Crew Cargovessel Al-Khaleech free

[Fred Vloo]

Somali regional forces on Tuesday rescued  a hijacked cargo vessel and arrested seven pirates after a clash in the Gulf of  Aden, an official said.
   Three pirates and a soldier from the semi-autonomous Puntland region were  wounded in the incident, a day after the Al-Khaleech was hijacked as it sailed  from United Arab Emirates to the Puntland port town of Bosasso.
   "We are very pleased that our forces secured the boat and its crew," said  Puntland Seaports Minister Abdisamed Yusuf Abwan, who added that none of the  more than 10 crew on the cargo ship were wounded.
   The UAE-owned vessel, contracted by a Somali trader to transport  merchandise, was seized on Monday about 100 nautical miles from Basasso, said  Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade, an advisor for the Puntland president.
   Somalia has had no effective central government for more than 17 years, and  its waters are considered to be among the most dangerous for shipping in the  world.
   On Monday, pirates holding 26 crew members on a Spanish fishing boat off  the Somali coast meanwhile demanded a ransom for their release, a day after  storming the vessel armed with grenade launchers.
   A Spanish naval frigate was heading from the Red Sea to the area of the  seizure off east Africa, according to a government source.
   Also on Monday, a Japanese oil tanker was damaged and then chased by  heavily armed pirates off the coasts of Somalia and Yemen, officials and crew  members said. No one was hurt.
   Six Somalis have meanwhile been charged by a court in the French capital  Paris for taking the crew of a French luxury yacht hostage for a week off  Somalia earlier this month.
   French special forces captured the accused, and seized 200,000 dollars  (125,000 euros) of suspected ransom money, after freeing the yacht's crew of 30  on April 11.
   Last year more than 25 ships were seized by pirates in Somali coastal  waters, despite US navy patrols. The International Maritime Bureau advises  merchant ships to stay at least 200 nautical miles from the Somali coast.