Moscow (Alshahid) – Somali pirates have captured three Russian citizens – crewmembers of the St James Park chemical tanker, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

“We confirm that three captives are Russian citizens,” a ministry representative told Interfax.

“As far as we know, the ship owner is holding negotiations with the assailants on the release of the sailors,” he said.

“Russian diplomatic missions are monitoring the situation and are ready to render comprehensive assistance to the Russian citizens,” he said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said on Tuesday that Russia had no embassy in Somalia, which complicated the clarification of incident circumstances.

“We are trying to verify reports and to find out whether the crew had any Russian members. If that is so, we will work on the release of our fellow citizens through the states, bordering on Somalia and having diplomatic relations with us,” he said.

“We are cooperating with the partners, who have helped us more than once,” Nesterenko said.

The Web site of the EU Operation Atalanta, which fights sea pirates near Somalia, said on Tuesday that the St James Park had a crew of three Russians, two Ukrainians, one Georgian, five Bulgarians, three Filipinos, two Romanians, one Pole, six Indians and three Turks.

An Atalanta ship responded after the crew sent a distress signal.

According to the Web site, the vessel carrying chemicals belongs to Philbox Limited.

Source: Kyiv post