PIRACY UPDATE: Seized Taiwanese Boat Overthrows Pirates, M/V Blida & M/T Halifax Released, EUNAVFOR Sinks Pirate Group
Crew of Taiwanese Fishing Ship Overthrows Pirates
The crew of a Taiwanese fishing vessel that was hijacked by Somali pirates last Friday has managed to overpower their pirate captors and retake the vessel on Sunday, according to Taiwanese authorities.
The 260-ton Chin Yi Wen included 28 crewmembers that were confirmed by the Taiwan’s Central News Agency as escaping to safety with the help of British anti-piracy vessels. Three of the 28 men sustained injuries during the fight. The crew was comprised of nine Chinese, eight Filipinos, six Indonesians, and five Vietnamese.
The Chin Yi Wen had been lost off radio contact on Friday and was presumed hijacked by Somali pirates as it was in the area at the time of going missing.
Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency said that this is the first time sailors of a fishing vessel hijacked by Somalis have freed themselves all on their own. The spokesman was quoted saying that the Somali pirates fell into the sea, but other details regarding the incident aren’t clear.
The Chin Yi Wen is headed to the Seychelles port under the escort of British and Seychelles vessels and expected to dock within 40 hours.
M/V BLIDA Released from Pirate Control
On 3 November 2011 it was confirmed that the motor vessel BLIDA was released from pirate control and is now en route to Mombasa, Kenya.
The 20,586 tonne Bulk Carrier MV BLIDA, Algerian flagged and owned, was pirated on the 1st of January 2011 approximately 150 nautical miles South East of the port of Salalah, Oman, while enroute to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from Salalah, Oman. (Source: EUNAVFOR)
Pirates Release Halifax Oil Tanker
Last week, the MT Halifax was seized off the coast of the Niger Delta near the oil city port of Harcourt. The oil tanker has now been released, with all 25 crewman safe and accounted for.
Since West African piracy tends to be more robbery driven than ransom, the pirates stole and siphoned cargo from the oil tanker and released the ship and the crew unharmed.
The burglarized Ancora Investment Trust-operated vessel is currently being escorted to Port Harcourt by a Nigerian Navy Patrol Team.
EU NAVFOR warship FGS KOELN disrupts and sinks Pirate Action Group
On 4 November 2011, following a coordinated search and detection by a French Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance aircraft, the German warship FGS KOELN, operating as part of the EU NAVFOR, disrupted a pirate action group comprising a whaler and skiff, 50 nautical miles off the coast of Tanzania.
On detection, the suspect pirates jettisoned their pirate equipment overboard and were stopped. They have been transferred onboard FGS KOELN and the two pirate boats sunk, preventing their use against merchant shipping in the area. (Source: EUVNAFOR)