Malta-flag Saldanha seized by pirates near Somalia

SALDANHA
IMO NUMBER
9268992
VESSEL TYPE
BULK CARRIER
HULL TYPE
SINGLE HULL
GROSS TONNAGE
38.886 tons
SUMMER DWT
75.707 tons
BUILD
2004
BUILDER
SANOYAS HISHINO MEISHO OSAKA - JAPAN
FLAG
MALTA
MANAGER
CARDIFF MARINE ATHENS - GREECE
OWNER
TEAM UP OWNING MARSHALL ISLANDS
INSURER
STEAMSHIP MUTUAL UNDERWRITING U.K.
VESSEL DETAILS

DIMENSIONS
BREADTH EXTREME
32,26 m

BREADTH MOULDED
32,26 m

DEPTH
19,30 m

DRAUGHT
13,99 m

FREEBOARD
5.310,0 mm

LENGTH B/W PERPENDICULARS
217,00 m

LENGTH OVERALL
225,00 m
TONNAGES
NET TONNAGE
25.208 tons
COMMUNICATION
CALL SIGN
9HFM9
HISTORICAL INFO
DATE OF ORDER
2002 Jan 01

YARD NUMBER
1.215
HISTORICAL INFO

FORMER NAMES
since 2007 Nov 27 SHINYO BRILLIANCE
FORMER FLAGS
since 2007 Nov 02 HONG KONG (CHINA)

since 2004 Feb 29 PANAMA

DryShips panamax bulk-carrier

DryShips Inc. is a Marshall Islands registered company formed in September 2004.

DryShips was once the largest U.S.-listed shipping company with a market capitalization of about $5 billion. At the height of the bull run in the shipping sector, its shares touched a lifetime high of $131.07.

In contrast, the shares closed at $6.50 Monday on Nasdaq, with market capitalization of about $389 million.

Of the 13 analysts covering the stock, eight have a "sell" rating, and two analysts each have "buy" and "hold" ratings, according to Reuters data.

Panama-flag Powerful: Pirates tried in Kenya Court

Gkiolmas Christos, master of Panama-registered ship, the MV Powerful, testified against Said Mohamed Ahmed, Abdinasir Mohamed Said, Amin Osman Said, Ahmed Mohamed Omar, Feysal Ahmed Farah, Farah Said Yusuf, Hussein Mohamud Ismail and Abdi Hamud Kassim, alleged to have attempted to hijack the MV Powerful in November last year jointly with others not before senior principal magistrate Lillian Mutende in the Mombasa, Kenya court. February 18 2009
Powerful
IMO Number: 9074688
Speed - 14.0 Knots
Call Sign: 3EAT7
Ship manager MARYVILLE MARITIME INC
Ex Names - HAI JI

The technical management of our fleet is undertaken by Maryville Maritime Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. Maryville Manila Inc. was established in December 1995, and is the exclusive manning- crewing agent for the Company. It consists of 15 employees in total, all managed by a very experienced Greek Port Captain.

Flag: Panama
Builder:Country: Japan
Company: Hitachi
Year: 1994
Type: Bulk carrier
Sequence: M2KF
Hull Form: H
Tonnage:
Gross Tonnage: 38,077 tons
Deadweight: 71,756 tonnes
Dimensions:
Panamax
223.70×32.20 (mb)×13.46m (733.92×105.64×44.16ft)

Indian-flagged MT Prem Divya rescued by USN

Early February 12 morning, the Indian-flagged merchant ship MT Prem Divya sent a distress call reporting it had been fired on by a small craft, whose crew attempted to board. A helicopter from the USS Vella Gulf fired two warning shots, the suspects brought their boat to a stop, USN found weapons and took the nine-man crew into custody. Black Site

PREM DIVYA
IMO NUMBER
9138599
VESSEL TYPE
CRUDE OIL TANKER
HULL TYPE
DOUBLE HULL
GROSS TONNAGE
57.950 tons
SUMMER DWT
89.999 tons
BUILD
1998
BUILDER
DALIAN NEW SHIPYARD DALIAN - CHINA
FLAG
INDIA
MANAGER/OWNER
MERCATOR LINES MUMBAI - INDIA
INSURER
NORTH OF ENGLAND P&I U.K.


HISTORICAL INFO

FORMER NAMES
since 2007 Jan 11 SEAQUEEN
FORMER FLAGS
since 2006 May 04 GREECE

since 1998 Jun 13 LIBERIA

Marshall-flag Polaris rescued from Pirates by USN

On February 11, the U.S.navy said, the MV Polaris, Marshall Island flag, sent a distress call that seven men on a skiff had tried to force their way on board using a ladder. The Navy intercepted the skiff, found weapons and seized the suspects.

