Al Khaliq: handymax bulker ransomed 3.1-3.3m

AL KHALIQ IMO: 8307155 (ex CHERRYFIELD,-ex ARBOREOUS -ex TRANSGRUP-exOMER ,ex RANA QUEEN)












Somali pirates say they received a $3.1 million ransom, local reports speak of $3.2m, paid by the British shipowner.
"All crew members have been with us for years and we’ll make sure they are released,” said S.C. Sehgal, managing director of SNP Shipping Services Private Limited, manager of the Panamanian-flagged Al Khaliq.
The ship MV AL KHALIQ has been freed today after a multimillion dollar ransom was delivered. "She sailed free after the last pirate left the vessel this morning,"
The 22,000 dwt handymax bulker MV AL KHALIQ was captured on 22 Oct. 2009 around 180 miles west of the Seychelles. The crew consists of 24 Indian sailors and two Burmese nationals.

Reuters quoted Somali pirates as saying they received a $3.1 million ransom, local reports speak of $3.2m, paid by the British shipowner.

The vessel is owner-managed by London-based Holbud Ship Management.

The vessel with over 35,000 metric tons of wheat grain for Mombasa in Kenya has now sailed free from the Somali coast near Harardheere with all crew on board apparently being ok, given the circumstances.

The ship, however, had to be refueled to reach Mombasa, where she is expected in around 5 days time. MT APLHA PINA was sent with fuel from Mombasa and is now escorting the vessel to the Kenyan port.

[AG] Ariella: barbed wire across freeboard

The crew of the Ariella had seen a skiff approaching their position in the Gulf of Aden early morning February 05 with six or seven armed men firing at them, said Cmdr. Dan B. Termansen, the commander of the Danish warship HDMS Absalon (L16). The Ariella crew ran to the bridge, where the captain sent out a distress call and put the ship on full steam ahead,'
Despite the vessel's increased speed and the choppy waters, the pirates balanced a ladder in their tiny boat and crawled up the side of the ship, he said. The first pirate crept through barbed wire the crew had stretched across the ship's freeboard and fired a burst of automatic gunfire into the air. At that point, Termansen said, the ship's crew members locked themselves in a secure room. All are reported safe.

The Ariella's distress call was heard by the Indian warship Tabar, which passed it on to a French plane. The plane confirmed the presence of the pirates on deck. The Kommandostøtteskib or Command and Support ship HDMS Absalon , sent a helicopter to investigate.

"We saw a small boat and fired some warning shots to make it stop," said Termansen.

It was impossible to say whether there were still pirates onboard, said Termansen. The hatches were open. The crew — who were in contact with the Danes by telephone — said they'd seen at least one armed man on deck and had been shot at by others in the skiff.

In the meantime, the Ariella was plowing at top speed through one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world with a cargo of 30,000 tons of steel and no one at the wheel.

The helicopter couldn't see anyone on the bridge or on deck, and there was no response to two warning shots fired across the Ariella's bow, He didn't know if there were any pirates onboard or not, but he decided that the ship had to be stopped.

He dispatched a team from Denmark's elite Frogmen unit. They bounced across the waves in a dinghy and scaled the sides of the cargo ship using grappling hooks. They secured the bridge, released the crew and then launched an hours-long search for the pirate the crew had seen. They found no one.


Above the vehicle deck and LCP bay is an 850 square metre helicopter landing deck. This deck can accommodate 20-t helicopters (including Chinooks) but was sized specifically for two EH-101s (the KDM has 4 EH-101s on order for the Absalon class) as were the twin-bay hangars.

Arctic Sea: turns its AIS back on at Bejaia Algeria

The phantom vessel Arctic Sea was last noticed with its AIS transponder on passing Malaga on January 24 under the ship’s current captain Mikhail Kotyanin, with timber for Bejaia. A new crew was sent to man the vessel on 11 November and it resumed commerce after being repaired, re-certified, and re-provisioned. The Russians have announced that the original 'hijacked' crew will take over for the next voyage out of Finland.

