21 man Indian crew and the four British armed guards are safe
Danish tanker group Torm said Friday its clean tanker Torm Republican successfully deterred a pirate attack in the Southern Arabian Sea.
“The Indian Master, his 21 man Indian crew and the four British armed guards are safe and suffered no injuries as they showed great skill in deterring the attack. No pirates were hurt either,” the company said.
The Danish-flagged MR tanker, with approximately 47,000 dwt, was en route to Taiwan on Thursday afternoon after loading naphtha at Port Suez when six pirates in a skiff “approached the vessel and opened fire,” the company said.
The four guards onboard “fired a number of warning shots into the water. This procedure followed closely Torm’s Rules of Engagement. Following this the pirates abandoned their attack,” the company said.
The vessel and the cargo did not suffer any damages and the tanker continues its voyage, the company said.
In a separate incident on Wednesday, a EU NAVFOR warship stopped and boarded a suspicious group of two small boats, a whaler and skiff off Somalia, the EU’s antipiracy naval force said.
“Before the boats could be boarded by teams from FGS KOLN, the crew of the boats started to throw weapons and other items overboard,” EU NAVFOR said, adding that “the skiff, whaler and their engines were destroyed to prevent any potential future use for piracy and the men released close to the shore.”
The EU’s antipiracy naval force said that the warship FGS KOLN had located and destroyed another whaler on Thursday also close to the beach off Somalia. A helicopter dispatched to inspect the whaler found it “loaded with equipment usually related to piracy on board. No crew was seen on board. Consequently, the whaler was destroyed to prevent any potential future use for piracy,” the EU NAVFOR said in a statement.
“This action continues EU NAVFOR’s robust stance against piracy and the intention to interdict and disrupt pirate activity,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, shipping and marine services company GAC issued a marine security alert after two chemical tankers were attacked at the same area in the southern Red Sea in quick succession on Wednesday.
“Both ships reportedly carried out evasive maneuvers and employed vessel hardening measures, rendering both attacks unsuccessful,” GAC said, adding that “those transiting the southern Red Sea are advised to remain vigilant, especially around Jabal Zuqar as the group is likely to attempt further attacks on passing vessels. “
Source: Platts
