Condition of hijacked crew remains unknown

The fishing vessel Vega V, sailing under the Mozambique flag but with a Spanish captain, Alfonso Rey, and boatswain, José Alfonso García aboard, has been in the hands of pirates in the Indian Ocean for 10 days without any reliable information on the safety of the crew ? two Spaniards, 19 Mozambicans and three Indonesians. The Vega V's location was lost on December 28 but a shipwreck was ruled out because the ship's emergency beacon remained silent.

The vessel, owned by Spanish company Pescanova, is being directed toward the Somali coast, a sanctuary for the numerous groups of pirates operating in the area. The Vega V was yesterday reported in Tanzanian waters, under the operational sphere of the European anti-piracy Atalanta force. The ship was boarded by pirates in the Mozambique Channel, hundreds of miles south of the area being patrolled by Atalanta frigates.

The Vega V is under constant surveillance by an aircraft contracted by Pescanova, which sends six-hourly reports on its position. Three Spanish ministries ? Defense, Environment and Foreign ? have mobilized embassies in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique while the US Defense Department is providing information.

The fisheries minister in Mozambique, according to statements collected by local media, said he was at a loss as to the pirates' motive. "It is a simple vessel of small size," he said. Pirates operating in the area have not targeted such vessels before.

"The most valuable thing on the boat is the crew," added the minister.