Somali pirates have hijacked a South Korean fishing trawler with 25 people on board and have demanded a ransom of USD 400,000 for her release, media reported.
The ship was taken on Tuesday Somali tribal chiefs have said. They also claimed that the wanted cash was not ransom money but a fine for illegal fishing.
This ship had not come to Somalia to bring humanitarian aid or to transport cargo in international waters, some of the chief commented. She had come to plunder the country's sea treasures, they added.