27.6.11

Suez , Yuan Xiang: airmen sentenced, pardoned



At Banadir region court sentencing the men reportedly claimed approximately the following names and nationalities:

Andrew Robert Brides, a British aged 56 and born in Nairobi, Kenya.

Patrick Brougham Hubbard, US citizen aged 41 from Texas.

Alexander James Andrew, a British aged 22 originally from Edinburgh

Mathew Brown, has British national aged 32 born in London

Mark William Potgieter, a British aged 25, but originally from Kenya.

Alistair Macleod Davidson, both British and Kenya aged 46

The men left Mogadishu for Kenya's capital Nairobi aboard their two planes on June 26

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26.6.11

Suez, Yuan Xiang: all airmen pardoned




The president of the interim government of Somalia has pardoned all six men, who have not been officially named, involved in ransom money for the release of two vessels, the Egyptian-owned MV Suez and the Chinese-owned MV Yuan Xiang, two ships held ransom by Somali pirates, $3.6 million in cash on 24 May shortly after arriving by plane in Mogadishu.
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22.6.11

Deepwater Horizon: RIG blasts BP



Transocean Ltd.'s (RIG) internal investigation blames decisions by BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, contrasting with at least two earlier reports from U.S. government agencies that put a large share of the blame on Transocean.
wsj
report RIG
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20.6.11

Suez, Yuan Xiang: the first ransom attempt



Ransom for the release of two vessels, the Egyptian-owned MV Suez and the Chinese-owned MV Yuan Xiang, two ships being held ransom by Somali pirates, $3.6 million in cash, was flown to the airport in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, landing in an unmarked plane which transferred its cargo to another unmarked plane, At least one of the planes operated out of Wilson Airport in Nairobi Both crews were immediately arrested. Three of those detained carried UK passports, another one has an American passport while two have Kenyan identities.. Matthew Brown, a pilot, and Andrew Oaks and Alex James from Nairobi-based security firm Salama Fikira, a Mauritius-based risk management consultancy. . Both ships have since been freed. A spokesman for Salama Fikira said: "The only thing I would say is: don't believe everything you read."
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17.6.11

Susan K: ransomed and released



Ostfriesland venture strikes deal after 70 days. back

16.6.11

Orna: living quarters were destroyed. by fire





Hijacked geared bulker ORNA, IMO: 8312162, cargo and the ship's engines were not damaged by the fire.
The crew sent to another seized vessel nearby. back

14.6.11

Suez: carrying cement in bags, pays $2M ransom



1984 Egyptian-owned vessel released after ten months
8218720 SUEZ 3FXJ5 General Cargo Ship 17300 1984 162 Red Sea Navigation Co.
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13.6.11

Light:: Belize-flag missile laden tramp to N. Korea



"The North Koreans claimed the ship was going to Bangladesh with a cargo of industrial chemicals," The White House said. "We have no way to verify whether any of that was true. And we had good reason to be suspicious with this ship, which in the past has been involved in the export of weapons to [Myanmar] and other locations in the Middle East." here
A Belize-flag ship after a standoff at sea starting May 26 returned to its originating North Korean port after interception by United States Navy which suspected it of carrying missile technology to Myanmar following several days of diplomatic pressure from Washington and Asia nations.

8415433 LIGHT V3ZA General Cargo Ship 4650 1984 21
Ship Type: Cargo
Year Built: 1984
Length x Breadth: 91 m X 15 m
DeadWeight: 4650 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 10.7 / 9.8 knots
Flag: Belize [BZ]
Call Sign: V3ZA
IMO: 8415433, MMSI: 312590000

11.6.11

Zirku: ransomed for $12 million



ZIRKU IMO: 9237802, Tanker with Nile Blend Crude Oil loaded at Marsa Bashayer, Sudan. This is a new crude oil from recently developed oil fields in Sudan, a cargo that earned pirates a treasure. The amount of the ransom could not be confirmed
Somali pirates say they freed a UAE-flagged, Kuwaiti-owned oil tanker after a $12-million ransom was paid. The 105,846 dead weight tonne MV Zirku was captured on March 28 on its way to Singapore from Sudan with a crew of 29. back

10.6.11

Viking 2 BINH MINH 02:Spratly Islands Oil dispute





China's ambassador to the Philippines, Liu Jianchao, has insisted China's intentions were peaceful and said that China was not looking for oil in the disputed waters and, therefore, no other country should.

Viking 2 has been working on surveys for Japan's Idemitsu group, which is producing oil from Block 05-1D in the Dai Hung field.

Two of the foreign ships were named Fei Sheng No. 16 and BI 2549, the newspaper said.

In order to prevent the foreign ships' harassment, the Viking 2 and other protective ships operated by PTSC fired warnings. The foreign ships left the scene, and the Viking 2 has continued to operate in the area, it said.

Officials at PetroVietnam weren't available for comment.

Last week, Chinese patrol ships threatened a PetroVietnam ship, the Binh Minh 02, and damaged some of the equipment it was using in Block 148, which is near Nha Trang city in central Vietnam, prompting a strong reaction from Vietnam,



(IMO: 8326319) BINH MINH 02
Builder
: Folksverft Stralzund, Germany, 1983
Type of Vessel
: Seismic Research Vessel
Converted
: India, 2008
Owner
: PTSC Marine
Length O.A.
: 64.67m
Length P.P
: 55.0m
Operator
: Nordic Maritime Pte Ltd.
Breadth (Moulded)
: 13.80m
Call Sign
: 3EQY5
Breadth (Extreme)
: 13.80m
Flag State
: Vietnam
Depth (Moulded)
: 9.20m
Port of Registry
: Vietnam
Draft (Max)
: 5.22m
Classification
: Russian Maritime Register of Shipping
Draft (Mean)
: 5.22m
Gross Tonnage (Grt)
: 2281 R.T

9.6.11

Yuan Xiang: ransomed, released



IMO:7609192 Yuan Xiang

"We have freed the Chinese ship. We have received ... the agreed ransom this morning and the ship has already sailed away," said a pirate from El-Dhanane, Somalia.

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4.6.11

Tonnerre, Ocean: launch helos on Libyan targets





The Apaches hit two targets near the coastal city of Brega, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense in London. It said they took off from HMS Ocean, stationed off the Libyan coast and returned safely after completing their mission in the early morning hours.
The French helicopters took off from the helicopter transport ship Tonnerre in the Mediterranean, said Col. Thierry Burkhard. He said they struck 15 military vehicles and 5 military command buildings, without identifying the sites or their location. The head of the rebels' Transitional National Council, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, said the NATO attacks were in accordance of Resolution 1974, but emphasized that the Apaches launched outside Libya.
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