U.S. warships corner Somali pirates who seized shipTue Dec 4, 2007 3:19pm EST
(Adds U.S. Navy comments, paragraphs 5-7)
BOSASSO, Somalia, Dec 4 (Reuters) - U.S. and German
navy ships have cornered Somali pirates who seized a
Japanese-owned chemical tanker more than a month ago
and are demanding a ransom, an official said on Tuesday.
The Panama-registered Golden Nori was carrying benzene
from Singapore to Israel when it was hijacked on Oct. 28,
just off Somalia, one of the world's most dangerous
shipping lanes.
At the time, U.S. Navy said coalition naval forces had
pursued the pirates, opening fire and destroying
speedboats the hijacked vessel had in tow.
-snip-"We continue to encourage the pirates to free the crew
and the vessel," said Commander Lydia Robertson.
-snip-