The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday strongly denied a press report that pirates have been using a hijacked Taiwanese fishing boat as a mother ship for launching attacks.
The ministry also denied that the Seychelles coast guard captured the Taiwanese vessel on Saturday.
Calling the report in the Chinese-language China Times a “false alarm,” MOFA Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said the vessel, the Win Far No. 116 (穩發161號), which was hijacked in April, remained docked at an undisclosed location and had not been moved once since the hijacking.
“We don’t know where the reporter got the information, but reliable sources state that the boat is still in the same place. All crew members, including the captain, are safe and sound,” he said.
Chen said he could not disclose the names of the ministry’s sources or the international organization involved because of the issue’s sensitivity.
He said the ship’s owner has been negotiating with the pirates over a ransom, but the process has dragged out because they are locked in a stalemate over the payoff.
According to an Agence-France Presse report on Saturday, witnesses said French marines had boarded French trawlers 350km north of the Seychelles and opened fire on pirates to repel a dawn attack.
The report quoted a “Western source in the same area” as saying the pirate skiffs involved returned to a mother ship some 30m long, “likely an old Asian long-line fishing vessel, the Win Far, which has been under surveillance for the past several months when it was anchored off the Somali coast.”
However, Chen said it was extremely unlikely that pirates used the Win Far as a mother ship, because the vessel has not been moved in the past six months.
“We cannot say when the Taiwanese crew members will return home, because things are being worked out right now. As the ship’s owner is trying to keep the negotiation process as low-profile as possible, the ministry is refusing to make any detailed comments regarding the incident,” he said.
The ministry has frequently stated this position since the April hijacking.
In related news, a Coast Guard Administration vessel that was dispatched early last week has met up with the Taiwanese fishing trawler Yu-chun No. 166 (漁群166號) after a mutiny on the fishing vessel on Oct. 2.
The coast guard on Saturday boarded the Yu-chun No. 166 about 650 nautical miles (1,200km) from Oluanpi and both vessels are expected to reach Taiwan today, the coast guard said.
Both pan-blue and pan-green legislators lashed out at MOFA last week after Japan reportedly refused to allow the boat to dock at the Japanese islet of Ogasawara.
Two Indonesian crew members had allegedly tried to kill the Taiwanese captain and chief engineer, who locked themselves in the navigation room, from where they regained control of the boat.
MOFA has said that Japan did not turn away the Taiwanese boat, but delayed permission to dock because of concerns about how to handle the Indonesian crew once they landed in Japan.
The coast guard said the two Indonesian sailors have been detained and both Taiwanese nationals are in good condition.
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