Tag: navy

MV Assa has been moored for more than a month without explanation India's navy said it was monitoring an Iranian cargo ship, with armed men on board, which had been moored off the country's southern coast for more than a month without explanation.Shipping data showed the ship MV Assa was owned and operated by Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), a company facing sanctions from the United States and the EU."The vessel is there and the navy has reported to the concerned Indian authorities that there are men on board carrying arms," navy spokesman Commander P.V.S. Satish told Reuters.Indian newspapers reported the government had made an official complaint to Iran about the vessel, anchored close to India's Lakshadweep islands.Neither Iran's nor India's foreign ministry were immediately available comment on the report.The MV Assa was last plotted on Sept. 26 off the coast of Oman and India, AIS ship tracking data on Reuters showed.IRISL was hit with financial sanctions by the U.S. Treasury in 2008 for its alleged role in aiding Iran's ballistic missile development programme.Such measures are part of wider efforts led by Western countries aimed mostly at forcing Tehran to curb its nuclear energy drive, which they suspect ...

Pirate attack in the Indian Ocean

News report that ransom has been paid - it was dropped onto the ship by a plane An Italian navy ship Saturday came to the aid of a merchant vessel released by Somali pirates after over seven months in captivity, with news reports saying a ransom was dropped from a small plane."Considering what they have lived through, the crew are well," said Gualtiero Mattesi, an admiral who also heads NATO's anti-piracy operation "Ocean Shield, speaking from the navy destroyer on the scene."Military teams today boarded the 'Rosalia D'Amato' to guarantee the safety of the crew," he said, adding that the ship was still in Somali waters but would head out once the necessary checks have been carried out.Reports that the ship with six Italians and 15 Filipinos on board had been released surfaced on Friday but were only confirmed on Saturday.Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi voiced "strong satisfaction" over the release, saying it had been "a painful experience."The 225-metre (738-foot) vessel belonging to Naples-based Perseveranza had been on its way from Brazil to Iran with a cargo of soybeans when it was seized by pirates off the coast of Oman on April 21 and taken back to Somalia."In five or six ...

However, the ministry is capable of carrying out such an operation Contrary to media reports, the Navy has no immediate plans to send a patrol fleet to the Indian Ocean to protect Taiwanese fishing boats in the pirate-infested area, a defence ministry official said Monday.However, although it is not on the cards at the moment, the ministry is capable of carrying out such an operation and is well prepared, Deputy Defence Minister Chao Shih-chang said. Chao was responding to recent reports that Taiwan planned to deploy a fleet to the Indian Ocean sometime this month to protect Taiwanese fishing vessels from attacks by Somali pirates.The action was being taken based on a directive from the National Security Council (NSC), the reports said. However, Chao said in a legislative session that the information was false. The military carries out NSC directives in line with government policies and in collaboration with relevant agencies, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on issues such as dispatching flotillas to protect deep-sea fishing vessels and crewmembers, he said.The issue of whether to send a Navy fleet to the Indian Ocean surfaced after incidents of Taiwanese fishing boats being hijacked by Somali pirates in the region ...

Pumping 20,000 gallons of algae-based fuel into a destroyer ship The Navy launched its largest alternative-fuel test to date on Wednesday, pumping 20,000 gallons of algae-based fuel into a destroyer ship that will embark on a 20-hour trip along the California coast.The success of the Paul H. Foster ship's overnight trip Wednesday from San Diego to Port Hueneme is vital to the Navy's plan to unveil next year a small carrier strike group of small ships, destroyers, cruisers, aircraft, submarines and a carrier run on alternative fuels, including nuclear power. By 2016, the Navy wants to deploy what it calls a "Great Green Fleet" of nuclear vessels, hybrid electric ships and other ships and aircraft powered by biofuels.The Navy is investing more than $500 million in the budding biofuel industry with the hope that it will be able to supply enough alternative fuel so the maritime branch can cut its dependence on fossil fuel by 50 percent over the next decade, said Cmdr. James Goudreau, director of the Navy Energy Coordination Office.The biofuel that went into the destroyer was a 50-50 blend of petroleum and a hydro-processed algal oil produced by San Francisco-based Solazyme, which has been changing the genetic ...

Unbelievable! Navy let's pirates go This really is an absurd development in relation to the German navy's activities off the Somali coast. Soldiers on board the Frigate "Köln" are on an anti piracy missions there. Their objective is to deter pirates and armed robbery.However, in reality it appears that the navy is active as an armed sea-taxi business. On 8 November, the Frigate spots a pirate vessels 130km off the somali coast. A helicopter is sent and the ship heads for the pirates. In panic the pirates throw over board non-identified objects, probably weapons. The German soldiers capture 19 Somali, who are clearly pirates. But in the morning of 10 November the unbelievable happens.The navy sails the 19 pirates to land in a little dinghy and drops them off near their village. They even give them a bottle of water for the journey.The official justification for this is according to the ministry of defense is that the successful prosecution of the pirates was unlikely. According to the navy a trial is difficult because no nation is willing to host pirates.To put it clearly: As far as Operation Atalanta is concerned pirates have nothing more to fear than spending a few ...

Four suspected pirates were apprehended and 20 hostages released The Royal Navy has captured a pirate mothership involved in attacks on merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean. The dhow was spotted 200 miles off the coast and was surrounded by a Royal Navy and Royal Marine boarding team from RFA Fort Victoria, supported by helicopters from HMS Somerset. Captain Rod Yapp Royal Marines, the commander of the boarding team, said: "Approaching the dhow before boarding was quite tense.Through my weapon sight I could see dark figures moving in the shadows on the bridge. We quickly boarded and secured the dhow then mustered the 24 occupants on her bow." In the run up to being boarded, the suspect pirates were observed by Somerset's Merlin helicopter ditching equipment and weapons overboard as well as setting one of their skiffs adrift.Despite their desperate attempts to cover their tracks, a large cache of boarding ladders, weapons, a second attack skiff and equipment from a previously pirated ship were found onboard. Captain Yapp said: "There was a clear indication that the suspected pirates found on the dhow were well-practised and knew what they were doing. One of the weapons had recently been fired and was ...

Private package includes escort service, insurance cover and an audit of best management practice Shipowners are set to have a commercially viable alternative to armed guards in their fight piracy after the Convoy Escort Programme confirmed it would launch in the first quarter of 2012. The CEP package includes the escort service, insurance cover and an audit of the vessel's Best Management Practice 4 and compliance during the transit period. An initial business plan valued the package at $21,500, but CEP's chief executive Angus Campbell said the cost would now be higher due to increases in areas such as the price of fuel."The project has evolved considerably since the concept plan which was written some time ago. We are now proceeding on a fully commercial basis, so the tariff will have to be adjusted accordingly."In comparison, it is understood that employing four armed guards for ships transiting the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden typically can cost anything from $30,000 to $250,000 per voyage.The CEP is facilitated by Jardine Lloyd Thompson. Partner Sean Woolerson first came up with the concept three years ago, it has taken until now to secure a clear start date. This has led some to question ...

BBC Our World Pirate Hunters follows the crew of the HMS Cornwall BBC Our World Pirate Hunters follows the crew of the HMS Cornwall in their counter piracy mission of the coast off Somalia.

BBC Our World Pirate Hunters follows the crew of the HMS Cornw BBC Our World Pirate Hunters follows the crew of the HMS Cornwall in their counter piracy mission of the coast of Somalia.