Hijackers contact German managers of tanker

Saturday, January 31, 2009 BERLIN (AP) — The crew aboard a German tanker hijacked this week by Somali pirates are in good health, the German shipping company said after receiving a telephone call from the pirates Saturday. Company officials were able to speak with the hijacked ship's master, who reported that all 13 crew members on the MV Longchamp were doing well under the circumstances, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement spokesman Cor Radings said, without elaborating. "This news is a big relief for us," the company said in a statement, adding that it was working with international organizations to secure the safe release of the crew and ship. The Longchamp was captured Thursday in the Gulf of Aden, the third ship to be taken this month in what is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The ship is registered in the Bahamas and is managed by Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. Its crew includes 12 Filipinos and one Indonesian. Piracy has taken a toll on international shipping, especially in the Gulf of Aden, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal with the Indian Ocean. Pirates made an estimated $30 million hijacking ships for ransom last year, seizing more than 40 vessels off Somalia's 1,900-mile (3,000-kilometer) coastline. Source: AP, Jan 31, 2009 http://samotalis.blogspot.com/