Tag: maritime piracy

Captain Abner Argomido Torres - Seafarer Voices on Piracy

EU Naval Force Somalia warns ship owners

Six Suspect Pirates To Go On Trial In Seychelles Court

Spanish Counter Piracy Patrol Vessel to Join EU Naval Force

Nigerian navy frees hijacked Singapore-owned oil tanker

Maintain pressure on Somali pirates

Somali pirates have been holding the hijacked ship MV Orna for nearly two years Somali pirates who have been holding a hijacked ship for nearly two years killed a Syrian hostage crew member and wounded another to protest delayed ransom payment, a pirate leader said.This is believed to be the first time Somali pirates have killed a hostage because of a delay in ransom.Hassan Abdi, a pirate commander in Haradhere town, a key pirate center, said Friday that the killing on Wednesday was a message to the owners of the ship MV Orna that was hijacked off Seychelles in 2010."The killing was a message to the owners of the ship who paid no heed to our ransom demands," Abdi said by telephone."More killings will follow if they continue to lie to us - we have lost patience with them. Two years is enough," he said angrily.The MV Orna is a Panama-flagged, bulk cargo vessel owned by a company in the United Arab Emirates.The pirates operating along the Somali coastline of the Indian Ocean were once were believed to be disgruntled and financially motivated Somali fishermen, angry that international trawlers were illegally fishing Somalia's waters. But now criminal gangs are dominating ...

Pirates release Greek-run oil tanker

Recent acts of piracy and armed robberies in the Guayaquil channel

The plight of a ship's crew held hostage is a "scar on the conscience of the shipping industry" She set sail from Aden in the spring of 2010, the start of a long journey that should have seen her deliver a cargo of electrical equipment to England. Then, barely ten miles out to sea, the Iceberg 1 suffered a fate all too predictable for a slow-going cargo craft in the Gulf of Aden: she was hijacked by Somali pirates.Unlike the scores of other vessels snared there in recent years, though, no ransom has been forthcoming to free her crew of 24, nor has a foreign navy tried to rescue them. Instead, nearly two and a half years later, they are still in captivity on the high seas - seemingly abandoned by the ship's owners, and with the dubious distinction of being the longest hijack case in modern maritime history.Conditions on board are believed to be dire, with the crew kept huddled in a small room with only limited access to food and water. Many have complained that they are being driven mad by their ordeal, and for at least one, it already appears to have proved too much. In October ...