Somali pirates have released seven Yemeni fishermen after two years of abduction.
Yemeni sources affirmed that the Yemeni fishermen will arrive in al-Mukula on Friday, pointing out that a mediation managed to persuade the Somali pirates to release the fishermen in return for a ransom.
The ship (Ice Berg) that carried the fishermen was arrested in March 2010 while sailing in the Yemeni territorial water, about ten miles off the Yemeni coasts.
Yemeni government sources had said that Yemen lost $150 million in 2011 due to sea piracy, pointing out that pirates constantly attack Yemeni ships.The affirmed that piracy in the Gulf of Aden affected on thousands of Yemeni fishermen and deprived them from their living income, singling out that scores of Yemeni commercial and fishing ships and that 15 Yemeni fishers were killed by pirates."Though the maritime forces existed in the international water off the Somali coasts contributed in reducing piracy recently, it posed a main reason behind the obstructions of fishing in the region" Yemen Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said.
He affirmed that Yemeni fishermen are always subjected to the fires of the International forces and security teams who are existed on the board of commercial ships with the aim of protecting them.Piracy acts in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea affect on fishermen and led to the decline of fish products and harm the international navigation line and fish production.Media sources stated that 57 ships were hijacked in the Yemeni territorial waters with 225 failed hijacking attempts in 2010 alone. Seaborne gangs have been exploiting political turmoil in Yemen to smuggle fuel, and possibly other supplies including food