Saturday - October 30, 2010

Pirate Follies

BULKER BOARDED BY PIRATES IN PROTECTED CORRIDOR (ecop-marine)
Armed pirates boarded on 30. October 2010 at 05h12 UTC (08h15) a bulk carrier underway in position 15:06N-055:58E, which is around 170nm SE off Salalah, Oman, and inside the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC). All crew retreated into a strongroom, the so-called citadel from where they have control of ship.

While the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre reports that the pirates would still be on board, reports from Somalia state that the bunker barge Al-Nisr al Saudi with its original crew of 14, including the master, was used in the assault and that, while the pirates boarded the attacked vessel, a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) was fired to gain entry to the strongroom. That RPG reportedly bounced back and injured three of the attackers. Thereafter the gang left this vessel and only a short while later are reported to have captured today a Nigerian merchant ship, which they now apparently commandeer. The whole situation is still very unclear and further reports are awaited.

30.10.2010: 0512 UTC: Posn: 15:06N-055:58E, Around 170nm SE of Salalah, Oman, off Somalia.

Armed pirates boarded a bulk carrier underway. All crew retreated into the citadel from where they have control of ship. Pirates are still onboard. Further report awaited.

This week it was reported that a German ship was freed without ransom, though the truth is that the pirates could not control the MV Beluga Fortune and had to let her go. It just could be that having the HMS Montrose nearby helped ... though reportedly the Brits didn’t board and search the Beluga until much later.

Last week the VOC Daisy, hijacked in April. was released after ransom was paid.

Currently pirates hold 30 ships and more than 519 hostages, including that elderly British couple snatched off their yacht months ago. Somali pirates continue to use the VLCC Samho Dream as a mothership; the giant ship full of crude oil is presently off the coast of Garacad in Puntland.

It is likely that the ship was shifted out to sea to assist another pirate action group who have now been taken back to Puntland. Another theory for its move put forward by NATO was that the pirates were assessing sea conditions in the Somali Basin in the wake of the regional monsoons abating.

It is also not unknown for pirates to up anchor and flee ports due to a threat from Islamist groups invading the town. This occurred in May this year when two of three hijacked vessels being held at Harardhere, further south from Hobyo, were shifted up to Hobyo as the radical group Hizbul-Islam entered the town.

And today comes word that another ship has been snagged, this time a smaller one enroute from Russia to Singapore.

The 72,800-dwt Polar (built 2005) was seized overnight between Friday and Saturday but the hijacking was only confirmed on Saturday. There are 24 crew members onboard the Panama-flagged ship. There are no reports of any injuries or damage to the ship.

Although the exact position at which the vessel was taken is not known, it is believed to have been at the very easterly extremities of the area of operation for naval vessels. Consequently there were no warships in the vicinity to provide assistance.

A statement from counter-piracy task force EU NAVFOR later confirmed the hijacking which it said occured 580 miles east of the Yemeni island of Socotra. The crew comprises three Greeks, 16 Filipinos, four Montenegrins and one Romanian, the statement read.

Two days ago another super giant oil carrier, the Starlight Venture was attacked. Shots fired, but they got away. The newsworthy point is that the carrier was traveling in convoy, surrounded by the Thai Navy. And the pirates attacked anyway.

“The Hellespont Protector was attacked by a pirate boat whilst transiting the Gulf of Aden eastbound in a Thai National Navy convoy. When the attack occurred the master took evasive action to deter the pirates. The Thai Navy launched a helicopter in response to the request for assistance by the vessel.

“Although shots were fired...the vessel followed best management practices and the pirates were not able to board the vessel. They eventually stopped their efforts to capture the tanker. No injuries and no pollution were reported, the crew is safe and continuing with their passage.”

It appears that the pirates got away clean. But look at the nerve of these barstards - they attack the biggest ships in the world, in convoys, with international forces right the heck there. And live to tell the tale. Un. Real.  Yet when a small container ship, the MSC Ayala shoots back, the pirates run away. Hey Navy: hint hint hint!!!

Posted by Drew458     on 10/30/2010 at 06:04 PM   
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •  
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