The naval task force operating off the Gulf of Aden/Somalia region reported recent successes in combating piracy.
For example, a European Union naval force averted an attempted pirate attack on a Greek oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden on 2nd January.
The ship’s 29 crew members were unhurt.The Avin International controlled 145,242 Suezmax ‘Kriti Episkopi’ came under attack by pirates twice while sailing off the Somalian coast.
Greek authorities immediately notified the EU naval flotilla protecting shipping in the area, which sent an aircraft and a helicopter to the tanker. A frigate also approached the scene.
‘Kriti Episkopi’ was carrying oil from the Persian Gulf to Greece when attacked.
A day earlier, the Indian Aframax ‘Abul Kalam Azad’ owned by Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) was saved from attack by a Malaysian combat support vessel using a helicopter. The fully laden 1999-built 92,687 dwt tanker was also sailing towards the Suez Canal.
Illustrating that the pirates can act well away from their normal zones, Somali pirates hijacked a Yemeni tanker carrying more than 2,000 tones of diesel near the Persian Gulf recently.
Yemen’s Defence Ministry said that the ship was en route from the Gulf of Aden to the south-eastern port of Nashtoon when the pirates attacked it and diverted it to the Somali coast.
‘Yemeni authorities are conducting contacts to secure the release of the hijacked ship,’ the Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the two MISC tankers were still being held by their captors at the time of writing having been hijacked last year. However, reports were just coming through that the VLCC ‘Sirius Star’ had been released, although details were still unclear.
In another move, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has announced a freeze on transit fees in the wake of vessels being re-routed, due to the piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden and the general global downturn in trade (source: tankeroperator.com).
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