a scourge that Iran’s Navy has never mentioned.
The Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) last week quoted Saeed Izadiyan, the deputy chief of the Ports and Maritime Organization, as saying that in the 13-month period from Now Ruz 2010 through April of this year, Somali pirates attacked and hijacked 31 Iranian fishing vessels.
He spoke only about fishing vessels, not about Iran’s tankers and freighters. The Iranian Navy has boasted at length about saving Iranian tankers and freighters from dozens of attacks by Somali pirates. It says none of those pirate attacks have succeeded. But it has said nothing about Iranian fishing vessels.
Izadiyan said that during that 13-month period, 109 fisherman were taken hostage and three were killed during hijackings. He didn’t say how many of those fisherman were subsequently freed and how many remained in pirate hands today.
He said that of the 31 hijacked vessels, 18 were freed by the Ports and Maritime Organization, suggesting that the government paid ransoms for their release. He said another six fishing boats sank during the pirate attacks. He said nothing about the remaining seven vessels, implying they remained in Somalia pirate hands.
Izadiyan only gave statistics for the 13-month period ending April 20. He gave no indication how many fishing boats had undergone pirate attacks since then.
The Navy has not yet responded to this criticism of its claimed ability to protect Iranian ships and seamen off Somalia. It recently said that it had successfully protected 1,030 Iranian vessels since 2008 by escorting them.
The International Maritime Bureau says there are now 10 vessels and 172 seamen held in Somalia.