Posts Tagged ‘Gulf Of Aden’
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
The Norwegian-owned UBT Ocean oil-product tanker, along with its 21-member crew, has been captured by Somali pirates in the waters of the Indian Ocean. The incident took place late last week, and to date the vessel is still believed to be sailing towards Somali waters.
The UBT Ocean sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, but is owned by Broevigtank in Norway. At the time of its capture, the vessel, whose crew are all of Burmese origin, was transporting oil to Tanzania from the United Arab Emirates. The boarding of the ship took place off the East African coast outside of the Seychelles archipelago, near Madagascar. According to Broevigtank the UBT Ocean had been sailing a course well to the south of the area where Somali pirates are known to operate. Greater naval patrols around the Gulf of Aden are believed to be forcing Somali pirates further south.
Norway Post reveals that no reports have been received of any injury or harm to the crew, and the pirates have not made any ransom claims as yet. Managing Director and CEO of Broevigtank, Svenn Pedersen confirmed that the hijacking took place around 300 miles (500km) from the ship’s intended destination. “The captain made contact saying pirates were on board and then the contact was cut off. Nothing has been heard from the ship since then,” said Pedersen.
Edward Ion, a spokesperson for the 9,000 tonne ship’s technical manager, Singapore-based Ship Management Associates, said attempts to re-establish contact with the UBT Ocean have been unsuccessful.
Tags: Burmese, Gulf Of Aden, Hijacking, Management Associates, Manager Singapore, Marshall Islands, Member Crew, Norway Post, Oil Product, Pedersen, Product Tanker, Ransom, Sails, Seychelles Archipelago, Ship Management, Somali Pirates, Somali Waters, South Norway, Spokesperson, United Arab Emirates
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Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
The chemical tanker Pramoni, which was seized on 1st January by Somali pirates, has been revealed to be owned by a Norwegian shipping group.
The Pramoni is leased to an Indonesian company and was flying a Singaporean flag at the time of the hijacking, reports the Norway Post.
In the first Somali pirate attack of 2010 the Pramoni was captured while bound for India in the Gulf of Aden. The ship is owned by the Oslo-based Platou Finance group. On board the 20,000 tonne tanker at the time of the hijacking were a crew of 24, made up of mainly Indonesian nationals but also consisting of five Chinese, one Vietnamese and one Nigerian.
In Indonesia, the Jakarta Globe reported that talks are underway with overseas ministries in an effort to secure the release of the sailors.
“We have all the information from our embassy in Singapore and we have managed to track down the data of those who are on board,” said Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah. “We are establishing contacts with informal groups in Somalia and we have seen some indication that the ship’s owner is willing to negotiate, but this is very preliminary.”
Teuku confirmed that officials in Nairobi had been asked to gather all information possible on the Pramoni which was sailing from Africa at the time of the incident. Also on New Year’s Day was a separate hijacking of the British vessel Asian Glory in the Somali basin.
Tags: British Vessel, Chemical Tanker, Embassy In Singapore, Finance Group, Foreign Affairs Ministry, Gulf Of Aden, Hijacking, Indonesian Company, Indonesian Nationals, Informal Groups, Jakarta, Ministry Spokesman, Nairobi, Norway Post, Norwegian Shipping, Pirate Attack, Sailors, Shipping Group, Somali Basin, Somali Pirates
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Thursday, August 27th, 2009
As Denmark prepares to send a second warship to the Gulf of Aden to help patrol the pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast, it has sealed an important deal with Kenya to process any pirates the Danes catch in the area. The new bilateral agreement will greatly ease the lingering issue of what to do with the pirates after they are apprehended by Danish patrol boats.
Kenyan authorities will now assume responsibility for any pirate captured by Danish forces patrolling the waters off Somalia. The pirates will be tried by Kenyan courts and given appropriate sentences, though one major clause of the agreement is that they cannot be executed, a method still legal in Kenya.
The Copenhagen Post reports that Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller was pleased with the deal, as it will prevent a repeat of incidents like the one in 2008 when the Danish Navy had to let 10 captured pirates go because no nation would accept them and put them on trial.
Moller says he had hoped to sign agreements with several African nations, including Tanzania, but Kenya was the only country willing to step up and help with this ever-growing problem. Kenya already has similar deals with the US, EU, UK, and China.
It looks likely that Denmark will send another navy frigate to the region by January, when the country assumes command of one of the NATO patrol fleets. Although NATO still runs the overall operation, Denmark expects to be heavily involved in the pirate hunt next year.
Tags: African Nations, Bilateral Agreement, Copenhagen Post, Danish Navy, Fleets, Foreign Minister, Forges, Gulf Of Aden, Kenya, Kenyan Authorities, Moller, Navy Frigate, Patrol Boats, Piracy, Pirate Hunt, Pirates, Sentences, Somali Coast, Stig, Warship
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Thursday, August 13th, 2009
Recalling the days of Viking raids, an act of piracy occurred in Swedish waters involving a Finnish cargo ship crewed by Russians. At first glance, any news story about pirates gets automatically relegated to the Gulf of Aden off Somalia. But in a rare change of geography, this ship was hijacked in the Baltic Sea.
