MV Victoria, Antigua and Barbuda-flag, slow speed

MV Victoria, Antigua and Barbuda-flag, 11 Romanian crew members, was taken yesterday afternoon about 120 nautical miles north of the Somali port of Boosaaso. It was a relatively easy target because of its slow speed and low railing. A Turkish frigate responded to a call for help by sending a helicopter, but the ship already was in the pirates' hands by the time it arrived.

Call sign: V2BQ5
IMO No.: 9290074
Port of Registry: St. John's
Flag: Antigua & Barbuda
Built: Dec 2003
Owners: MS "Victoria" Schiffahrtsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Reederei KG, Weedendamm 26/28, D - 49733 Haren (Ems)
Trustees: Victoria Shipping Company Ltd., St. John's, Antigua & Barbuda
Type: multipurpose vessel for transport of bulk, steel coils, containers, forrest products, general cargoes, dangerous cargoes acc. to SOLAS regulation 54-II-2, excluding explosives and nuclear materials (Class I and VII)

Intersee Schiffahrts GmbH & Co. KG, Weedendamm 26 - 28, 49733 Haren (Ems) - Germany

USN releases pirates to Bosasso

Puntland, a semi-autonomous region home to a third of the Somali population. A lively port city, Bosasso is the new Algiers. Puntland caters to its pirate population, even opening restaurants to feed the pirates’ hostages and crews. The pirates are thought to bring in close to 30 million dollars a year, and they often devote it to lavish lifestyles. Recreational drug use among the pirates is common, “They wed the most beautiful girls, they are building big houses, they have new cars and new guns.”