Negotiations On Hijacked Korean Tuna Boat Continueff

Somalia’s interim government was confirmed on Sunday to have engaged in negotiations for the release of a South Korean fishing vessel and its 25 crew, seized last week off the coast of the war-torn country.

Ali Mohamed Gedi, prime minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, said his government was trying to free the 361-ton Dongwon Fisheries tuna vessel and its 25 Asian crew, including eight South Koreans.

Four rounds of negotiations between the kidnappers and Dongwon’s local agents had shown no progress as of Sunday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul said the two sides were to conduct their fifth round of talks in the afternoon Korean Standard Time.

Meanwhile, two Dongwon executives arrived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday to accelerate the negotiation process. The fishing company said it was necessary to dispatch the two officials as the local agents have difficulties in making “critical decisions.”

A news wire service reported on Friday the kidnappers were demanding a $400,000 ransom. But Dongwon rebuffed the report, saying the Somali faction had not yet expressed how much they wanted.

The kidnappers, identified by the foreign ministry in Seoul on Friday as “Somali Marine,” reportedly argued they are not pirates and what they want from Dongwon is not ransom but a “fine” for the vessel’s illegal fishing in its economic water zone.

Dongwon received a fishing license from the interim Somali government, but the kidnappers do not acknowledge it, the foreign ministry said.