TAIPEI: A Taiwanese deep-sea fishing boat hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean in April is still docked in Somalia, but its crew is safe, external affairs authorities spokesman Henry Chen said yesterday.

Chen made the remarks after the Taipei-based China Times daily reported yesterday that the Win Far 161, a tuna longliner, has been used by Somali pirates to attack foreign merchant vessels and even to open fire upon US military aircraft.

Moreover, the paper said, the 700-ton ship has been detained by the coast guard authorities of the Indian Ocean island state of Seychelles since October 10. "The report is inaccurate," Chen said, adding "Through contacts with the ship owner, the Fisheries Agency under Taiwan's Council of Agriculture and several international maritime trade organizations, we are pretty sure that the ship remains intact in a Somali port that is being closely monitored by naval vessels from many countries."

Chen elaborated, saying that the Taiwanese ship owner is still negotiating with Somali pirates over the size of the ransom needed to get the vessel back. "No progress has been made in this regard," he added.

As to when a result can be achieved, Chen said the external affairs authorities are not in a position to speculate or predict because the ship owner prefers to maintain a low profile.

The Win Far 161 was hijacked near an island in the Seychelles April 6.

Of its 30-strong crew, the ship's skipper and first engineer are Taiwanese, while five others are mainlanders, 17 are Filipinos and six are Indonesian.

Meanwhile, fishery executives in the southern port city of Kaohsiung - the hub of Taiwan's deep sea fishing industry - said rampant piracy has affected the local tuna fishing operations in the Indian Ocean.

Edward C.C. Huang, general secretary of the Taiwan Deep Sea Tuna Long Line Boat Owners and Exporters Association, said that although there has been no convincing evidence proving that climate change in recent years has affected deep sea tuna fishing, piracy in the Indian Ocean has definitely hindered local longliners' operations.

"About 150 Taiwan longliners embark from Kaohsiung for the Indian Ocean every year," Huang said. "Concern about attacks by pirates has prevented our member boats from approaching certain waters, thus affecting their catches."

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 10/13/2009 page2)