The Directorate General of Shipping said the Fairchem Bogey, a chemical-oil tanker managed by Mumbai-based Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, was hijacked while anchored in Salalah port, and the Salalah-based shipping source said the vessel was being loaded with methanol when it was seized.
The port's operator, APM Terminals, however, said pirates boarded the vessel while it was two miles off the coast of Oman, awaiting a berth and commandeered it towards Somalia.
Tom Boyd, director of external communications at APM Terminals, told Reuters there were no reported injuries or deaths among the crew, adding that the Omani government was negotiating with the pirates.
APM Terminals has a 30 percent share in Salalah port and operates it for the government.
"The Omani authorities are in discussion with the pirates. Government leaders have met this morning at the palace of the Sultan of Oman. At 8.28 a.m. the vessel sailed in the direction of Somalia," Boyd said.
Oman lies at the mouth of the Gulf, a strategic, heavily patrolled waterway which channels a bulk of the world's crude shipments.
Somali pirates behind similar vessel hijackings usually operate in Indian Ocean waters, but in January, a 20,586-tonne Algerian-flagged bulk carrier was seized about 150 miles southeast of Salalah.
The ship, with 27 crew from Algeria, Ukraine and the Philippines, was heading to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from Salalah with a cargo of clinker.
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Why these pirates and their hideouts not droned out ???? Look at what is happening in their own country (Somalia) where people are dieing from hunger and donations are being looted. Malnutrition is visible in those who are now scattered in the neighboring countries. UN should act to save shipping routes and the population at large in Somalia. India should raise this question in UN on urgent basis. My heart goes for those who are in the captivity of these pirates and the family members.
VERY SAD MOMMENT FOR INDIANS
My prayers and thoughts for the Indian sailors. I hope they are released soon without the loss of life.