Ali Shire News

Flames seen rising from vessel after blast; port residents believe vessel may be foreign. A huge explosion was heard from a ship off the coast of Somalia's Puntland region late on Monday and flames were seen rising from what might be a foreign vessel, an official in a nearby port said. "We heard (a) huge explosion and (saw) flame rising from the ship. I believe that the ship is foreign," Ali Shire, mayor of Puntland's port town of Alula, a pirate haven, told Reuters on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether the explosion was caused by an accident onboard the vessel or was triggered by pirate attackers. It was also not clear whether the vessel was still afloat or had sunk.

Somali pirates hijacked an Iranian fishing vessel on Tuesday to use as a base to attack bigger, more valuable ships, the mayor of a Somali town said, part of an upsurge in attacks following years of relative calm. Crews have let security procedures slip in recent years and travel far closer to pirate-infested shores than authorities recommend, shipping sources say. The pirate gangs launch small, fast skiffs from bases on shore to try hijack vessels. "A group of Somali pirates captured an Iranian fishing vessel and are using it as a mother ship in order to hijack (other) ships," Ali Shire, the mayor of Haabo in the northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland, told Reuters. "The Iranian fishing vessel does not have a licence (to fish) in Puntland," he added.

DP World Group Chairman and CEO, Mr Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem has met the President of Somaliland, Mr Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud, during a visit to the country following the signing of a term sheet agreement in Dubai earlier this month to invest in the multi-purpose Port of Berbera. Mr Bin Sulayem and senior executives from DP World were hosted in the Presidential Palace in the capital Hargeisa where they also met government ministers and officials including Foreign Minister, Dr Saad Ali Shire; Minister of Presidential Affairs, Mr Mahmoud Hashi; Minister of Finance, Ms Zam Zam Aden; Minister of National Planning and Development, Mr Ali Hussein Ismail and Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Hussein Adan Igeh.