PIRACY UPDATE: Hijacked Crew Saved By Message in a Bottle, Tanker Seized off Nigerian Coast, Somalis Free 2 Hostages
Hijacked Crew Releases Message in a Bottle and Then Saved by UK, US Ships
On Tuesday, UK and US forces saved 23 crew members aboard a cargo ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates. Upon being hijacked, the crew consisting of 7 Italians, 6 Ukrainians, and 10 Indians, locked themselves in a secure area away from where the pirates boarded on Monday, Italian official Ignazio La Russa told AP.
Shockingly, what saved the Montecristo crewman was dispersing a message in a bottle from a porthole, alerting ships nearby that the crew was safely sealed inside an armored area of the ship. The message in a bottle was used after the pirates cut off all other means of communication to the hostages. Ships nearby became aware of the state of the 56,000-ton Italian cargo ship, but what made the bottled message so important to their rescue is including their location in the armored room, keying rescuers that an operation could be launched on board without risking injuries to the crew.
Two Navy ships, one British and one American, coordinated with NATO’s Ocean Shield to carry out the mission 1,000-km off of Somalia. Rubber boats circled the Montecristo, while a helicopter kept close aerially. The pirates immediately surrendered to the military advancements and some of the pirates were allegedly arrested.
The Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed that all crew members aboard the Montecristo are safe.
IMB Reports Tanker Hijacked Off Nigerian Coast
Pirates boarded the oil tanker, believed to be Marshall Islands-flagged, on Saturday and are still under captivity. The IMB official said they believe the crew is still board, and that there have been no indications that the crew was taken away.
The Nigerian Navy confirmed the ship as the MT Cape Bird, and that it was transporting 30,000 tons of fuel. The Cape Bird was taken about 90 nautical miles from Lagos on Saturday night and is still drifting nearby.
Kabir Aliyu, Nigerian official, said that they have no information yet on the crew members, and that how many there are is still unknown. Aliyu also said Nigerian and Benin navies are looking for the seized tanker. All Nigerian Navy ships have been ordered to stop the tanker and arrest the pirates when they locate the Cape Bird.
This is another attack in the rising danger area off West Africa. Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer, and allows pirates to hijack ships loaded with crude for black market oil trading.
Somalis Free 2 Hostages from Algerian Ship
The MV Blida bulk carrier has been held by Somali pirates since January 1st, and on Wednesday, 2 of its 27 crewman have been released.
Algerian foreign ministry spokesman Amar Belani has said in a statement that one of the men, an Algerian, was released on humanitarian grounds, and the second crewmen who on foreign citizenship gruonds. The names of the released were not disclosed.
The Blida had been captured while en route from Oman to Tanzania, carrying a crew of 17 Algerians, 6 Ukrainians, 2 Filipinos, an Indonesian, and a Jordanian, according to AFP.
Nacerreddine Mansouri, a senior official of International Bulk Carriers (IBC) who owns the Blida confirmed the two released men are safe and not in danger. He added that contact with the ship was never broken, and that negotiations for further releases are difficult, but underway.
Algeria, like many other countries, has a policy to not pay pirate ransoms. They said that their authorities remain fully committed to the release of all of their compatriots. Relatives of the hostages have coordinated protests against the government about the lack of action to secure the release of the Blida crewmen.