Negotiations ongoing

By Gandhya Senanayake


The Sri Lankan mission in Kenya is negotiating with the pirates for assurances about the Sri Lankan crew onboard the a Panama flagged merchant vessel which was hijacked by Somali pirates in early August, External Affairs Ministry sources told Daily Mirror online.

The Sri Lankan embassies in Kenya and Washington have been asked earlier to obtain more information regarding the hijacking of a Panama flagged merchant vessel with Sri Lankan’s onboard.

A spokesperson at the Ministry told Daily Mirror online that because Sri Lanka does not have a Mission in Somalia, the Embassy in Kenya had been asked to establish contact with the Somali pirates to seek the release of the Sri Lankan’s on board

The MV SUEZ was reportedly come under small arms fire from the pirates and minutes later the pirates had got on board the ship. After notification of the attack, attempts were made to make contact with the MV SUEZ but to no avail, EU NAVFOR said. (Daily Mirror online)