Vessel
POLARIS

DNV ID: 29964 IMO No: 9388235
Operational Status: In Operation Class Relation: Not in DNV Class


Overview

Status

SummaryDimensions Classification Registry Hull Summary Machinery Summary Yard Owner


Flag: Marshall Islands Signal Letters: V7PE5
Port: MAJURO

Owner: Annamar Navigation Inc. GT (ITC 69): 8,542
(10031248) NT (ITC 69): 4,117
Manager: OSM Ship Management AS DWT: 13,091
(180002) (LRF / Company identification no: 1155822)
DocHolder: OSM Ship Management AS
(180002) (LRF / Company identification no: 1155822)
Yard: SEKWANG Heavy Ind. Co., Ltd. (110721) Year of Build: 2009
Type: 106 - Tanker for Chemicals & Oil Products

Class Notation:

Polaris 9388235 2009 13,091 128.60 14,084 20.40 8.71 DH V7PE5
Design Draught9.12m
Scantling Draught (Maximum to Which Vessel is Loaded)9.50m
Displacement at Design Draught

Polaris is a 13000 tdw chemical and product tanker registered in the Marshall Islands.

Her length overall is 128m with a draft of 8,7m. She is sister of Commencement tanker. Both are owned by Primera from Greece.

Polaris was officially handed over to OSM Ship Management AS on the 12th of January 2009 at SEKWANG Heavy Industries in Ulsan-Korea.

She has a compliment of 18 crew onboard and her first cargo, Molasses, will be loaded in Bankok 25th of January, disport will most probably be in Europe.

Cyprus has decided to unload the Monchegorsk

On February 13, the government said in a statement that it had decided to unload the Cypriot-flagged vessel's cargo and "keep it in Cyprus".

The Republic of Cyprus has decided to unload the material on the ship Monchegorsk and keep it on Cyprus


"The Republic of Cyprus has already informed the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee of its decision," it added.

"Unloading the cargo does not involve any danger."

Later, Defence Minister Costas Papacostas told the Associated Press: "There are no weapons. There is material that could be used in the manufacture of munitions."

On Tuesday, Cypriot Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou said the UN committee had ruled that the Monchegorsk was in "clear" breach of UN sanctions, but he did not specify what had been found on board or name the cargo's destination.


MONCHEGORSK
IMO NUMBER
8013039
VESSEL TYPE
RO-RO CARGO
HULL TYPE
DOUBLE HULL
GROSS TONNAGE
18.627 tons
SUMMER DWT
19.943 tons
BUILD
1983
BUILDER
KVAERNER MASA YARDS TURKU TURKU - FINLAND
FLAG
CYPRUS
MANAGER/OWNER
MURMANSK SHIPPING MURMANSK - RUSSIA
INSURER
WEST OF ENGLAND P&I ASSOCIATION LUXEMBOURG
VESSEL DETAILS

USD 75K ransom offered for Blue Star by owner

Egyptian government has denied reports that it had negotiated with the Somali pirates who kidnapped the BLUE STAR Basseterre, St.Kitts-Nevis (SKN-flag).
An Egyptian man being held hostage on a pirated ship off the coast of Somalia for nearly two weeks has accused the pirates of mistreating their captives and appealed for help. Ibrahim Etman, one of 28 Egyptian crew aboard the cargo ship Blue Star when it was seized by pirates on January 1, had phoned his daughter to ask for help.
Mona Ibrahim Etman told the daily the pirates began mistreating the hostages when the ship's owners refused to pay a 75,000-dollar ransom, ceased negotiating, and stopped answering the pirates' phone calls.

A spokesman for New Marine, the Alexandria-based company that owns the ship, however denied the report. New Marine Shipping, 68 Horreya Avenue Alexandria 11471 Egypt

Malta-flag Kashmir in collision

Malta-flag tanker in collision off Dubai


KASHMIR
IMO NUMBER
8800248
VESSEL TYPE
CHEMICAL/OIL TANKER
HULL TYPE
DOUBLE HULL
GROSS TONNAGE
27.611 tons
SUMMER DWT
45.003 tons
BUILD
1988
BUILDER
SHIN KURUSHIMA TOKYO - JAPAN
FLAG
MALTA
MANAGER
MARTINOLI CONSULTING GENOVA - ITALY
OWNER
MAXIME SHIPPING MALTA
INSURER
SKULD P&I CLUB NORWAY
VESSEL DETAILS
HISTORICAL INFO

