Madrid, October 05: The Indian Ocean hijacking of a Spanish tuna trawler and its 36-member crew could drag on, Spain’s defense minister said Monday.
Pirates seized the Alakrana on Friday and sailed the ship to a port in Somalia. A Spanish navy frigate was following the ship.
While the trawler was still at sea, two alleged hijackers left the ship in a skiff and were captured by Spanish forces while heading for shore. One was shot in the operation.
All 36 crew members are in good condition and unharmed, Defense Minister Carme Chacon told Spanish National Television, without elaborating.
“We are studying all options, legal ones, of course. We are strengthening all fronts, the diplomatic one, investigation, intelligence and also that of military pressure,” Chacon said, evading a question on whether the Spanish government would consider paying a ransom.
She noted that a German freighter was held for nearly four months before being freed in August. And the Spanish trawler Playa de Bakio seized in April 2008 was held for a week before the Spanish government reportedly paid a euro1.2 million ransom.
“So we can assume this might go on longer than the Playa de Bakio,” Chacon said Monday.
Chacon said there have been 126 pirate attacks and 44 hijackings in the region this year.
—-Agencies