Sierra Leone and neighbors to fight piracy in the Gulf of Guinea after a Chinese ship was hijacked

By KEMO CHAM
Associated Press

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Sierra Leone says it is working with neighboring countries to step up the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea after a Chinese fishing vessel was hijacked in its waters earlier this week. Twenty-three crew members on board Shenghai-2, including six Chinese nationals, were rescued following the hijacking on Sunday. The ship was sailing with another fishing vessel, Aliman, when both came under attack by heavily armed pirates. Sierra Leone’s Navy Chief Commodore Philip Juana says the attackers sailed the hijacked vessel toward neighboring Liberia where they were caught by Liberian forces and their weapons seized a day later.