Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Somali Pirates: Saudi tanker grabbed

Early reports that Somali pirates seize Saudi tanker in the Gulf of Aden:
Somali pirates have hijacked a Saudi-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden with 14 crew members on board, a regional maritime official confirmed on Wednesday.

Andrew Mwangura, East Africa Coordinator of Seafarers' Assistance Programme said the MT Al Nisr Al Saudi vessel which was seized on Monday was now in the Somali coast.

"The ship was hijacked on Monday but we received confirmation today. The vessel has 14 crew members," Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone from Mombasa.

Mwangura said the 13 crew members aboard the ship are Sri Lankans and one Greek master. "The owner and manager of the 5,136 deadweight ton ship are all Saudis," he said.
More here:
EU NAVFOR has been informed that on Monday 1st of March a Merchant Vessel, the Saudi Arabia-flagged Product tanker, in ballast, AL NISR AL SAUDI with deadweight of 5,136 tonnes, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden.

The ship was heading to Jeddah and has a crew of 14. The master of the ship is Greek and the nationality of the rest of the crew has not been confirmed. They are all believed to be well. The ship was outside the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC) and was not registered on MSCHOA. The vessel is now in the vicinity of Garacad, a well know pirate stronghold. EU NAVFOR continues to monitor the situation.

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