Piracy & Ship Attacks--March 4, 2010
Latest reports on pirates and ship seizures.
• Pirates Capture Saudi Tanker
Somali pirates captured a small Saudi tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Monday with 14 crew on board.
The 5,136 tonne tanker, MT Nisir Al Saudi was traveling with no cargo from Japan to Jeddah and outside safe shipping lanes patrolled by naval warships when pirates attacked. The captain of the ship is Greek but the nationalities of the rest of the crew are not known.
Somali pirate attacks usually increase between March and May due to calm sea conditions.
• Ransom Paid For Indonesian Ship
A multi-million dollar ransom was air-dropped to Somali pirates who held an Indonesian chemical tanker and its 24 crew members captive.
Pirates agreed to free the Singapore-flagged MT Pramoni after receiving the ransom and were expected to leave the ship Friday or Saturday evening. Most of the pirate gang returned to shore upon receiving the ransom.
The pirates seized the ship and crew January 1 while it was en route to India.
• Philippine Coast Guard Holds Pirate Suspects
Police have seven pirate suspects in custody and the chief engineer of a Singapore-flagged tug that had been missing off the coast of Malaysia. The vessel was found on Dinagat, a remote southern Philippine island, last Thursday.
The 296-tonne Asta was en route to Cambodia and off the coast of Tioman Island with 12 crew on board when it was boarded by pirates armed with rifles and machetes February 7. Crew members were set adrift in a life boat and were rescued by Malaysian forces several days later.
Philippine National Police officers are holding eight pending investigations after the discovery and seizure of the tug in the Dinagat Island region by Singaporean coast guards.
• NATO Sinks Pirate Mothership
A NATO warship sunk a pirate mothership last Sunday in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast after allowing the vessel's crew to return to the mainland on a skiff.
Danish destroyer, Absalon fired on the pirate ship after disrupting an operation by destroying one of the larger boats used by the pirate gangs to transport their attack squads. The ship was carrying pirate equipment and supplies after leaving an infamous hub off Eastern Somalia.
Handicapping the pirates' fleet before they can transit to the sea is imperative to preventing impending threats to merchant shipping.
Absalon is one of four NATO ships patrolling the Indian Ocean.