COLOMBO, Dec 24: Diplomatic efforts were under way on Sunday to secure the release of 25 crew members of a Jordanian ship which drifted into the waters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled Mullaitivu region in the north of Sri Lanka.
The Iraqi captain of the ship along with 11 Jordanians and 13 Egyptians were taken away by the LTTE on Friday night. The Defence Ministry in Colombo said the LTTE Sea Tigers had forcibly boarded the vessel when it was drifting off the Mullaitivu seas due to a technical problem.
The ministry said that the distress message released indicated that the ship was under an armed pirate attack.
