Tag: MT Smyrni

Pinoy sailors of hijacked Greek tanker now back home

Somali pirates free Greek oil tanker

EUNAVFOR Assists Another Tanker After Release From Armed Somali Pirates

The hijacking of the MT Smyrni marks the first successful seizure since last February Somali pirates have captured a Liberian-flagged tanker carrying about 135,000 tonnes of oil for PTT Plc in the Gulf of Aden.The hijacking of the MT Smyrni, owned by Dynacom Tankers Management of Greece, marks the first successful seizure since February of last year.The seizure was reported to the Navy Operations Centre by Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151), which is under the command of the Royal Thai Navy's Counter Piracy Task Group Commander Rear Admiral Thanin Likhitwong.Rear Adm Thanin has reported that CTF-151 ships are pursuing the pirates but no operations have been launched due to concerns for crew safety. It was reported the vessel has a crew of 26 and there has been no communication from the pirates or the crew since the hijacking.The oil tanker originated from Turkey but there are conflicting reports about its destination. MT Smyrni is said to have no security personnel on board even though Liberian-flagged vessels are permitted to deploy armed guards.No Thais were in the crew, but there were reportedly nine Indians and "about" eight Filipinos aboard the hijacked vessel.Dynacom, the vessel's manager, said it had lost contact with ...