Nairobi: Somali pirates on January 1 seized Algeria-flagged MV Blida bulk carrier with Ukrainians aboard off Oman, reads a statement made by the European Union naval counter-piracy operation Navfor Atalanta.

The ship was 150 nautical miles southeast of Port Salalah, Oman when it was seized after noon.

The bulk carrier was on its way to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from Salalah in Oman at the time of the attack, carrying a load of building materials.

The 20,586-ton MV Blida crew is made of 27 members: Algerian, Ukrainian and Filipino.

The following day, however, pirates once again failed to take an Israeli ship.

Somali pirates Saturday morning failed to seize a Zim ship en route from India to Israel. The incident occurred in the Indian Ocean off the Yemeni coast near the entrance to the Red Sea.

Somali pirates continue to push further and further away from home. Last week there were reports of unsuccessful attacks on two vessels in the Mozambique Channel, some 950 miles south of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
(Source:www.seatrade-asia.com)