Talks underway
1 October 2010 08:00 am
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By Gandhya Senanayake
The Sri Lankan mission in Egypt is currently having discussions with Egyptian officials regarding the Sri Lankan crew member onboard the Panama flagged merchant vessel which was hijacked by Somali pirates in early August, External Affairs Ministry sources told Daily Mirror online.
The Egyptian officials are taking the necessary steps to expedite the release of the crew onboard the vessel as the Panama flagged merchant vessel is owned by an Egyptian company.
The Sri Lankan member onboard the vessel has now been identified as a member of the welding crew. The Sri Lankan embassy in Kenya had been asked earlier to establish contact with the Somali pirates to seek the release of the Sri Lankan on board.
The MV SUEZ had reportedly come under small arms fire from the pirates and minutes later the pirates had got on board the ship. After notification of the attack, attempts were made to make contact with the MV SUEZ but to no avail, EU NAVFOR said.
(Daily Mirror online)