NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Somali pirates were holding at least 627 captives and 34 vessels they had seized as of Monday, a group monitoring the high seas marauders said.
ECOTERRA International, which lists operations in Kenya and Germany, said those being held against their will include a South-African yachting couple and five hostages from Somalia.
ECOTERRA said the latest ship to be commandeered was the Malaysia-flagged cargo ship MV Albedo, which was boarded by pirates early Friday while en route from Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates to Mombasa in Kenya. The high-seas hijacking occurred about 255 nautical miles west of the Maldives. European Union naval forces confirmed the takeover Monday.
ECOTERRA said a German freighter, the MCL Bremen, also was attacked Friday but the crew members barricaded themselves in a secret room and the attackers gave up their takeover attempt before a Dutch warship arrived.
The group said the EU naval forces list only 22 vessels and 521 hostages in the hands of the Somali pirates.
