Cambodian-flagged ship latest Somali pirate victim

Somali gunmen hijacked a Cambodian cargo ship, the MV Layla-S, off Berbera after it unloaded at the port in the breakaway northern enclave of Somaliland, a regional maritime official said Thursday. "Crew members on board the ill-fated vessel are ... Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan, Somali and Syrian nationals," Andrew Mwangura of the Mombasa, Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Program said in a statement.

"It is said that the vessel has a link with Syrian and UAE businessmen. We are informed that she was taken by gunmen after discharging her cargo." The hijacking appeared to have happened Wednesday, but few other details were immediately available.

Source: Sea Trade Asia