Negotiations on for release of hijacked Joranian ship crew

MUMBAI: Negotiations are on for safe release of the Joranian ship crew, that includes 10 Indians, which was hijacked five days earlier near Somalia coast.

The ship carrying 4,200 tonnes of sugar was travelling between Mumbai and Mogadishu.
"The hijackers of MV Victoria have offloaded the cargo from the vessel. Now negotiations are on for the safe release of the crew that includes ten Indians," a top DG Shipping official said.

However, India is not part of the negotiations because the ship is not registered in India.
"We are not part of the negotiations. But these type of negotiations are done by middlemen," the official said.

The Jordanian vessel was hijacked on May 17 near the Somalia coast by heavily armed Somali pirates.
The ship has 21 crew of which ten are Indians and the rest are Pakistanis, Burmese, Bangladeshi, Kenyans and Tanzanians.

Victoria is owned by Five Seas Company and operated by Marwan Shipping, both Sharjah-based.
DG Shipping has asked the ship operator to supply it with the Seafarers Identity Numbers to verify the antecedents of the Indian sailors.

The Seafarers Identity Documents are issued from the place where the ship is registered. In this case it is Jordan.
"But the operators and owners are not giving us the Seafarers Identity Numbers. The owners are hiding it from us," the official said.
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