[AG] Ariella: crew locked away from Pirates

Antigua and Barbuda-flagged bulker Ariella on February 5, reported that six heavily armed pirates had boarded the ship, but the crew had managed to lock themselves away, HDMS Absalon (L16) Danish command and support ship sent a helicopter to investigate, then a team of specially trained forces in inflatable dinghies to board the ship and regain control.

In this case the ship had registered with naval authorities, was travelling along a recommended transit corridor and was part of a group transit, ensuring the ships had a helicopter within 30 minutes' reaction time. It seems the pirates escaped to their boat before the troops arrived.

sold by Splosna Plovba D.O.O., Slovenia to P. Doehle Schiffahrts KG, Germany . name and flag unchanged.
Port of registry: St. John´s
IMO: 8028864
Call Sign: V2PI2
Pos-names: Lakes Star; Golden Trader; Pohorje; Cielo d'Istria
Type/class: bulk carrier
Built by: Kanda Zosensho K.K. - Kawajiri (Japan) in 1983
DWT: 32.442 tons

HDMS Absalon (L16), together with her sister ship HDMS Esbern Snare (L17), are the biggest ships ever in the Royal Danish Navy

Rim: 7-knot vessel hijacked outside IRT Corridor

Rim (IMO: 7328554)
Cargo Ship
IMO Number: 7328554 Flag: Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
MMSI Number: 642146036 Length: 106.0m
Callsign: HMVS5 Beam: 14.0m
Other names: RIMNICU VILCEA (1973-1998).
speed 7 kn



North Korea general cargo ship Rim has been hijacked by pirates. The 4,800dwt vessel was taken in the Gulf of Aden to the north of the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor. It was not registered with MSC HOA. US guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) and a SH-60 Light Airborne Multi-Purpose Helo from the Arleigh Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyer USS FARRAGUT (DDG 99)(2006), both in the service of NATO CTF 151, had confirmed the hijacking. Rim is now heading towards the Somali Basin. Libyans and Romanians,17 crew members. Vessel was enroute Mariupol Ukraine – Kandla India.


White Sea & Onega Shipping Company: cargoes are delivered to the countries of Europe, North Africa and the Near East: also involved in the "North-South" corridor carrying cargoes from Europe to the Caspian Sea and Iran.

Arctic Sea: return of the phantom Captain

A handwritten letter allegedly penned by Igor Borisov an unemployed roofer before the "Arctic Sea" incident reiterates the "hijacker's" testimony, and appeals to the international community to take seriously their concerns.
The alleged pirates claim they were hired to conduct temporary environmental work. The men are awaiting trial in a Moscow jail, facing more than 20 years in prison on charges of kidnapping and piracy.

Many assume the Arctic sea was carrying AA missiles sold to Iran but being delivered without authority by truant Russian military and criminals. It was said in the West that the vessel disappeared. The Kremlin was warned to stop its shipment or others would step in. The prisoners say they were set up, part of a cover meant to save the Kremlin embarrassment. A Russian frigate "rescued" the vessel from these"hijackers."

The Arctic Sea was unloading Finnish timber at the port of Bejaia on January 25 and will be sailing again from Finland in February. The Arctic Sea will take to the seas , the Russian Seafarers' Union said.
"The Arctic Sea cargo vessel's captain will return to the vessel and in February he will set sail again," the statement said, adding that most of the crew who were on board the ship when it was seized would be joining him.

Filitsa: American helicopters watched ransom

100125-N-4236E-217 RED SEA (Jan. 25, 2010) An F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the Rampagers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 131 catapults off the flight deck of the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Dwight D. Eisenhower is deployed as part of an on-going rotation of forward-deployed forces supporting maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility.

The helicopters were presumed to be American, because EU NAVFOR insisted they had no vessel nearby.

The Fortress Shipping Co. Marshall Islands-flagged Filitsa was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, where it and its crew were to be checked over, then was to continue to Durban, South Africa,