PUTRAJAYA, 25 Aug 2008: Negotiations are ongoing to secure the release of all hostages after a Malaysian vessel was hijacked by heavily-armed pirates in the Gulf of Aden on 19 Aug.
“Our hostages are safe and negotiations are going on to secure their release,” Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told reporters after closing a seminar here.
He, however, did not disclose the parties involved in the negotiations.
The tanker, MV Bunga Melati, owned by MISC Bhd, was carrying palm oil when it was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. There were 29 Malaysians and 10 Filipinos onboard.
The fully-laden vessel with 32,025 dead-weight-tonne was heading for Rotterdam from Dumai, Sumatra, when the incident occurred. – Bernama
