Taiwan on Friday confirmed that a Taiwan fishing boat had been seized by Somali pirates and was being towed towards Somalia, according to dpa. "Our representative office in South Africa has contacted the missing fishing trawler, the Jih Chun Tsai 68," Foreign Ministry spokesman Henry Chen said. "Captain Wu Yu-lai said the boat was seized by Somali pirates, was being towed to Somalia, but the crew were safe." Taiwan has contacted several international and national maritime organizations to "seek help to rescue the Jih Chun Tsai," he added. The deep-sea tuna trawler is carrying a Taiwan captain along with two Chinese and 11 Indonesian crew members. It was attacked by Somali pirates on Wednesday along with another Taiwan fishing boat, the Jui Man Fa, which managed to escape. In recent years, five Taiwan fishing trawlers have been seized by Somali pirates. They were released after the ship owners paid ransoms. Taiwan has warned its fishing boats and cargo ships to stay away from the Somali coast and the Gulf of Aden.
