afrol News, 26 February - A contracted vessel of the World Food Programme (WFP), 'MV Rozen', that at the weekend was hijacked off the coast of the north-eastern Somalia, is being monitored by the US navy. The Kenyan vessel was transporting food aid to Somalia when attacked by pirates.

The 'MV Rozen', which had delivered 1,800 metric tonnes of WFP food aid and equipment belonging to the Food Agricultural Organisation (FAO), has six crew members, six Sri Lankans, six Kenyans and a captain on board. It remains in control of Somali pirates.

"WFP is highly concerned about the safety of crew members and the vessel. Such acts of piracy might undermine the delivery of relief food to vulnerable people in Somalia and could further worsen the prevailing precarious humanitarian situation", WFP Country Director for Somalia, Peter Goossens, said in a statement.

The UN body has contacted authorities in Somalia and semi-independent Puntland and the vessel's agents "to obtain the most accurate information and to ensure the earliest release of the vessel and crew," the statement added.

'MV Rozen' was hijacked on its way back to the Kenyan city of Mombassa after emptying the equipment in Berbera - in the self-proclaimed state of Somaliland - and Bossaso - the capital of Puntland. It is now reported to be anchored off Bargal, in Puntland waters.

It is doubtful whether the pirates will try to go back into high seas as a US warship, based in nearby Djibouti, is approaching the 'MV Rozen'. US military authorities confirm they are close enough to the hijacked vessel to monitor its movements.

The 'MV Rozen' being in the national waters of Somalia's Puntland, US spokesmen have however indicated they will not take action against the pirates without proper authorisation from Mogadishu or Bossaso. If going back to international waters, however, the US navy is said to have its action plans ready.

Over the years, ship hijacking has been a common occurrence in Somali waters. For instance, while 'MV Rozen' escaped an attempted hijack in southern Somali waters last year, its sister vessel, 'MV Semlow', was in June 2005 hijacked with WFP relief food on board. It was under the possession of its captives for 100 days.

Also in October 2005, hijackers captured 'MV Miltzow' for 33 hours while it was unloading food in the Somali port of Merka thus forcing WFP to temporarily suspend deliveries of food aid by sea for some weeks. WFP officials said since then, sea deliveries have been uninterrupted, not even by the war between the ousted Islamists and Somalia's transitional government.

The ousted Mogadishu-based Islamists in November launched an operation to regain control of Somali waters and after a fierce battle, Somali security was able to free a commercial vessel belonging to the United Arab Emirates. They were also able to arrest the injured pirates. This was the first tough action against pirates in Somali waters for years.

The wide piracy and anarchy along the Somali coast has been an obstacle to international shipping there during the past decade. Pirates have been left to operate unchecked along most of Somalia's coast, hijacking a large number of international vessels to demand stiff ransoms.

But with the Islamist regime was able to win its war over pirates and restore confidence among those engage in international shipping. The Islamists, who mercilessly dealt with pirates, reopened the Mogadishu port in August for international shipping after ten years of being isolated for security reasons.

While the security situation for international shipping off Somalia has improved strongly during the last few months, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) still warns against the Somali coast. A recent ICC study summed up eight recent attacks that had been reported off the eastern coast of Somalia, "where pirates armed with guns and grenades attacked ships and fired upon them."

"The eastern and north-eastern coasts of Somalia continue to be high-risk areas for hijackings," the IMB earlier warned. The agency urged that "ships not making scheduled calls to ports in these areas should stay at least 75 miles or as far away as practical from the coast."

By staff writer

© afrol News

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