Piracy & Ship Attacks June 3, 2010

Pirates kill captain

In the early hours of June 2 the owner of the MV QSM Dubai reported that armed pirates had stormed the ship and taken over. The MV QSM Dubai a Panama flagged general cargo ship with a crew of 24 comprising Egyptian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Ghanaian nationals, was in bound from Brazil when hijacked in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor.

Soldiers from Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region stormed the vessel in a rescue operation. The 7 pirates, who refused to surrender, killed the captain of the ship, and there was a brief shoot-out with the pirates before they were captured.

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EU NAVFOR Spanish warship SPS Victoria

Thursday June 3 the hijacked Libyan owned merchant vessel RIM reported that the crew had successfully retaken control of the ship. One of the crew members was seriously injured during the incident.

The incident took place south east of Garacad, off Somalia’s northern coastline. It is believed that some of the pirates were killed during the incident; the ship is now under the control of the crew.