Sudanese, Mwangura told Xinhua news agency by telephone.

He said the seizure took place about 10 nautical miles from Aden.