Somali Pirates Seize Greek Vessel off Seychelles
International Desk
November 13, 2009
Somali pirates said Wednesday that they had seized at dawn a Greek-owned container ship after a five-hour chase in fast skiffs across the Indian Ocean, reflecting both an increase in pirate activity after a period of rough weather and signs of increasing boldness among the hijackers.
The East African Seafarers´ Assistance Program, based in Kenya, identified the vessel as a cargo ship, the MV FILITSA. Andrew Mwangura, a spokesman for the program, said the Filitsa was sailing under a Marshall Islands flag and was carrying a load fertilizer (urea) from Kuwait via the UAE to Durban in South Africa when it was attacked 513 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles. Tthe Seychelles as well as the Greek Coast Guards confirmed this.
The 1996-built, 23,709 dwt cargo-ship had a crew of around 22, including three Greek officers and 19 Filipinos.
The ship belongs to the Greek company Order Shipping Co. Ltd.
A pirate who gave his name only as Abdi said in a telephone interview that the hijacking followed a clash on Monday when international naval forces patrolling the Indian Ocean opened fire on three speedboats carrying pirates, hitting four men on board one of the boats. It was not clear if the four men were wounded or had been killed, Abdi said to AP.
The pirates in the other two boats escaped and commandeered the Filitsa while out searching for their colleagues, Abdi said.
Another pirate kingpin, Hassan, told Reuters by telephone from the coastal town of Haradheere that three of his colleagues were wounded while seizing the cargo ship late night on Tuesday. "Its 24 crew [N.B.: which is wrong!] are safe. There was brief fighting before we captured it. Three of my friends were injured," Hassan said.
The European Union Naval Force could only later confirm and their press release then said the ship was taken 400 miles (640 kilometres) north-east of the island nation of the Seychelles. It had been heading southwards but has now turned around and is heading north - presumably to Somalia.
The hijacking of the Greek vessel came just one day after the EU and the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles signed an agreement allowing the deployment of EU troops on the Indian Ocean islands to counter a maritime crime wave and permitting EU naval forces to seek and detain suspected Somali pirates in the waters off the Seychelles, where there has been a surge in piracy over the last month. The Seychelles had already signed similar agreements with France and the United States.
Critical analysts, however , had raised their voice months earlier and accused the Seychelles of actually harbouring Somali pirates with the aim to receive foreign military, financial and development aid.
The East African Seafarers´ Assistance Program, based in Kenya, identified the vessel as a cargo ship, the MV FILITSA. Andrew Mwangura, a spokesman for the program, said the Filitsa was sailing under a Marshall Islands flag and was carrying a load fertilizer (urea) from Kuwait via the UAE to Durban in South Africa when it was attacked 513 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles. Tthe Seychelles as well as the Greek Coast Guards confirmed this.
The 1996-built, 23,709 dwt cargo-ship had a crew of around 22, including three Greek officers and 19 Filipinos.
The ship belongs to the Greek company Order Shipping Co. Ltd.
A pirate who gave his name only as Abdi said in a telephone interview that the hijacking followed a clash on Monday when international naval forces patrolling the Indian Ocean opened fire on three speedboats carrying pirates, hitting four men on board one of the boats. It was not clear if the four men were wounded or had been killed, Abdi said to AP.
The pirates in the other two boats escaped and commandeered the Filitsa while out searching for their colleagues, Abdi said.
Another pirate kingpin, Hassan, told Reuters by telephone from the coastal town of Haradheere that three of his colleagues were wounded while seizing the cargo ship late night on Tuesday. "Its 24 crew [N.B.: which is wrong!] are safe. There was brief fighting before we captured it. Three of my friends were injured," Hassan said.
The European Union Naval Force could only later confirm and their press release then said the ship was taken 400 miles (640 kilometres) north-east of the island nation of the Seychelles. It had been heading southwards but has now turned around and is heading north - presumably to Somalia.
The hijacking of the Greek vessel came just one day after the EU and the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles signed an agreement allowing the deployment of EU troops on the Indian Ocean islands to counter a maritime crime wave and permitting EU naval forces to seek and detain suspected Somali pirates in the waters off the Seychelles, where there has been a surge in piracy over the last month. The Seychelles had already signed similar agreements with France and the United States.
Critical analysts, however , had raised their voice months earlier and accused the Seychelles of actually harbouring Somali pirates with the aim to receive foreign military, financial and development aid.
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