SL missions told to find out hijacked crew conditions

Rafik JALALDEEN

The External Affairs Ministry formally informed the Sri Lanka missions in Washington and Nairobi to find out details and conditions of Sri Lankan crew members on board the Panama flagged ship MV Suez which was hijacked by Somalian pirates on Monday.

Somali pirates hijacked a Panama-flagged vessel MV Suez in the Gulf of Aden with 23 crew members on board on Monday morning. The MV Suez which was travelling in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor ( IRTC) was attacked early Monday. The MV Suez has a dead weight 17,300 tonnes with a crew of 23 from Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India is a Panama flagged merchant vessel with a cargo of cement bags.

A Senior Official from the External Affairs Ministry told the Daily News that the Ministry has formally informed the missions in the US and in Kenya to promptly obtain details about the condition of the Sri Lankan crew members on board MV Suez. "It is still not clear who owns the ship and to which country the ship belongs to although it was flying a Panamanian flag. A merchant ship owner can register and get a licence from another country where the ship was registered," the spokesperson added. However, the Sri Lanka mission in Washington will contact the officials in Panama and find out more about the situation.