Somali Pirates Demand Record Ransom For Asian Glory – Media

According to the sources, $3 million were demanded by pirates for the release of another ship captured, St. James Park, which also had two Romanians in its crew.

The ship Asian Glory was seized on January 1 about 600 miles east of the Somali coast, said Commander John Harbour, a spokesman with the European Union task force charged with combating piracy off Somalia.

Harbour also said the Asian Glory's 25-member crew includes eight from Bulgaria, ten from Ukraine, five from India and two from Romania.

He also pointed out the ship was bound for, but had not yet entered, the internationally recognized travel corridor patrolled by EUNAVFOR, as the European Union mission is known, when it was hijacked.

The incident came after the UK-flagged chemical tanker St James Park, also owned by Zodiac, was captured in the Gulf of Aden on December 29, while on its way to Thailand from Spain.

St. James Park has a crew of 26, including three from the Philippines, three Russians, one Georgian, two Romanians, five Bulgarians, two Ukrainians, one Polish, six Indians and three Turks.

On December 28, another cargo ship was seized, underlining the risk to shipping on some of the world's busiest waterways. Pirates hold more than ten vessels.

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