Rim: Pirates demand USD 3 million ransom

Pirates reportedly have made a public demand for ransom of a vessel hijacked on Feb. 4

Feb 4:
Rim (IMO: 7328554)
Flag: Libya [LY]
Call Sign: HMVS5
IMO: 7328554, MMSI: 642146036
DWT: 4800
GT: 3493
Flag: Libya
Other names: RIMNICU VILCEA (1973-1998).

speed 7 kn


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



THE US Navy has reported that North Korea-flagged general cargo ship Rim has been hijacked by pirates, EU NAVFOR said today. 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. EU NAVFOR said the US destroyer Porter and a helicopter from the destroyer Farragut, both in the service of NATO CTF 151, had confirmed the hijacking. Rim is now heading towards the Somali Basin. Andrew Mwangura told Fairplay that 17 crew members were reportedly on Rim. Vessel was enroute Mariupol Ukraine – Kandla India.
Rim IMO 7328554 Flag North Korea General Cargo build 1973 DWT 4800 White Sea Shipping Co. Ltd Libya. Crew 17, assumedly Lybians and Romanians.

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.

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: the return of Jon Jin 2

Both the name and an identification number painted on the Arctic Sea's stern belong to a North Korean bulk carrier that was docked in Angola at the time, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, but it offered no further explanation.
Jon Jin 2
Name of ship : JON JIN 2
IMO number : 8018912
Call Sign : HMBI
Gross tonnage : 15384
Type of ship : Bulk Carrier
Year of build : 1982
Flag : Korea Democratic Republic

Chendin 2 = Chon Ji 2=Nam Yang8?

typical of this length vessel

The closest match to Chendin 2 (the name used by the Arctic Sea when arrested) on the Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit database is Chon Ji 2, which is 1979-built, 3,870 dwt and North Korea-flagged. Its International Maritime Organisation number is 8988129. Arctic Sea is Malta-flag, 1991-built, 4,706 dwt and bears the IMO number 8912792.

IMO Number: 8988129 Country: North Korea
MMSI Number: 445176000 Length: 101.0m
Callsign: HMYO2 Beam: 14.0m

Another North Korean ship built in 1979 and 101.0m in length is Nam Yang8:
Nam Yang8
Typ: Cargo Ship
IMO Number: 7913385 Country: North Korea
MMSI Number: 445251000 Length: 101.0m
Callsign: HMYM4 Beam: 16.0m

Why did North Korea tell the Russians (if they did) that Chendin 2 was in Angola, and is it>?

Arctic Sea: Love that Chendin 2/dul/dhool

The Foreign Ministry said that, when the ship was intercepted, its captain claimed it was the North Korean vessel Chendin-2, and was headed from Havana to Sierra Leone with a cargo of palm wood.

It said North Korea had asserted that was impossible, saying the Chendin-2 was docked at an Angolan port at the time. The Russian navy's search of the ship ''confirmed the suggestion that it was really the Arctic Sea."

1. How did the Arctic Sea's captain know about the Chendin-2. Can you find it?
2. The Russians needed to ask the North Koreans? What about binoculars. The Maltese-flagged ship says 'Arctic Sea' on the bow and stern, Or does it?
3. Why the Foreign Ministry and not the Investigative Committee in charge of the hijackers?

No evidence of illegal cargo on MV Mu San

North Korean Freighter found in obscure spot.
MU SAN , IMO number : 7920596
The ship’s proximity to Myanmar, a North Korean ally, and the fact that it had no apparent reason to be in the area raised suspicions
The ship anchored without authorization in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a territory of India in the Bay of Bengal, last week, according to the Indian military.
After two days of searching and of questioning the crew, India’s Navy and Coast Guard handed the ship over to police and intelligence services, having found no evidence of illegal cargo, according to the Press Trust of India.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has long been suspected of buying North Korean arms as well as providing transit services for North Korean vessels engaged in illicit trade.

MU SAN
Vessel's Details:
Ship Type: Cargo
Year Built: 1981
Length x Breadth: 157 m X 25 m
DeadWeight: 17618 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 11.4 / 11.4 knots
Flag: DPR Korea [KP]
Call Sign: HMZG
IMO: 7920596, MMSI: 445100000

Al Hamed was nothing—in rotten shape

But there is evidence that the Al Hamed could not have been carrying sensitive cargo—or any cargo—from North Korea. International shipping is carefully monitored by Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit, which relies on a network of agents as well as on port logs and other records. In addition, most merchant ships are now required to operate a transponder device called an A.I.S., for automatic identification system. This device, which was on board the Al Hamed, works in a manner similar to a transponder on a commercial aircraft—beaming a constant, very high-frequency position report. (The U.S. Navy monitors international sea traffic with the aid of dedicated satellites, at a secret facility in suburban Washington.)

