Pirates have released nineteen crew members kidnapped from a tanker in Gulf of Guinea last month, the vessel’s owner says. Unfortunately, one crew member who was also abducted has died from an illness. Union Maritime’s clean product tanker MT DUKE was attacked by pirates on December 15 while underway from Angola to Togo. After boarding the ship, the pirates made off with 20 … [Read more...]
Pirates Kidnap Eight from Greek Tanker Off Cameroon
By Sotiris Nikas (Bloomberg) --Five Greeks, two Filipinos and a Ukrainian were abducted by unidentified assailants from the Greek-flagged tanker ‘Happy Lady’ while the vessel was anchored two nautical miles from Limboh port in Cameroon. The attack on the 28 crew-member ship took place in the early hours Tuesday, the Greek Shipping Ministry said in an emailed statement. The … [Read more...]
Piracy Along Malacca-Singapore Straits Jumps Nearly Fourfold
By Ann Koh (Bloomberg) --Piracy has surged this year along Southeast Asia’s straits of Malacca and Singapore, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, according to a watch group that tracks maritime security. Incidents along the shipping choke point have risen to 30, from 8 last year, according to data from ReCAAP ISC, a piracy information group with 20 member nations, … [Read more...]
Japan Plans to Send 270 Sailors to Guard Ships in Middle East
TOKYO, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Japan is working on a plan to send about 270 seamen to the Middle East to guard ships supplying Japan under a law that allows military deployments for research and intelligence gathering, the Nikkei business daily said. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering a January visit to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, … [Read more...]
Pirates Kidnap Crew of Supertanker Off Nigeria
By Olivia Konotey-Ahulu (Bloomberg) --Pirates boarded a fully loaded supertanker off the coast of Nigeria, an act that is sure to ring alarm bells for insurers about the risk of collecting oil from Africa’s biggest producer. Nineteen crew were kidnapped and remain missing, a spokeswoman for Navios, the ship’s owner said by phone Wednesday. The incident happened late Tuesday … [Read more...]