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Somali pirates seize French yacht | Somali pirates seize French yacht |
(about 6 hours later) | |
Pirates have boarded a luxury French yacht off the coast of Somalia, taking all its 30 crew hostage, French officials and the ship's owners say. | |
They say the Ponant was seized in the Gulf of Aden and had no passengers on board at the time. | |
France's government said it had launched a piracy alert plan, mobilising all resources in the area. | |
Somali coastal waters are among the most hazardous in the world, despite the presence of US navy patrols there. | Somali coastal waters are among the most hazardous in the world, despite the presence of US navy patrols there. |
Last year, pirates seized more than 25 ships in the area. | Last year, pirates seized more than 25 ships in the area. |
'Act of piracy' | |
The Ponant - an 850-tonne three-masted yacht - was sailing back to the Mediterranean from the Seychelles when it was seized, officials said. | |
"As far as we know, no shots have been fired," French military spokesman Christophe Prazuck was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. | |
The yacht's owners - the shipping group CMA CGM - confirmed that one of its vessels had been seized. | |
The company said that the majority of the crew were French nationals. | |
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon later on Friday described the incident as "a blatant act of piracy". | |
"The defence and foreign ministries are mobilised to act as quickly as possible. | |
"I hope in the coming minutes or hours to try to win the freedom of these hostages," Mr Fillon said. | |
French and allied forces stationed in the area were put under alert. | |
France has troops in nearby Djibouti and also participates in a multinational naval force that patrols this part of the Indian Ocean. | |
The hijacked yacht can take up to 64 passengers and is designed for cruising in some style. | |
It has four decks, two restaurants and also indoor and outdoor luxury lounges. |