Efforts on to secure release of Indians abducted by pirates: Ravi

KOCHI: The government today said it was trying its best to secure the release of 24 Indians onboard the ship which was hijacked by Somali pirates near Seychelles last week.

"The matter has been taken up by the government at the highest level," Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said here.

He said the External Affairs Ministry is also taking up the issue "at differnt levels" to ensure the release of the Indians onboard the ship.

The 22,000-tonne bulk carrier, MV Al Khaliq, was seized by the pirates in the waters off Somalia on October 22.

"It is being taken up by the Ministry of External Affairs and also I believe that the Defence Minister is also discussing how we can get the ship back and save the Indians onboard," he said.

Somalia's pirates were responsible for over half of the 306 attacks against ships worldwide in the first nine months of this year.