While the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) is a proponent of weapons on commercial ships as a means to thwart piracy, it respects and stays in compliance with international and port-state mandates that reject lethal force in the hands of mariners…
There is a new focus on technological solutions for ship self-defense against pirate attacks. Although some systems have been around a bit longer, the surge in new products is attributable largely to the dramatic increase in attacks on ships by Somali pirates over the last few years…
MV Panega was hijacked on 11 May 2010, approximately 100 nautical miles east of Aden (Yemen) in the Gulf of Aden. On 9 September the vessel was released from Garacad from under pirate control. Merchant Vessel (MV) Panega is a Bulgarian flagged Chemical product tanker…
According to a report from AP and VOANews.com, The U.S. Navy said Marines stormed a pirate-held ship off the coast of Somalia on September 9 and reclaimed control of the vessel. The U.S. Fifth Fleet said the Marines boarded and seized the German-owned MV Magellan Star…
EU NAVFOR said it welcomed the first judgment yesterday in a Kenyan prosecution in connection with the interdiction of a pirate group by an EU NAVFOR warship. The conviction involved seven Somali men accused of acts of piracy. The presiding Chief Magistrate…
INTERTANKO applauds the result of a plea bargaining agreement in the U.S. whereby a Somali national, who a few weeks ago escaped trial when a U.S. federal judge threw out a case accusing him and five colleagues of piracy, has pleaded guilty…
The Canada Border Services Agency has completed the initial examinations of the migrants of the Sun Sea vessel and is now in a position to provide an update on the processing of these individuals. The CBSA can confirm that it has processed 492 migrants…
The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted a defense motion and dismissed the charge of piracy that had been filed against six young Somali men for an April 10 attack on the USS Ashland (LSD- 48). United States v. Said…
EU NAVFOR warship FS Nivôse returned fire after being shot at, outside of Mogadishu harbor May 20. The assault immediately stopped and none of the two merchant vessels, which were tasked to escort her, were hit. Early Thursday morning, May 20…
Given the global strategic importance of keeping the international shipping lanes through the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean open, INTERTANKO calls on governments to step up their involvement and make it more effective. The tanker industry appreciates the efforts of the naval forces…
Patrick Marchesseau Captain of Le Ponant, a cruise ship belonging to Compagnie du Ponant, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM French Group, has received from the President of the Republic of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur…
According to a May 14 report from the Xinhua News Agency, The European Union (EU) naval force protecting shipping off Somalia said that the number of pirate ships operating between the Seychelles and the Somali coast has skyrocketed in the last three months…
The Global Maritime and Transportation School at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy along with co-sponsor American Military University will convene its second annual Piracy Countermeasure Seminar on June 23 and June 24. The seminar will take…
According to a May 13 report from the Associated Press, a Somali “pirate middle-man” said he's made hundreds of thousands of dollars brokering deals to free ships and their cargos after pirates attack. The 32-year-old Somali, who would be identified only by his alias…
The Liberien flagged, Greek owned, Eleni P was reported to have been hijacked 250 nautical miles off the coast of Oman on the morning of 12 May. The bulk carrier of 72,119 deadweight and crew of 26 (23 Filipinos, 2 Romanian and 1 Indian) was on route to Kandla in India when taken by pirates…
