Owners of seized vessel say pirates yet to establish any contact
Owners of the chemical tanker that was hijacked in Oman are still clueless about the whereabouts and condition of the vessel and its crew more than a day after Somali pirates seized the MT Fairchem Bogey off the port of Salalah. According to officials of the Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, the pirates have yet to establish contact as of last night.
“We expect the pirates to make the first contact to us till they reach the Somalia coast where they will be anchored on their arrival from Salalah port,” a ship managing firm official said.
There are 21 crew members on board MT Fairchem Bogey. All are Indians. The ship was carrying over 20,000 tonnes of methanol on Saturday and was scheduled to set sail from the Salalah port on Sunday.
In touch
The ship’s managers have been in touch with various maritime authorities, while awaiting further contact from the vessel. An official of India’s Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) said the tanker was heading towards the Somalian coast.
“We do not know the current location of the ship. We have also not got fresh feedback from the company managing the ship,” the DGS official added.
According to an Anglo-Eastern Ship Management statement, they received a call at around 6am Oman time on Saturday from the ship’s crew who reported that suspected pirates were boarding the vessel.
At the time, the MV Fairchem Bogey was in a designated anchorage point within the Salalah port limits and awaiting berthing instructions after discharging its cargo at Al Jubail.
An Omani Coast Guard patrol attempted to approach the tanker, but were forced to back off after the pirates threatened to harm the ship’s crew. The Anglo-Eastern Ship Management statement said it appeared that the tanker’s crew were all safe and unharmed. Armed guards
The tanker had armed guards when it transited Goa, but they were dropped off at Muscat on August 10. After discharging their cargo at Al Jubail, the tanker proceeded to Salalah on August 18 where it waited for berthing instructions.
“There has been no contact with the actual pirates on board,” the statement said, adding that they were notifying the families of the crew on board the hijacked ship.
Source : Gulf news