The Maltese-registered Finnish ship, The Arctic Sea, was carrying a very valuable load of timber worth more than USD 1.8 million. In late July the ship was stopped by masked men dressed in black claiming to be narcotics police in the Swedish waters between Oland and Gotland. The 15 Russians on board the hijacked ship were bound for 12 hours as the masked pirates searched their vessel.
But just as suddenly as they arrived, the pirates left the ship, hopped into a high-speed inflatable boat and sped away into the night. The Arctic Sea then continued on its way to its destination in Algeria.
Things have now taken another twist, according to The Local, as the ship has simply disappeared off the coast of Portugal along with its Russian crew and cargo of timber. Neither the Russian government, nor the Finnish company that owns the timber, Stora Enso, knows anything. Russian authorities are now searching the high seas for The Arctic Sea and its 12 missing citizens.
Tags: Act Of Piracy, Arctic Sea, Baltic Sea, Cargo Ship, Finnish Company, First Glance, Gulf Of Aden, High Seas, Narcotics Police, News Story, Oland, Pirates, Russian Authorities, Russian Crew, Russian Government, Russians, Somalia, Stora Enso, Swedish Waters, Viking Raids
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Thursday, June 4th, 2009
The Swedish Armed Forces have confirmed that a Swedish naval patrol in the Gulf of Aden arrested seven pirates caught operating the region. Crewmembers from the HMS Malmo apprehended the Somali pirates as they tried to board a Greek cargo ship outside of Yemen.
The Local reports that the HMS Malmo responded to a distress signal stating the Greek ship was being shot at by two boatloads of pirates using rocket-propelled grenades. HMS Malmo arrived just as the pirates were trying to get onboard the Greek ship.
The Swedish Armed Forces stated the HMS Malmo fired warning shots at the pirates using machine guns, sniper fire, and cannons in an effort to deter the attack. The tactic worked, and the pirates fled the scene. But the HMS Malmo chased one of the two boats, catching them after a 20-minute chase in the Gulf of Aden.
Seven pirates were apprehended and taken to Djibouti, where their fate will soon be decided by the European Union’s NAVFOR-Atalanta mission command. A current agreement between Kenya and the EU states that all pirates arrested by EU forces must be taken to Kenya for trial.
Swedish naval forces began a new tour of duty in the Gulf of Aden on 15 May. Their main task is to monitor the transportation of UN food aid to Somalia, but they are also allowed to intercept attacks when needed. At present, Sweden has the HMS Malmo, HMS Stockholm, and a support vessel carrying 152 personnel in total on duty in the Gulf of Aden.
Tags: Atalanta, Cannons, Cargo Ship, Distress Signal, Food Aid, Greek Ship, Gulf Of Aden, Hms, Machine Guns, Minute Chase, Rocket Propelled Grenades, Sniper Fire, Somali Pirates, Support Vessel, Swedish Armed Forces, Swedish Navy, Tactic, Tour Of Duty, Two Boats, Warning Shots
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Friday, April 24th, 2009
The Danish shipping industry, which is one the world’s largest, is facing extra costs of up to one billion kroner from increased insurance and efforts to avoid the rampant piracy plaguing the Gulf of Aden. In the first three months of this year more than 48 ships have been attacked off the Somali coast, many of them Danish.
According to the JP news agency, the Danish Shipping Association claims the spiralling costs to the industry are not just from ransoms paid by ship owners. Jan Fritz Hansen, who works with the Association stated, “That’s the least of it. It’s the insurance, advice and expenses of sailing south around Africa that comprise most of the bill, which collectively is running to a billion figure amount.”
It costs up to 50 percent more to sail around the Horn of Africa than use the Suez Canal. But many ships would rather pay the extra cost than face the increasing likelihood of being hijacked by Somali pirates.
Denmark’s sole military presence in the Gulf of Aden, the naval ship Absalon, just returned home after eight months patrolling the area. The Danish Shipping Association is pleading with government to send her back. During its deployment, the Absalon prevented at least 11 hijackings, caught 88 pirates, and confiscated numerous weapons. The Danish government has indicated that it will be sending a warship back to the Gulf of Aden later in the year.
Tags: Danish Government, Danish Shipping Industry, Eight Months, First Three Months, Fritz Hansen, Gulf Of Aden, Hijackings, Horn Of Africa, Insurance Advice, Military Presence, Naval Ship, One Billion, Rampant Piracy, Sailing South, Ship Owners, Shipping Association, Somali Coast, Somali Pirates, Suez Canal, Warship
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Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
In the most recent incident of piracy in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast, pirates boarded and captured a Norwegian tanker, giving more credence to the decision to send a Norwegian frigate to the area this summer to lend a hand to the UN anti-piracy effort.
The captured Norwegian tanker, the Bow Asir, is [...]
Tags: Anti Piracy, Asir, Coast Pirates, Credence, Frigate, Gulf Of Aden, Norwegian, Somali Coast, Somali Pirates
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