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Spanish owners hoping pirates want the boat for crude

Rather than hold the 23-member crew hostage for ransom Spanish owners of an oil tanker hijacked off West Africa are hoping pirates just want to steal the crude, rather than hold the 23-member crew hostage for ransom.Consultores de Navegacion spokeswoman Sheena Campbell said Thursday that the company had not heard from the Cyprus-flagged ship since it was hijacked Wednesday."The normal case is that the only thing they are interested in is robbing the boat," Campbell said. "We hope that is what is going to happen this time."Campbell said that in a similar incident two weeks ago pirates loaded crude from a tanker onto barges, then freed the ship and crew."It is not like Somalia," Campbell said, where pirates roaming the Indian Ocean routinely seize commercial vessels and hold the crews for large ransom payments.She said the crew of the Mattheos I comprises five Spaniards, two Ukrainians and the rest Filipinos.The International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy worldwide, said pirates boarded the tanker as it idled 62 nautical miles from Benin's capital Cotonou.In the waters off nearby Togo, 26 pirates attempted to take over another chemical tanker on Wednesday, according to the bureau. The pirates came in two boats with ropes ...

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Seven men detained by a Spanish warship after attack on French catamaran off Yemen

They killed its skipper - now they have been sent to France to face justice Seven men detained by a Spanish warship after they allegedly attacked a French catamaran off Yemen and killed its skipper have been sent to France to face justice, a judicial official said Wednesday.A Paris investigating magistrate will consider bringing charges against the seven who were arrested on Saturday after troops from the warship boarded their skiff and freed the dead skipper's wife, the officials said.The investigation into the killing is being led by the unit charged with organised crime.A German warship had found the yacht the Tribal Kat belonging to French couple Christian and Evelyne Colombo adrift off Yemen on Thursday after it broadcast a mayday appeal for help.There were signs of struggle, including bullet holes and blood stains, and no one was on board, prompting commanders from the EU's anti-piracy naval task force Atalanta to launch an air and sea search for the attackers.The Spanish warship Galicia chased down a suspicious skiff, stormed it, rescued Evelyne Colombo and arrested the seven alleged pirates.The couple's family was later informed that the 55-year-old captain had been killed during the initial attack and his body thrown overboard.Christian ...

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Somali pirates free hijacked Greek oil tanker

The crew has been released after holding them hostage for 10 months Somali pirates on Friday freed a Greek-operated oil products tanker and its crew after holding them hostage for nearly 10 months, the vessel's manager said.The tanker's operator and manager Paradise Navigation did not give any details about whether a ransom was paid.Somali piracy is costing the world economy billions of dollars a year and international navies struggle to combat the menace especially in the Indian Ocean due to the vast distances involved. The shipping industry has warned that seaborne gangs pose an increasing threat to vital sea lanes.The Panama flagged MT Polar was hijacked on October 30 last year off the coast of Somalia with its 24 crew members, who included Romanian, Greek, Montenegrin and Filipino nationals.One seafarer died of a stroke in November while being held by the captors, Paradise Navigation said."The vessel was released by the criminals holding her at 0630 hrs local time on Friday, August 26. The Polar was captured despite following all anti-piracy measures," it said in a statement on Friday."The tanker with all crew on board is now on her way to a suitable safe port. All 23 members of the crew ...

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Location of ship hijacked in Oman is still unknown

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 touchThe 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 ...

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Saudi chemical to escape a hijack attempt near the Salalah coast

A day after an Indian tanker was hijacked near the port Saudi chemical oil tanker escaped a hijack attempt by pirates near the Salalah coast on Sunday, a day after an Indian tanker and its 21-member crew, were hijacked from near the port."Pirates in a skiff chased and fired upon a chemical tanker under way. Master raised alarm, increased speed and took evasive manoeuvres," a statement issued by International Maritime Bureau's anti-crime arm said. "The pirates made several attempts to board the tanker and finally aborted the attack due to the evasive manoeuvres made by the tanker. A mother vessel was also sighted in the vicinity," the statement added. The attack happened 55 nautical miles off the Salalah coast at around 7pm."The crew is safe and healthy," the vessel owners said.Meanwhile, a report from Mumbai said that the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has rescued six crew members on board Omani vessel Sakar-7, about 160 nautical miles off Porbandar coast in the Arabian Sea.The incident took place on Saturday, when the vessel that was drifting for the last 11 days due to technical snag in the engine, entered into Indian territory and was spotted by Coast Guard aircraft on routine patrol ...

