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Pirates kidnap Iranian petrochemical ship

Arab World Materials 11 January 2012 12:24 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 11 Trend M. Moezzi

Pirates have stolen a ship carrying Iranian petrochemicals in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday night, Pana news reported.

The ship was carrying 30,000 tons of caustic soda produced by Iran's Arvand petrochemical complex. The material was being sent to a buyer in Italy. The ship and its crew are not Iranian

Rampant piracy off the Indian Ocean coast of Somalia has made the waters the world's most dangerous area.

Iran's Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard maritime trade and in particular ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.

On Tuesday a website reported Georgia had paid $3 million in ransom to free its sailors who were held captive for 16 months. Last week the U.S. Navy rescued a dozen Iranian sailors whose ship had been seized by Somali pirates.

The Gulf of Aden which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea is the quickest route for more than 20,000 vessels traveling annually between Asia, Europe and the Americas.

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