Somali pirates said on Wednesday they had hijacked a boat carrying charcoal
from the rebel-held south of the Horn of Africa nation to Dubai.
The government said this week that illegal charcoal exports to Gulf states
were a big source of income for rebel groups such as al Shabaab that
control parts of Somalia.
“We have hijacked a boat laden with charcoal shortly after it was seen off
by armed al Shabaab from Kudha port,” a pirate called Hassan told Reuters.
“The boat was en route to Dubai where it initially came from.”
Staff at the al Shabaab-controlled southern port of Kismayu further north
from Kudha said the boat had been chartered by Somali traders and was
seized in waters off Kismayu.
The staff, who declined to be named, said the boat had earlier brought food
into Kismayu before picking up the charcoal at Kudha port.
Somali sea gangs have plagued the busy shipping lanes off Somalia for
several years earning ransoms worth millions of dollars from most vessels
captured.
Besides the ships held for ransom, pirates also hijack vessels to be used
as so-called motherships which ferry the gunmen and their speedboats far
out to sea to launch attacks.
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