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Envoy seeks release of Pinoy seafarers held hostage by pirates

MO Secretary General promised to look into the matter The Philippines' new representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is seeking the release of Filipino seafarers being detained by pirates.IMO Secretary General Efthimios Mitropoulos promised to look into the matter when Ambassador Enrique Manalo presented his Letter of Credence to him in London on October 24.The ceremony officially marked the start of the term of Manalo as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the IMO."Upon the request of the Ambassador, Secretary General Mitropoulos promised to look into the early release of Filipino seafarers still detained by pirates by discussing their situation with the ship owners who are responsible for negotiating their release," the Philippine Embassy in London said.There were more than 300,000 Filipino seafarers in the international maritime fleet.The IMO is scheduled to convene its bi-annual Assembly from November 21 to 30 in London.The Philippines is seeking re-election to the IMO Council under Category "C," and Manalo informed Mitropoulos of the effort and determination exerted by the Philippine government towards a successful re-election."The two officials promised to work closely on issues of concern to both the Philippines and IMO," the embassy said.Source: VVP, GMA News

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MV Iceberg1 Remains in Pirate Control Despite Reports of Release

Ship and its 23 hostages are still being held captive for an $8 million ransom payment After media outlets just reported the release of the Dubai-based MV Iceberg 1 on Tuesday after being held by pirates for 19 months, Somalia Report announced that the ship and its 23 hostages are still being held captive for an $8 million ransom payment.The 4,500-ton Iceberg 1 owned by Azal Shipping Company was announced released on Tuesday when AP subsequently retracted their story. Then Somalia Report broke disappointing news. A spokesman of the pirate group holding the Iceberg 1 and crew told Somalia Report that they are still aboard the vessel in the Garacad area, and have not received a ransom payment. The pirate, called Adan, said that they would not release the vessel without their ransom demand.The Panamanian-flagged cargo ship was hijacked by Somali pirates on March 29th 2010 while sailing in the Gulf of Aden en route for the Jebel Ali Port carrying mechanical instruments.So far, the Iceberg 1 remains the longest-held ship by pirates.Source: Maritime Executive

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City marines raid pirate ship in daring rescue

They rescued a group of Pakistani fishermen after they were captured by pirates City sailors and Royal Marines have rescued a group of Pakistani fishermen after they were captured by pirates off the Somali coast.In a daring mission Royal Marines from Devonport-based HMS Somerset boarded a large fishing dhow being used by the pirates as a 'mothership' for launching armed raids on merchant shipping.The pirates had previously seized the Pakistani fishermen's trawler.HMS Somerset is in the region conducting maritime security operations.The Type 23 frigate's Captain, Commander Paul Bristowe, ordered the attack after HMS Somerset's Merlin helicopter had shadowed the suspect vessel in the Indian Ocean.A boarding party of marines brought the Pakistani crew to safety after the pirates - armed with machine guns - surrendered without firing a shot. The raiders were then transferred to a US warship in the area.The successful mission by HMS Somerset was the second in a week where British forces had intervened in a pirate raid on vulnerable vessels.Source: Plymouth Herald

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Nigerian pirates release crew of German tanker

They are all safe and sound Nigerian pirates have released the crew of a German oil tanker hijacked six days ago.The pirates seized the MT Cape Bird, a tanker with a crew of 20, including five Russians, in waters off Lagos on Saturday night."The crewmembers were freed last night. All are safe and sound," Sergei Panyushkin, the head of a Russian sailor recruiting firm, told RIA Novosti.The crew also included nationals of Georgia, Ukraine and Latvia.Source: RIA Novosti

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Hijacked crew saved by message in a bottle

The message in a bottle was used after the pirates cut off all other means of communication On Tuesday, UK and US forces saved 23 crew members aboard a cargo ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates. Upon being hijacked, the crew consisting of 7 Italians, 6 Ukrainians, and 10 Indians, locked themselves in a secure area away from where the pirates boarded on Monday, Italian official Ignazio La Russa told AP.Shockingly, what saved the Montecristo crewman was dispersing a message in a bottle from a porthole, alerting ships nearby that the crew was safely sealed inside an armored area of the ship. The message in a bottle was used after the pirates cut off all other means of communication to the hostages. Ships nearby became aware of the state of the 56,000-ton Italian cargo ship, but what made the bottled message so important to their rescue is including their location in the armored room, keying rescuers that an operation could be launched on board without risking injuries to the crew.Two Navy ships, one British and one American, coordinated with NATO's Ocean Shield to carry out the mission 1,000-km off of Somalia. Rubber boats circled the Montecristo, while a helicopter ...