FORMER NAMES
since 2003 Sep 01 CAPE HORN
FORMER FLAGS
since 2003 Sep 01 LIBERIA

since 1990 Feb 22 PANAMA

HDMS Absalon (L16) helps MV SAMANYOLU

built: 1980, J.J. Sietas, Hamburg. Flag: Netherlands Antilles. Ex-name: FAGERVIK
The Dutch government said it will prosecute five suspected pirates captured this month by the Danish navy off the coast of Somalia after reaching an extradition agreement with Denmark. The ministers of justice from Denmark and the Netherlands agreed on the extradition during a brief meeting on the sidelines of an informal gathering of European justice ministers in Prague, Czech Republic, said Dutch spokesman Wim van der Weegen. Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin informed Danish counterpart Brian Nikkelsen at a European ministers' meeting in Prague that the Dutch were ready to begin judicial proceedings against the pirates. The Dutch prosecutor's office was drawing up specific charges, but the suspects likely would be tried for piracy under international law, he said. HDMS Absalon (L16)captured the men in the Gulf of Aden on Jan. 2 after receiving a distress call from an the MV SAMANYOLU, a cargo ship carrying the flag of the Netherlands Antilles, whose crew fended off the pirates with signal flares until a Danish ship arrived.

Blue Star: K&R specialist wanted?

Abdel Rahman Selim al-Awwa, reputedly the owner of the "Blue Star" ship, registered as BLUE STAR 7706770 Basseterre, St.Kitts-Nevis (SKN-flag) by Novstar Shipping and Marine Services Dubai as from Egypt, denied reports by the media that the ship and its crew of 28 Egyptians would be released within hours.
"These reports are groundless. So far, we haven't agreed with the Somali pirates on how to give them the ransom.
"The pirates demanded that the ransom be dropped by a helicopter into the water and said that once they took the ransom, they would release the ship.

"We rejected this idea and told the pirates that we would not give them the ransom this way. We asked to give them the ransom in a neutral zone through our respective representatives when the ship would start moving," al-Awwa said.
Al-Awwa said he would not give the pirates the ransom while they are still controlling the ship. What is the guarantee that they will release the ship and its crew after that," he wondered?
French sources mentioned $US1 million ransom, and elsewhere $3 million got play.

USN inspected pirates' small boats & released

On February 5, U.S. seamen inspected the pirates' boats to ensure they weren't carrying any of the mv Faina's weapons cargo.
But the Navy did not take action against the pirates because they still hold many hostages from other ships, said Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet.

Togo-flag Tali Gaza bound seized by Israel

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Naseem Ahmed

Naseem Ahmed Marine Consultant & Legal Advisor




TALI
IMO NUMBER
5281049
VESSEL TYPE
CARGO
HULL TYPE
SINGLE HULL
GROSS TONNAGE
1.458 tons
SUMMER DWT
2.425 tons
BUILD
1957
BUILDER
SSW SCHICHAU SEEBECK SHIPYARD BREMERHAVEN - GERMANY
FLAG
TOGO
MANAGER/OWNER
TALI QUEEN SHIPPING TOGO
VESSEL DETAILS

DIMENSIONS
BREADTH EXTREME
10,88 m

BREADTH MOULDED
10,80 m

DEPTH
6,57 m

DRAUGHT
5,22 m

FREEBOARD
1.350,0 mm

LENGTH B/W PERPENDICULARS
75,88 m

LENGTH OVERALL
82,00 m

LENGTH REGISTERED
76,36 m
TONNAGES
NET TONNAGE
800,00 tons
COMMUNICATION
CALL SIGN
5VAA3
HISTORICAL INFO
YARD NUMBER
400
HISTORICAL INFO

FORMER NAMES
since 2008 May 29 LAVINIA

since 1995 Aug 01 INGELA

since 1990 May 16 IREEN

since 1987 Aug 28 WESTLILL

since 1982 Jul 23 IREEN

since 1978 Jul 29 IRENE

since 1975 Oct 14 AUGUSTE SCHULTE

since 1968 Dec 31 POLCHOW
FORMER FLAGS
since 1995 Jul 31 HONDURAS

since 1990 May 16 SAINT VINCENT & GRENADINES

since 1987 Aug 28 PANAMA

since 1978 Jul 29 GERMANY

Belize mv Faina gets pirates 3.2 mil by airmail

According to businessmen on shore, the ransom was around $3 million and the money was dropped by parachute from a small plane, which seems to be the new way to deliver pirate booty. The weather was bad, said Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service Ltd.
According to witnesses in Hin-Barwaaqo, the fishing village near where the Faina has been anchored, a band of pirates left the ship on Thursday with seven Russian-style machine guns.

It’s unclear what will happen with the arsenal on board. The Kenyan government says it is theirs but the pirates and Western officials in the region have said the arms were destined for a former rebel army in southern Sudan and Kenya was simply the transit point. Kenya uses many American and British weapons, which is why it seemed strange that the Kenyan military would suddenly switch to Eastern-bloc gear.

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.