BPirates set Suezmax on fire
(July  8  2011)

Somali pirates fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a tanker off the coast of Yemen, setting the Suezmax accommodation block on fire.

The attack on the 150,000 dwt ‘Brillante Virtuoso’ took place about 20 miles off Aden on Wednesday. As a result of the fire, the crew abandoned the vessel and were picked up unharmed by a US warship.

The tanker’s Greek manager Central Mare told Reuters that efforts were underway to extinguish the fire and the cargo was not in danger. The vessel was carrying 141,000 tonnes of oil loaded in the Ukraine bound for China.

A statement from the Combined Maritime Forces, under whose jurisdiction the warship was operating, said the oil tanker was sailing from the Suez Canal through the Gulf of Aden at the time of the attack.

“Shortly after the suspected attack, the (‘Brillante’) ‘Virtuoso’ reported a fire on board, which was beyond their control and that their intention was to abandon ship,” the statement said.

There were 26 seafarers on board the vessel at the time of the incident.

At the time of writing, the tanker was anchored 16 miles from the nearest port and was being kept in position by tugs.

Pirates attack tanker close to India
(Feb  18  2011)

A Russian tanker has escaped the clutches of pirates while sailing close to the Indian coastline.

The incident took place on Wednesday when Novoship’s Aframax ‘NS Century’ spotted three boats, each carrying about six to eight people, approaching the vessel.

The captain started to manouevre while an armed group on board opened fire. The pirates ceased their attack and fled, according to a report from Itar-Tass.

The agency, quoting a Russian trade union, also commented that the alleged attack took place in an area recommended as safe for navigation, near the Indian coast.

courtsey : TANKER OPERATOR

(Feb  18  2011)

A Russian tanker has escaped the clutches of pirates while sailing close to the Indian coastline.

The incident took place on Wednesday when Novoship’s Aframax ‘NS Century’ spotted three boats, each carrying about six to eight people, approaching the vessel.

The captain started to manouevre while an armed group on board opened fire. The pirates ceased their attack and fled, according to a report from Itar-Tass.

The agency, quoting a Russian trade union, also commented that the alleged attack took place in an area recommended as safe for navigation, near the Indian coast.

In the first incident, the D’Amato-controlled Aframax ‘Savina Caylin’ was taken in the early hours of 8th February.

The vessel was attacked about 670 miles East of Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean. According to EU NAVFOR, she was boarded after a sustained attack by one skiff with five suspected pirates firing small arms and four rocket propelled grenades (RPGs).

The vessel was on passage to Pasir Gudang from Bashayer (Sudan) when she was attacked.

On Wednesday, it was reported that there was no communication with the vessel and no information regarding the condition of the 22 crew (five Italian and 17 Indian).

She had registered with MSC(HOA) and was reporting to the UKMTO. EU NAVFOR said that it was monitoring the situation.

A day later, the Enesel-managed VLCC ‘Irene SL’ was hijacked about 350 miles Southeast of Muscat in the North Arabian Sea.

She was sailing from Fujairah to Suez with about 270,000 tonnes of cargo on board.

Again at the time of writing, there was no news of the 25 crew (seven Greeks, one Georgian and 17 Filipinos).

EU Navfor said that the ‘Irene SL’ was not registered with MSC(HOA), but was reporting to UKMTO.

Last Friday, the Omani VLCC ‘Duqm’ had a lucky escape while sailing in the Arabian Sea.

According to CNN, two US Navy warships patrolling the Gulf of Oman disrupted the attack.

The warships arrived to find two pirate skiffs alongside the tanker with ladders out to board the ship.

The vessels chased off the pirates and tracked their movements back to a larger ship from which they were operating in the Arabian Sea, the US Navy said.