Ships & Ports
Wednesday May 15, 2024

An EU warship is transferring six suspected pirates to the Seychelles for possible prosecution following an incident in the Gulf of Aden.

The European Union Naval Force’s (EUNAVFOR) Operation ATALANTA last week confirmed a suspicious approach involving the Marshall Islands-flagged Chrystal Arctic, taking place last Friday approximately 100 nautical miles north of Bosaso, Somalia.

UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the suspected vessel was seen carrying five to six armed individuals equipped with ladders, approaching the tanker. On sighting the potential threat, the tanker’s Master implemented self-protection measures. The armed individuals on the small craft opened fire, leading to the vessel’s armed security team returning fire, prompting the small craft to abandon its approach.

An Operation ATALANTA warship arrived at the scene and took the six suspected pirates into custody, with some requiring medical treatment for their injuries.

Upon assessment of the evidence collected, EUNAVFOR has now classified the incident as a piracy attack and a warship is now transporting the six suspected pirates to Seychelles.

Seychelles is among the nations with whom Operation ATALANTA has a legal agreement allowing for the trial of suspected pirates arrested by its warships.

EUNAVFOR suspects the presence of two or more pirate action groups off the Somali coast following a string of recent dhow hijackings. Two merchant vessels, the MV Ruen and the MV Abdullah, were hijacked since December, with the former rescued by the Indian Navy after a three-month hostage situation and the latter released after a purported ransom payment.

Wednesday May 15, 2024

MANAMA: Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister for International Multilateral Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Rassi on Tuesday participated in the ministerial working group’s meeting in Manama, Bahrain, about supporting Somalia in confronting attacks on its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

During the meeting, the group discussed the importance of strengthening Arab coordination on issues of common interest, and the importance of respecting the sovereignty of states in accordance with international laws and norms, the foreign ministry said in a report.

The meeting was attended by Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League Abdulaziz Al-Matar and the director general of the deputy minister’s office, Mohammed Al-Shehri, among other officials.

Wednesday May 15, 2024 Nearly two dozen Bangladeshi cargo ship crew taken hostage by Somali pirates returned home Tuesday to a rapturous welcome from family members after weeks in captivity.

The bulk carrier MV Abdullah was transporting more than 55,000 tonnes of coal from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates when it was seized by dozens of pirates around 550 nautical miles (1,000 kilometres) off the Somali coast in March.

The seizure came during a surge in Somali pirate activity, with international naval forces diverted from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea to guard against attacks on shipping by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

“I thought it was the last day of my life,” M. Noor Uddin, one of the 23 crew members who arrived in Chittagong on Tuesday aboard another bulk carrier, told AFP.

Uddin cried when his two-year-old son embraced him after stepping off the ship.

“When the pirates attacked the ship, I just tried to remember the face of my son and wished that I could hold him for one last time,” he added.

Chief engineer A.S.M Saifuzzaman, 46, told AFP that every moment of the crew’s 32 days in captivity was a “nightmare”.

“When any other ship crossed the route or came close to our ship, the pirates would hold their guns to our heads,” he said.

“We never thought this day would ever come.”

Family members waited for hours at the port to greet their returning relatives, some waving small Bangladeshi flags as the crew disembarked.

Somali pirates freed the MV Abdullah after its Bangladeshi owners, KSRM Group, paid a hefty ransom that was air-dropped over the vessel in sackloads of US dollars.

The ransom amount was not disclosed by the company.

The vessel then continued to its original destination, escorted by two European Union ships.

The hijackers had given the crew a letter of safe passage in Somali promising “the ship would not come under any more attacks by pirates until it reached Dubai port”.

The vessel’s capture came after the first successful case of Somali piracy since 2017 was recorded in December.

A series of incidents since then has fuelled concerns about a resurgence of Indian Ocean raids by opportunistic pirates exploiting a security gap after the redeployment of international forces.

Huthi gunmen have launched scores of attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden targeting what they deem to be Israeli-linked vessels in response to Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

Naval forces — including from India, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles — have since freed fishing boats seized by gunmen and thwarted other attempted attacks.

In March, Indian commandos boarded and recaptured the vessel seized in December, the Maltese-flagged MV Ruen, around 260 nautical miles off the Somali coast.

All 17 hostages were rescued and 35 alleged pirates were brought to Mumbai to face prosecution.