By NNN-SABA,
Sana’a : Informed sources expected that the Yemeni cargo ship captured by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden more than a week ago to be released soon, the state-run 26sep.net has reported.
Eight of the pirates who hijacked the ship en route to the island of Socotra left the board of the ship and there are still three pirates who will leave it over the next few hours, the sources were quoted as saying.
The move comes as some troops from the Somali Bont Land region surrounded the area where the ship is located and after negotiations with the pirates which resulted in the would-be release.
On Nov 18, Somali pirates seized a Yemeni cargo shop carrying quantities of steel, asphalt and heavy equipments used for road building bound for Socotra.
The ship was seized in Yemeni territorial waters shortly after leaving the Hadramout seaport.
The cargo on the ship owned by a company for the Juraibah and Almakhzum Corporation was for road projects in the island of Socotra.
Piracy off Somalia’s coast and in the Gulf of Aden has recently been the issue mostly concerned by regional and international countries as pirates stepped up attacks on merchant vessels and shipments, with more than 39 vessels hijacked in this year.
Many ships along with their crews are still held by pirates as they negotiate their ransom.