According to Marine Intelligence Unit records, the Al Hamed, which was built in 1965, had been operating for years in the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, with no indication of any recent visits to North Korea. The records show that the Al Hamed arrived at Tartus on September 3rd—the ship’s fifth visit to Syria in five months. (It was one of eight ships that arrived that day; although it is possible that one of the others was carrying illicit materials, only the Al Hamed has been named in the media.) The ship’s registry was constantly changing. The Al Hamed flew the South Korean flag before switching to North Korea in November of 2005, and then to Comoros. (Ships often fly flags of convenience, registering with different countries, in many cases to avoid taxes or onerous regulations.) At the time of the bombing, according to Lloyd’s, it was flying a Comoran flag and was owned by four Syrian nationals. In earlier years, under other owners, the ship seems to have operated under Russian, Estonian, Turkish, and Honduran flags. Lloyd’s records show that the ship had apparently not passed through the Suez Canal—the main route from the Mediterranean to the Far East—since at least 1998.
Among the groups that keep track of international shipping is Greenpeace. Martini Gotjé, who monitors illegal fishing for the organization and was among the first to raise questions about the Al Hamed, told me, “I’ve been at sea for forty-one years, and I can tell you, as a captain, that the Al Hamed was nothing—in rotten shape. You wouldn’t be able to load heavy cargo on it, as the floorboards wouldn’t be that strong.” here

MV Dai Hung Dan - call for further action

A State Department official said the rescue was part of the Proliferation Security Initiative mission -- a grouping of nations aimed at stopping North Korea from proliferating weapons of mass destruction. A maritime organization has raised suspicions about the North Korean vessel and has called for further action.

North Koreans use Cambodia flag vessel

ARGUS, 3950 tons, built 1971, Cambodia
Exposing an apparent loophole in Japan's sanctions against North Korea, a Cambodian-registered freighter carrying 8,500 used bicycles left Sakai Port in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, for North Korea. It is the first such move since the government banned the entry of North Korean vessels following Pyongyang's nuclear test in October.

The 2,740-ton Argus was provided by a Russian shipping firm at the request of a Nagano-based trading company among others.
Following North Korea's nuclear test in October, the Japanese government banned the entry of all North Korean-registered ships into Japanese ports, prohibited the importation of all products from North Korea and blocked exports of luxury goods, such as passenger cars and electrical appliances, from Japan.

Although bicycles are not included in the list of luxury items prohibited for export to North Korea, the ban on ships entering the nation's ports has effectively restricted the export of bicycles to North Korea. here

France searches North Korean Ship Am Nok Gang

Mayotte, Indian Ocean
French customs officers have searched a North Korean ship in the small Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte. here The vessel, with 45 North Korean crew members, was searched "from bow to stern and top to bottom," but no weapons, drugs or other significant contraband have been found so far, but a slight excess of alcohol and cigarettes. here The ship was carrying cement and came from Singapore. Permission was sought to dock in the port of Longoni on November 11. here

MV Omranili searched in Mumbai

MV Omranili voyage

The Coast Guard, the Bombay Port Trust, the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Customs have formed separate teams to inspect the freighter and find out if it is carrying any arms or ammunition.

North Korean freighter, MV-Omranili, detained

Mumbai Docks
A North Korean freighter, MV-Omranili, was spotted in the Indian waters on October 29. The Coast Guard escorted the freighter to the Bombay docks. When questioned, the crew members told the Coast Guard they were on their way to Bandar Abbas in Iran and strayed into the Indian waters as the engine had developed a snag. here South Korea has turned down an American request for help intercepting North Korean ships suspected of carrying supplies for the Communist regime’s programs to build weapons of mass destruction. South Korea decided not to become an official member of the initiative and instead would remain content with its status as an observer “because of our special situation.” here

North Korean ship Ponghwasan departs Hong Kong

Song Min-soon
A North Korean ship, named Ponghwasan, left Nampo in North Korea and has been sailing southward after fueling up at an outer port of Hong Kong. The United States and Japan suspect it of carrying military equipment, Song Min-soon, the chief South Korean presidential secretary for security affairs, said. here

North Korean Kang Nam V also detained by Hong Kong

Security Advisor to JWC
HONG KONG Hong Kong has detained a North Korean cargo ship — the second in less than a week — because the vessel failed a safety inspection. The Kang Nam V arrived empty on Wednesday from the Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung. The ship had planned to carry scrap metal back to Taiwan.here
NORTH Korea could shortly be designated a war risk area. here The Joint War Committee, whose membership is drawn from 16 London market underwriters, focuses on hull war risk. Its main function is the maintenance and publication of its list of excluded zones. Operators of ships headed for countries that are on this list can expect to pay more for their insurance.here

USS Gary dispatched to trail North Korean ship

Kang Nam I A North Korean vessel suspected of carrying military equipment was searched and seized by authorities in Hong Kong, but no banned items were uncovered. The 2,035 t Kang Nam I is a cargo carrier, but it arrived in Hong Kong with an empty load. The U.S. was preparing for a confrontation and dispatched the guided-missile frigate U.S.S. Gary to the scene. U.S. and Japan had been trailing the vessel, which left Nampo port in South Pyongan Province and was passing southward through the South China Sea. here

KANG NAM-1, North Korean Freighter Detained

Hong Kong port
A North Korean ship that planned to deliver scrap metal to Taiwan was detained in Hong Kong for safety violations. The ship's detention was unrelated to recent U.N. sanctions on North Korea that call for searches of vessels sailing to and from the communist country, said Daisy Lo, spokeswoman for Hong Kong's Marine Department. here KANG NAM-1 is owned by Korea Kumrung Trading Co Ltd registered in Korea,Democratic People's Republic, built 1989, 702 tons, General cargo/multipurpose ship. here

AUSTRALIA'S navy to help intercept cargo ships

Secretary of State Rice
AUSTRALIA'S navy is ready to help intercept and inspect cargo ships travelling to and from North Korea as part of United Nations sanctions imposed over Pyongyang's nuclear test, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said today. here