Ransom talks to release hijacked Emirati vessel under way

The crew of the UAE-operated oil tanker Lin 1, hijacked by Somali pirates on March 29, are reported to be unharmed but still captive, the Khaleej Times has been told. Approximately 12 pirates armed with AK-47 machine-guns and pistols attacked the tanker in broad daylight shortly after she had unloaded a cargo of diesel at El Ade port in the north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The previous week El Ade had been seized by Islamist militia in a battle that killed at least 70 people.