Somali pirates who hijacked a Danish cargo ship with five sailors on board are demanding 1.5 million U.S. dollars for the release of the vessel and the seamen, a Kenyan maritime official said on Sunday.
The Danica White was on its way to the Kenyan port of Mombasa from Dubai when it was seized by pirates in the dangerous waters off the Somali coast early June.
"The pirates are demanding 1.5 million U.S. dollars for the release of the ship and the five Danish sailors. But the vessel's owners said they can't raise that amount," Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Mombasa-based Seafarers Assistance Program, told Xinhua by telephone.
"The Danish government has also refused to pay the ransom because they argued this would encourage more attacks in Somalia," said Mwangura,
The Danica White which was seized from about 240 nautical miles (444.5 km) from Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, was carrying building and construction material.
The Somali pirates often trained and heavily armed fighters using speedboats equipped with satellite phones and Global Positioning System equipment are notoriously active off Somalia's coast.
Pirate attacks on ships off the Somali coast have intensified since March this year along the Somali waters.
The International Maritime Board said more than 10 attacks have been carried out in the Somali waters since the start of this year.
Source: Xinhua
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