Fewer incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea were reported in the first three months of 2019, but risk of kidnappings continue to pose a threat to ship and crews in the Gulf of Guinea, the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre said in its first detailed quarterly report of the year. In the first quarter of 2019, IMB reported 38 incidents of piracy and … [Read more...]
Hijacking of Oil Tanker Is a Turning Point in the Migrant Crisis
By Caroline Alexander (Bloomberg) -- Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called them “pirates.” But the women and children who disembarked from a cargo ship hijacked by migrants in European waters were simply desperate. They were among the 108 people escaping what human rights groups say is torture and sexual assault in Libya, a country left broken by a … [Read more...]
Maltese Soldiers Seize Back Tanker Hijacked by Migrants
By Chris Scicluna and Darrin Zammit Lupi VALLETTA, March 28 (Reuters) - A small tanker that was hijacked by migrants off Libya docked in Malta's port of Valletta on Thursday after Maltese special forces took control of the vessel, Reuters witnesses said. Cargo ship Elhiblu 1 had picked up 108 migrants stranded at sea on Wednesday, some of whom then hijacked the vessel when … [Read more...]
Migrants Hijack Merchant Ship Off Libya
ROME, March 27 (Reuters) - Migrants have hijacked a merchant ship which rescued them off the coast of Libya and it is now heading towards Malta, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Maltese authorities said on Wednesday. The 108 migrants were picked up by the cargo ship Elhiblu 1 and hijacked the vessel when it became clear that it planned to take them back to … [Read more...]
Pirates Release Six Russians Kidnapped from MSC Mandy in Gulf of Guinea -Report
Pirates have released six Russian seafarers kidnapped from the containership MSC Mandy during an attack off the coast of Benin earlier this month. Russia’s TASS news agency reports their release has been confirmed by the Russian embassy in Nigeria. The Panamanian-flagged MSC Mandy with 24 crew members onboard came under attack by armed pirates on January 2, 2019 as it was … [Read more...]