Glamour shot of the MS Carnival Triumph. Photo: Carnival Cruises

Bloomberg has reported that an arrest warrant has been issued for the MS Carnival Triumph in Galveston, TX as ordered by a U.S. judge following a lawsuit filed against Carnival Corp. by the family of a German tourist who died in the Costa Concordia disaster.

According to the report, the $10 million lawsuit was filed yesterday in federal court in Galveston and that passengers, who were about to embark on a five-day cruise to Mexico, are able to come and go as they please as Carnival awaits to argue their case in a hearing yet to be scheduled.

“The court finds that the conditions for an attachment of defendants’ joint and collective property within this district, mainly the MS Carnival Triumph, appear to exist upon an admiralty and maritime claim,” U.S. Magistrate Judge John Froeschner of Galveston said in the warrant obtained by Bloomberg.  Adding “the plaintiff shall be required to show why the attachment and garnishment should not be vacated,” in their court appearence.

Carnival has not yet commented on the case.

The full complaint can be found at the link: Kai Stumpf v. Carnival plc, and Utopia Cruises, Inc.

UPDATE: The MS Carnival Triumph was cleared to leave Galveston Saturday afternoon.

PHOTO: Pirate mothership ‘Vega 5′ courtesy Indian Navy

NEW DELHI (AFP)–The Indian navy has captured 61 suspected Somali pirates and rescued 13 fishermen after a firefight with a pirate mothership in the Arabian Sea, a navy spokesman said Monday.

“A total of 74 men have been apprehended of which 61 are suspected to be Somali pirates,” Indian navy spokesman P.V.S Satish said, adding the incident happened on Saturday night within Indian waters.

A total of 13 fishermen on board the mothership, a Mozambique-flagged fishing boat, were rescued after the firefight that took place 690 miles (1,100 kilometers) from the west coast of India.

The Vega 5 fishing boat was hijacked December last year and was being used as a base for the pirates, who were found with small arms as well as rocket-propelled grenades and fuel drums.

A statement from the navy said its fast-attack craft, the INS Kalpeni, directed “limited” fire on the vessel after being shot at.

Last month, India warned of an increased threat to shipping off its southwest coast, as Somali pirates hunt targets beyond African waters to evade the clutches of an international naval force.

There has been a rise in pirate attacks on merchant vessels within Indian waters recently and shipping has been warned to steer clear of danger areas, according to the Indian Coastguard.

Fifteen suspected pirates–12 Somalis, two Ethiopians and a Kenyan–face trial in India on charges including attempted murder after they were caught in January.

(c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Last week gCaptain asked “Could Criminalization Of The Mariner Lead To War?” after the troubling arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain in disputed waters. While this doomsday scenario was unlikely another, a global increase in mariner arrest, is a continued threat to our profession.

The most troubling component of the latest incident is the political nature of the arrest. Whether an arrest is made to further a local environmental agenda or a national defense strategy it is most often the average mariner that becomes the causality of politicians looking for votes.

This specific incident has come to a favorable conclusion but this is unlikely to be the end of the global trend to criminilize mariners. The New York Times tells us:

TOKYO — A diplomatic showdown between Japan and China that began two weeks ago with the arrest of the captain of a Chinese trawler near disputed islands ended Friday when Tokyo accepted Beijing’s demands for his immediate release, a concession that appeared to mark a humiliating retreat in a Pacific test of wills.

Japan freed the captain, Zhan Qixiong, 41, who left Saturday on a chartered flight sent by the Chinese government to take him home. Mr. Zhan had been held by the Japanese authorities since his boat collided with Japanese patrol vessels on Sept. 7 near uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, and Japan had insisted that he would be prosecuted.

His release handed a significant victory to Chinese leaders, who have ratcheted up the pressure on Japan with verbal threats and economic sanctions.

“It certainly appears that Japan gave in,” said Hiroshi Nakanishi, a professor of international relations at Kyoto University. “This is going to raise questions about why Japan pushed the issue in the first place, if it couldn’t follow through with meeting China’s challenges.” Continue Reading.…

With this incident behind us it is important that all mariners support those who campaign to end the upward trend of criminalization. If you are an American Master Mariner you should consider joining The Council Of American Master Mariners, who have taken a leadership role in defending mariner rights. If you live overseas please, in the comments below, leave the contact information of organizations in your area fighting this global trend.

In breaking news from the Antarctic Japanese whalers have taken two activists hostage after they boarded the whaling ship Yushin Maru. The BBC tells us;

The Sea Shepherd campaign group said the two – a Briton and an Australian – had been assaulted and tied to the radar mast by the Japanese crew.

They said they wanted charges of kidnap to be filed in Australia.

Minoru Morimoto, of the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), admitted the pair had been detained but denied they had been assaulted or harmed.

He said the Sea Shepherd’s accusations that the two men were tied up were “completely untrue”.

“It is illegal to board another country’s vessels on the high seas. As a result, at this stage, they are being held in custody while decisions are made on their future,” he added.

You can read the full report HERE and watch the video HERE.

UPDATE 17Jan:

The AP wire tells us:

Australia said Thursday it would send a ship to pick up two anti-whaling activists who jumped on a Japanese harpoon vessel from a rubber boat in Antarctic waters, offering a solution to a tense, two-day standoff on the high seas.

The protesters from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society scored a victory with their stunt, bringing Japan’s whale hunt to a standstill while officials scrambled to resolve the faceoff.

The Australian customs ship Oceanic Viking will pick up the two activists, an Australian and a Briton, and return them to their anti-whaling vessel as soon as the details can be arranged, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said. Continue Reading…