MV ‘Patriot’ sailing under a Maltese flag has a crew of 17 comprised of 15 Filipinos and 1 Ukrainian .
Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Piotr Paszkowski says the identity of the captain has been confirmed through Brussels.
The MV Patriot , sailing under the Maltese flag was hijacked at the eastern end of the Gulf of Aden on Saturday. The vessel is carrying 31,000-tonnes of grain. Last year some 111 cases of kidnapping vessels for ransom were recorded. This year the Somali pirates hijacked some 40 vessels.
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