In reaction to what appeared to be an attempted hijacking, a security team aboard United States Naval Vessel John Lenthall was forced to fire warning shots at two small boats that were pursuing the vessel off the coast of Somalia. U.S Naval Forces Central Command tells us:
Despite defensive measures to deter the vessels from approaching John Lenthall, small boats continued to approach the ship. The rounds impacted the water approximately 50 yards from the closest boat and resulted in both small boats ending their pursuit. All shots were accounted for as they entered the water.
“This incident is clear proof that all mariners must remain vigilant,” said Captain Steve Kelley, the commander responsible for all Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships in the region. “I am extremely pleased with the actions taken by the ship’s master and ultimately by the security personnel aboard. They initially used defensive measures and when those weren’t enough the security personnel took action to defend the ship.”
While it is unclear if personnel on the boats were intent on attacking the 41,000-ton ship, it is clear they were not following the international rules of the road observed by mariners around the globe. More importantly, the location of the incident, the types of boats involved (small open skiffs), and the maneuvering they undertook was consistent with reports from previous attacks on merchant vessels in the region. [Continue Reading →]
Tags: · merchant-navy, MSC, Navy, navy-ships, navy_ships, piracy, piracy-at-sea, pirate, pirates, somalia
(Note: This article was originally published in Dec 2007)
We have taken a look at piracy in the Strait of Malacca and showed you how criminal organizations scrub a stolen ship’s documents now we turn our attention on finding and repossessing these vessels.
The primary company in recovering hulls in North America is New Orleans based VessEx. Here is a clip about VessEx from
Only a few repo men possess the guile and resourcefulness for such a job. One of them is F. Max Hardberger, of Lacombe, La. Since 1991, the 58-year-old attorney and ship captain has surreptitiously sailed away about a dozen freighters from ports around the world.
“I’m sure there are those who would like to add me to a list of modern pirates of the Caribbean, but I do whatever I can to protect the legal rights of my clients,” said Hardberger, whose company, Vessel Extractions in New Orleans, has negotiated the releases of another dozen cargo ships and prevented the seizures of many others.
His line of work regularly takes him to a corner of the maritime industry still plagued by pirates, underhanded business practices and corrupt government officials, waters the Aztec Express sailed right into.
The saga began in 2003 when the vessel’s Greek owner died and his company did not keep up payments on a $3.3-million mortgage. Read More…
(link via BoingBoing)
Also read Capt. Hardberger’s article for Marine Money Magazine
Here is the video:
Tags: · boingboing, corrupt_government_officials, ISPS, marine_money, max_hardberger, money_magazine, phantom-ship, piracy, piracy-at-sea, pirates, pirates_of_the_caribbean, repo, repo_men, Video, youtube
In this modern age with AIS tracking and global satellite coverage you may ask how a pirate can get away with stealing an entire ship. Occasionally referred to as Seajacking this video shows how legal ships are stolen and redocumented to appear legitimate.
Seajacking and phantom ships:
Related Video:
Tags: · bbc, ISPS, malacca-straight, marsec, phantom-ship, piracy, piracy-at-sea, pirates, Video, youtube
