UN extends anti-piracy mission off Somalia
22:35 30/11/2009 UN, November 30 (RIA Novosti) - The UN Security Council extended on Monday the mandate of an international anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia for another year.
In a report to the Security Council released last Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said international counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden have led to a decline in the number of ship seizures in the region.
The European Union last Thursday extended its anti-piracy mandate in the area - Operation Atalanta - until the end of 2010.
On Sunday, Somali pirates hijacked a large Greek-owned oil tanker, believed to be the largest ship seized by the pirates to date. A group of pirates attacked the Maran Centaurus near the Seychelles. The ship has 28 crew members on board - 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and one Romanian.
Somali pirates are currently holding 11 foreign ships with over 260 crewmembers. The country has been without an effective government since 1991.
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