Somali pirates hijack Turkish ship with 25 crew

Somali pirates hijacked a Turkish vessel with 25 crew onboard on Wednesday, the EU Naval Force said, the day after a hostage drowned during a separate encounter between naval forces and a pirated vessel. The MV Yasin C was taken around midday 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the Kenyan coast, said EU naval spokesman Cmdr. John Harbour, adding the crew onboard the 36,000-ton bulk carrier are believed to be Turkish.
It is the closest successful hijacking to Kenya's coast, said Karen Jacques of Dryad Maritime Intelligence, but two other attacks on March 31 were much closer one a mere 85 miles (135 kilometers) from the bustling southern port of Mombasa. At least 16 ships and around 240 crew are believed to be currently held by pirates off the lawless coast of Somalia.