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Somali pirates free two hostages from Algerian ship

Released two of its 27 crewmen Somali pirates holding an Algerian bulk carrier since January 1 have released two of its 27 crewmen, including one Algerian on humanitarian grounds, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.Algerian foreign ministry spokesman Amar Belani said in a statement sent to the official news agency APS that one Algerian was released on "humanitarian grounds" together with a second crew member "with foreign citizenship."He did not provide the names of the freed seamen.The MV Blida had been captured on its way from Salalah in Oman to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania with a crew of 17 Algerians, six Ukrainians including the captain, two Filipinos, an Indonesian and a Jordanian.Nacerreddine Mansouri, a senior official of International Bulk Carriers (IBC), the MV Blida's registered owner, however identified the freed Algerian crewman as 52-year-old Azzedine Toudji and said an unidentified Ukrainian national was also released."We can confirm that their lives are not in danger," he said. "Contact was never broken. Negotiations are very difficult but are making progress."The Algerian sailor "was taken to hospital", Belani earlier said without specifying where and adding only that his condition was not giving cause for concern."The Algerian authorities remain fully mobilised to ensure the ...

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Somali Pirates Demand $8million Ransom for MV Albedo

For the safe release of the vessel and its crew of 23 Pirates holding the MV Albedo, which was hijacked 10 months ago, are reportedly demanding a ransom of $8million for the safe release of the vessel and its crew of 23, consisting of seven Sri Lankans, five Bangladeshis, two Indians and seven Pakistani seafarers. The vessel is owned by a Malaysian company called Majestic Enrich Shipping, according to reports.The MV Albedo was attacked by pirates on November 26th, while underway some 239nm West of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. She was en route to Mombassa with a cargo of containers. Earlier this year, the vessel's owner told SomaliaReport.com that a ransom of $3.4million had been demanded for its release.Source: Neptune Maritime Security

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Pirates say holding British hostage in central Somalia

Briton seized in Kenya, husband killed A British woman, who was kidnapped in Kenya after her husband was killed, is in the hands of Somali pirates in the centre of the lawless Horn of Africa nation, pirates and an elder in the region said on Sunday.Unidentified gunmen raided the remote Kiwayu Safari Village in the early hours of last Sunday, shooting dead publishing executive David Tebbutt, 58, and taking hostage his wife Judith, 56, before escaping by boat."My colleagues brought her. I am among the ones guarding her ... Although you can understand the fatigue from her face, she is healthy," pirate Mohamed, one of the gang guarding the Briton, told Reuters.An elder in central Somalia confirmed the Briton's arrival."A convoy of pirates reached here two hours ago, they brought the British lady. We are very disappointed, we do not want our area to be a place for keeping kidnapped innocent people," local elder Abdullahi Ali Abukar told Reuters on Sunday.Kidnapping has chiefly been carried out by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean but Somali gunmen have attacked Westerners just across the border with Kenya on several occasions.Three aid workers were kidnapped in July 2009, and ...

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Philippines says crew of hijacked oil tanker safe

The 23-member crew of a Spanish-owned oil tanker hijacked off West Africa The Philippine government says the 23-member crew of a Spanish-owned oil tanker hijacked off West Africa is reported to be safe so far. At least 14 crew members are Filipinos.The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday that the ship's local recruitment agency reported the crew is safe and their families have been informed about the hijacking.The Spanish owners said Thursday they had not heard from the ship since it was hijacked the previous day as it idled 62 nautical miles (100 kilometers) from Benin's capital Cotonou, and are hoping pirates just want to steal the crude rather than seek ransom for the crew.Five Spaniards and two Ukrainians are also aboard.Pirates are separately holding 14 other Filipino seamen in West Africa.Source: AP

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French hostage rescued from pirates after gunfight

Seven pirates who were on board are now under arrest A French woman rescued from pirates was freed after a Spanish navy patrol boat fought a fierce gun battle off the Somali coast, Spain's defence ministry said on Sunday.The gunboat spotted the pirates' skiff on Saturday afternoon and, with the help of a naval warfare team and a helicopter, sank the vessel and rescued the hostage, the ministry said in a statement.Seven pirates who were on board are now under arrest."The Spanish amphibious craft "Galicia" has freed a French hostage...held since Thursday in the south of Yemen, and has arrested the seven pirates responsible," the statement said.The woman had been sailing with her husband on a catamaran when pirates attacked. They kidnapped her and killed her husband, throwing his body overboard, according to a French government source.Contrary to earlier reports, which said four people had been attacked, the couple was not sailing with anyone else, the source added.The catamaran was found on Thursday by a German frigate. It had left the Yemeni port of Aden on September 4 and was sailing in waters known to be rife with piracy.Source: Reuters

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