Seized Danish Yacht, Family Anchor Near Somalia

The Danish family and their yacht that were seized last Thursday by pirates have been moved to Somalia’s coastlin.
Seized Danish Yacht, Family Anchor Near Somalia
3/2/2011
Updated:
3/2/2011
The Danish family and their yacht that were seized last Thursday by pirates have been moved to Somalia’s coastline, the Danish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The yacht is now anchored on the northern tip of Somalia near the coastal village of Hafun, according to community group spokesman Abdiaziz Mohamed Yusuf in an AP report.

Yusuf said the couple, their three children, and two crewmembers are off the yacht and now on land.

The Danish media reported that the Danish Foreign Ministry stated that relatives from Denmark are in contact with the hostages and that the hostages are doing well and negotiations for their release are expected to start soon.

It was only last week that four Americans on a captured yacht were killed by Somali pirates just before a U.S. special operations team boarded the hijacked vessel.

A Somali pirate on Tuesday warned that any attack against the gang holding the Danes would result in the deaths of the hostages.

The scope of the pirates’ activities extends from the Somali coast to deep into the Indian Ocean. According to last reports, pirates are holding around 50 vessels and 790 hostages.