[BITList] Fwd: Lloyd's List: Send to Colleague

[Michael Feltham]

As usual there is no mention in the Press of the fact that 10 vessels  
have been captured by Pirates from Somalia.  No passengers  
involved ?  No glamour ?

Mike
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Begin forwarded message:

From: enquiries at lloydslist.com
Date: 5 September 2008 08:25:01 BDT
To: mj.feltham at madasafish.com
Subject: Lloyd's List: Send to Colleague


The below article was sent to you from Mike Feltham  
(mj.feltham at madasafish.com) with the following message: I thought you  
might be interested in the article below.

Somalia crisis deepens as pirates hijack Egyptian ship
David Osler - Friday 5 September 2008

SOMALI pirates yesterday hijacked an Egyptian vessel, taking the  
total number number being held in the waters of the failed state to  
around 10, write David Osler and Andrew Spurrier.

The International Maritime Bureau, which runs the worldwide piracy  
incident reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, said that while it was  
aware of reports on the case, it had not been notified of the seizure  
by the vessel’s operators and had no further information.

Andrew Mwangura, head of the Mombasa-based Seafarers Assistance  
Programme, told Bloomberg: “The nationality of the crew members, the  
size and type of ship and the destination of the ship isn’t clear yet.”

The incident follows the capture of a French-owned, Venezuela-flagged  
yacht on Wednesday, thought to be Carré d’As. Mr Mwangura added that  
a $1m ransom had been demanded for their safe return.

France has a track record of deploying commandos to arrest pirates  
involved in the abduction of French shipping. French navy spokesman  
Commander Christophe Prazuck said yesterday that the country’s  
military forces in neighbouring Djibouti would readily intervene, but  
that the safety of the captives was most important.

“The frigate Courbet is on location in the Gulf of Aden as part of  
the multinational Task Force 150, made up of 12 vessels that are  
patrolling in the Gulf of Aden to deter piracy,” he said.

“Today we have to remain discreet, in order to ensure the safety of  
our fellow countrymen.”

The two French nationals aboard the 16 m Carré d’As are believed to  
be French Polynesian husband and wife Jean-Yves and Bernadette  
Delanne. Their daughter Alizée told a Polynesian radio station that  
she had succeeded in contacting her parents by satellite phone and  
that her father had told her that they were onboard the vessel and in  
good health but in the company of pirates.

The vessel, which is registered in Venezuela, was being brought from  
Australia to France where it was destined to be put up for sale,  
according to AYC International Yachtbrokers of La Roche-sur-Yon on  
the French Atlantic coast.

Many of the seized ships are believed to be alongside or anchored  
near Eyl, a former fishing outpost now used by the pirate gangs  
behind the recent sharp spike in violent incidents in the region.

Hassan Muse Alore, minister for minerals in the breakaway region of  
Puntland, which does not enjoy international recognition, told  
Reuters: “The pirates are sailing to Eyl with the French yacht and  
another Egyptian ship that they hijacked last night.”

The minister said he had no details on the Egyptian ship, but added  
that he was visiting the area to check on reports that another of the  
hijacked vessels — an Iranian bulk carrier — had arms onboard.

“We are now with local elders and still investigating the matter,” he  
said, without giving further details.

Somali pirates have hijacked around 30 vessels so far this year, in  
many cases extracting large ransoms for shipowners for the return of  
the ship and crew.

This has only acted to fuel the problem, by providing a material  
incentive for further outrages.

Ahmed Saed Ow-Nur, Puntland’s minister for fisheries and marine  
resources, told Reuters: “We have no power to control the multiplying  
numbers of pirates. Even some of the Puntland police are involved in  
piracy, because they can make a hell of a lot of money.”

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