Not me, sir! -- NAVFOR not responsible

mv Longchamp
EU frigates do not necessarily accompany vessels through the transit corridor, hence Navfor’s reluctance to define the transits as convoys.THE German-operated liquefied petroleum gas carrier Longchamp, hijacked last week, did not register for European Union protection and missed the scheduled Gulf of Aden transit by 20 miles, it was revealed today.

While the vessel’s operator, Hamburg-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, had access to the transit schedule via the EU Navfor website, the 4,316 dwt Longchamp was not expected by EU naval commanders overseeing the operation.

”While the ship was in the corridor, it was 20 miles behind the transit,” a Navfor spokesman said. “The company was registered with us, but the vessel was not.”

Six Million for mv Longchamp opening

The shadow of mv Sirius Star: opening demands of pirates are inflated. The Hamburg-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement reported that Somali pirates who recently hijacked mv Longchamp, the German gas tanker, have demanded 6 Million dollars to free the ship and its crew. Company officials were able to speak with the hijacked ship's master.

German Navy claims Longchamp not protected

The German finance house MPC Munchmeyer Petersen AG (“MPC”) is the nominal owner of MPC Steamship, for the benefit of MC Shipping Inc.,incorporated in the Republic of Liberia and located in Monoco. Corsair III Investments
(Luxembourg) s.á.r.l. and Oldehaver Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH are shareholders currently involved in a Restructuring & Recapitalisation program.

The Longchamp, flying a flag of convenience from the Bahamas, is managed by the German firm Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, which said in a statement that seven pirates boarded the tanker early Thursday. MPC Steamship contracts the operation out to the Bernhard Schulte ship management company, a longtime Hamburg shipping operator. Currently the ship is chartered to yet another company, Bridge Marine, which is registered in the Liberian capital Monrovia.

Robin Phillips, deputy director of the Bahamas maritime authority in London, said the Longchamp had been traveling in a corridor secured by EU military forces when it sent a distress signal before dawn. "Ships and helicopters were dispatched, but they arrived too late," said Phillips, adding that gunshots could be heard over the radio.



Date Updated: Feb 26, 2008
Vessel's name: Longchamp 1.2
IMO number: 9005106 1.3
Vessel's previous name(s): Leo Gas 1.4-1.7
Flag: Bahamas 1.8
Port of Registry: Nassau 1.9
Call sign: C6QV8 1.11
Inmarsat phone number: Mini M 761125162 1.12
Fax number: Mini M 761125164 1.13
Email address: longchamp@hanseaticfleet.com 1.16
Type of vessel: Gas 1.17
Type of hull: Double Bottom 1.19
OWNERSHIP & OPERATION
Registered owner - Full Style: Beteiligungsgesellschaft LPG Tankerflotte
GmbH
Van der Smissen Strasse 9 D-22767 Hamburg
Germany
Tel: +4940 380223714
Fax: +4940 380223718
Telex: NA
Email: s.boettcher@mpc-steamship.com
1.20
Technical operator - Full Style: Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement
(Deutschland)
Brandswiete 1, D-20457, Hamburg, Germany.
Tel: +49 40 380367-0
Fax: +49 40 380367-99
Telex: NA
Email: de-sdc2-Vettings@bsshipmanagement.
com
1.22
Commercial operator - Full Style: MC Shipping Inc
Gildo Pastor Center 7, Rue du Gabian MC
9800 Monaco
Tel: +377 9797 4990
Fax: +377 9797 4999
Telex: NA
Email: operations@mcshipping.com


ORGANIZATION: MC Shipping Inc. was incorporated in the Republic of Liberia and, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates a fleet of 19 vessels, of which nine are wholly owned liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) carrier vessels. In addition, the Company has a 25.8% percent interest in an entity that owns and operates four containerships, a 50% interest in another entity that owns and operates an LPG carrier, and a 25% interest in an entity that owns and operates five LPG carriers.

On December 18, 2006, the Company entered into agreements for the sale and charter back of six LPG carriers, Auteuil, Deauville, Cheltenham, Malvern, Coniston and Longchamp to Beteiligungsgesellschaft LPG Tankerflotte mbH & Co. KG (“LTF”), a special purpose German KG company formed by the German finance house MPC Munchmeyer Petersen AG (“MPC”) for a total sales price of $52 million. The total book value of the vessels was approximately $32.3 million. Simultaneously with the sale, the Company agreed to charter back each of the vessels at $225,000 per month for a period of four years and reinvest $5,400,000 in LTF for approximately 25% of the equity, thereby remaining committed to the ships and its customers.

The captain of a German Navy warship on an anti-piracy mission off Somalia said Friday the mission was succeeding, even though a German-owned gas tanker was snatched by pirates the previous day elsewhere on the coast.

The 3,415-gross-ton Longchamp reached Somali waters Thursday evening under pirate command, said Cyrus Mody, a spokesman for the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in London.

The pirates are expected to demand a ransom for the vessel, its crew and its Asia-bound cargo of liquefied gas. German defence officials say the Longchamp was not part of a convoy under military supervision when it was hijacked.

captain Kay-Achim Schoenbach of the frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The MV Longchamp was under naval escort when it was attacked, according to the vessel’s owner, Hamburg-based MPC Steamship.

Bahamas-Flag LPG Tanker taken by pirates

SOMALIAN pirates today captured a German-owned LPG tanker participating in a convoy through the Gulf of Aden Maritime Security Patrol Area, diverting Chinese and Indian warships with a decoy raid to enable colleagues to seize a small ship with low freeboard. Bahamas-flag 1990-built, 4,316 dwt Longchamp, operated by Hamburg-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. The Indian warship kept a safe distance, so as not to aggravate the pirates. Then the ship turned hard to starboard and went straight for the Somali coast.