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Somali pirates hijack Indian ship with 21 crew off Oman

It was hijacked while anchored in Salalah port Somali pirates hijacked a chemical-oil tanker with 21 Indian sailors on board on Saturday from near an Omani port, although the exact location was unconfirmed.India's Directorate General of Shipping said the Fairchem Bogey, managed by Mumbai-based Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, was hijacked while anchored in Salalah port. A Salalah-based shipping source said the vessel was being loaded with methanol when it was seized.The port's operator, APM Terminals, however, said pirates boarded the vessel while it was two miles off the coast of Oman, awaiting a berth, and comandeered it towards Somalia.Andrew Mwangura, shipping editor of The Somalia Report, who is based in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa told Reuters the position of the hijacking showed the ship was inside Oman's territorial waters."It was captured six nautical miles south of Salalah so it is definitely inside Oman," he said, adding that a country's territorial waters usually stretch out 12 miles into the sea."If it is Somali pirates, it means they have a mother ship they are operating with. The high season for piracy has just started."The end of the southwest monsoon winds in August marks the end of very turbulent high seas In ...

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Hijacked MV Sinin with 9 Indians rescued

It was released on Saturday after several months of negotiations MV Sinin, a merchant vessel, that had been captured by Somali pirates in February this year, was released on Saturday after several months of negotiations.The vessel, which had 21 persons onboard, including nine Indians, is expected to reach Colombo, Sri Lanka in another week."The Directorate-General of Shipping has been informed that MV Sinin, which was hijacked by Somali pirates on February 12 this year, has been released on August 13. A total crew of 21 persons, including nine Indians are reported to be safe," read a statement issued by shipping authorities.After the release of the 52,446 tonne-bulk carrier, the owners of the vessel have provided for replenishment of stores, fuel and security for the vessel so that it can reach Colombo by August 19."Once the ship reaches Colombo, the vessel is likely to be dry docked for extensive inspection for damage or repairs needed," read the statement.The Malta flagged ship was confirmed to have been captured at around 350 nautical miles east of Masirah, an island off the Oman's coast. The European Union Naval Force has been monitoring the situation of the vessel since February this year. The naval force's ...

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Somali pirates in their labyrinths

United States cargo vessel was hijacked by four Somali pirates On April 8, 2009, the Maersk Alabama, a 17,000-ton United States cargo vessel, was hijacked by four Somali pirates several hundred miles east of Mogadishu. Bobbing in a lifeboatwith the skipper, 53-year-old Richard Phillips, they began negotiating with the ship's owners via cellphone for a multimillion-dollar ransom. For five days, the pirates and their hostage drifted in the Indian Ocean, shadowed by the USS Bainbridge, a destroyer that arrived at the scene not long after the hijacking. At dusk on April 12, Navy snipers killed three of the Somalis, and Phillips was rescued unharmed. The surviving pirate was seized and taken to the United States, where he pleaded guilty in a Manhattan courtroom to a host of charges and was sentenced to 33 years and nine months in a federal prison.The hijacking of the Alabama, the first seizure of an American-flagged vessel in 200 years, drew the country's attention to the return of a scourge once associated with plank-walks, treasure chests and peg-legged marauders. But, as Jay Bahadur makes clear in The Pirates of Somalia, buccaneering has evolved into a very modern activity, complete with night vision goggles, GPS units ...

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Somali pirates hijack ship with 5 Indians onboard

Carrying 16 members onboard A UAE-based vessel carrying 16 members onboard, including five Indians, has been hijacked by Somali pirates off an island which forms part of Yemen.Sources in the Ministry of Shipping today said they were trying to ascertain the details of the Indians who were part of the 16-member crew that was hijacked by pirates on July 16.Vessel MV Jubba of Juba General Trading was on its regular route from the United Arab Emirates to the port of Berbera, Somalia with the crew members including a Sri Lankan, three Bangladeshis, a Sudanese, a Myanmarese, a Kenyan and four Somalians.According to preliminary information, the vessel was located by a Maritime Patrol aircraft 100 nautical miles north-west of Socotra Island, heading to the northern Somali coast.The sources said the hijacked vessel was a general cargo freighter having a capacity of 2,100 tonne.In a related move, Pakistan's human rights activist and former federal Minister Ansar Burney, whose office had also received information about the hijacking of the vessel, said at present little information was available, but it was reported that nine suspected Somali pirates were onboard.Burney, whose trust has been on forefront of negotiation with pirates, demanded with the United Nations ...

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