MV Izumi Released By Somali Pirates, 20 Filipinos in Safe Port

The Panama-flagged and Japanese owned MV Izumi which was hijacked on October 10th, 2010, has been released from their Somali captive control and officially docked safely in the port of Mombasa on March 1st, 2011.

It had been unclear about the condition of the vessel and the 20 Filipino crewmembers until the ship arrived on Tuesday in the port Mombasa. Maritime officials inspected the crew before docking and it was deemed that they are traumatized but all are in good health.

Ammunition and cartridges both live and spent were confiscated from the ship by officials. Thankfully none of the crewmembers were killed or injured, as some conflicting reports previously suggested there was one crew casualty.

The bulk carrier was seized en route from Japan to the Mombasa port in Kenya, just a few miles from their destination while transporting 20 tons of steel products. The ship was then utilized by the Somalis as a mothership for pirate operations against other merchant vessels for a period of months. This is being considered a game changing move as no other ships have been used as a LPSV (Large Pirate Support Vessel). Using these large merchant vessels as a mothership provides the pirates a multitude of advantages, such as navigation and radar technology, increased speed, and ultimately the power to hijack ships of equal or even larger sizes.