Maersk Alabama: last calls of guards found dead

Workers at Victoria International Casino described the men as jovial. They were eventually escorted out at 3 a.m. when the casino closed. “I told them, ‘Hey look, we need to close,’ ” Mr. Nanty said. “ ‘You have to leave.’ ” At 6 a.m., the police report noted, they returned to the ship. It was in Mr. Kennedy’s cabin, more than 12 hours later, that a ship security officer discovered the two men on Feb. 18. Mr. Reynolds was slumped on the bed, and Mr. Kennedy was lying face up on the floor, a syringe in his left hand, brown heroin powder in the room, according to police reports. Drug use was prohibited. [February 25] Two ex-Navy Seals found dead last week aboard the ship made famous in the film Captain Phillips died of respiratory failure after suspected heart attacks, Seychelles police have said Two American security officers have been found dead on the Maersk Alabama container ship, police in the Seychelles said February 19. Seychelles police identified them on February 20  as Jeffrey Reynolds and Mark Kennedy. The men, both 44, were found dead on February 18 "A postmortem will be carried out this week in order to establish the cause of their sudden deaths," police said, adding that the police investigation is ongoing. The 500-foot Maersk Alabama was targeted by Somali pirates in an attempted hijacking off the east coast of Africa in 2009. The 2013 film "Captain Phillips" is based on the incident. Reynolds and Kennedy worked for Trident Group, a Virginia-based maritime security services firm. The company's president, Tom Rothrauff, said the men were former Navy SEALs. "It's bizarre. Of course, it's a shock. They're all great guys," Rothrauff said. "I'm absolutely clueless as to what happened." 

Frank Peake, The former president of Sea Star Line LLC, was sentenced to serve five years in prison and to pay a $25,000 criminal fine for his participation in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for freight transported by water between the continental United States and Puerto Rico. As a result of the ongoing investigation, the three largest water freight carriers serving routes between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, including Peake’s former employer Sea Star, have pleaded guilty and been ordered to pay more than $46 million in criminal fines for their roles in the conspiracy.

Sea Star pleaded guilty on Dec. 20, 2011, and was sentenced by Judge Dominguez to pay a $14.2 million criminal fine. Sea Star transports a variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, perishable food items, medicines and consumer goods, on scheduled ocean voyages between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

Peake and five other individuals have been ordered to serve prison sentences ranging from seven months to five years. Additionally, Thomas Farmer, the former vice president of price and yield management of Crowley Liner Services, was indicted in March 2013 for his role in the conspiracy and is scheduled to go to trial in May 2014.In 2009, two former Sea Star executives and three former Horizon Lines employees were sentenced as a result of the price-fixing investigation. Peter Baci, who had been senior vice president at Sea Star Line, received the stiffest punishment with a four-year prison sentence and $20,000 fine.

[September 5]


The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

Trailer


[10/29/09]




Billy Ray has been tapped to pen Columbia Pictures' Somali pirate pic.

Based on true events that unfolded earlier this year, the untitled film centers on captain Richard Phillips, who was held hostage by four Somali pirates and was subsequently rescued by a group of Navy SEALs.

Col picked up the cargo ship captain's life rights in May, weeks after his dramatic capture by armed Somali pirates, his attempted escape and eventual rescue. At the time, the studio also optioned the film rights to Phillips' upcoming memoir, "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs and Five Dangerous Days," which will be published in April by Hyperion.

Michael De Luca, Kevin Spacey, Dana Brunetti and Scott Rudin are producing.

Ray's recent writing credits include "State of Play," "Flightplan" and "Breach," the last of which he also directed. He is currently writing "Gears of War" for New Line and "Motorcade" for DreamWorks.

Medi Chennai: Anangel coal carrier evades pirates

John Platsidakis, managing director of Anangel Maritime Services Inc



Leonidas Zissimatos, Technical Director of Anangel Maritime Services, Inc.







The furthest East attack ever registered, approximately 880 nautical miles (1,600 kilometres) East of Port Victoria, Seychelles, came on November 26 to the Angelicoussis bulker Medi Chennai. The pirates fired shots and RPG grenades but the barb-wired ship zigzagged and they gave up.

9300221 MEDI CHENNAI 3ECQ3 Bulker 55862 2005 Panama
ANANGEL MARITIME SERVICES INC
Anangel Maritime Services Inc (hereafter Anangel) is a private limited company that was incorporated in Liberia in March 2001.
Anangel has a fleet of 24 big bulk carriers and has 19 more on order.

“The fleet mostly consists of Capesize vessels, although there are still a few Panamaxes. Our profile, or company vision, is to be a high-quality operator of high-quality tonnage. Like everyone else in the current shipping environment, we may be concerned about ‘cost’ but we never cut our maintenance budgets. We spend considerable amounts on training our personnel at our own, DNV–certified centre.
The mother group of Anangel is called Agelef Shipping Group Ltd.. It is managed by John Angelicoussis. The group has offices in Piraeus, London, Houston, Manilla and Okpo, and operates more than 50 vessels, mainly bulk carriers and tankers. The two main management companies of the group are Anangel Shipping Enterprises, which operates about 25 bulk carriers, and Kristen Navigation with some 30 tankers. Anangel Maritime Services Inc. the Group’s bulker arm, is the first Greek company to enter the VLOC market.
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IOE: still an insurance mystery

INDIAN OCEAN EXPLORER imo 5342984
A tourist 116 -foot boat popular with British diving enthusiasts was boarded by Somali pirates near the Seychelles, hundreds of miles from the hijackers’ lair on the East African coast.

The Indian Ocean Explorer had just dropped her passengers on Assumption Island when she was attacked, The vessel made only a handful of voyages each year for up to 12 passengers willing to pay to swim with whale sharks and green turtles. was registered in Panama and had been recently sold in March 2009 , but operators did not give the identity or nationality of the new owner. The owner paid $450,000 and all 7 crew of Seychelles nationality were released and repatriated . The ship’s owner was reported reluctant to negotiate the demanded ransom of $1 million and the hijackers reportedly decided to burn the ship off the coast of Harardheere, but so far no independent confirmation or evidence for the actual sinking received.

Evita: increased speed, fired flares at pirates

UAE-owned MV Evita IMO 7533202, Sierra Leone-flagged, was able to evade pirate attack by adopting industry recommended 'best management practices'; increasing its speed and firing flares to warn them off. The product tanker came under attack 500 km north-west of the Seychelles by three suspected pirate skiffs.

UAE's new Baynunah Corvettes are a derivative of CMN's BR70 70m corvette design, The vessels are slated to be the largest steel-hulled vessels using water jets for propulsion. Delivery to the UAE Navy is scheduled for 2010.

M/V FILITSA (Marshall Islands) 23,709 dwt Bulk Carrier

A merchant vessel reported a distress call 111737Z 9 November at position 0.35 S/062.40E (approximately 490 nautical miles northeast of Seychelles). At 110206Z, UKMTO reported that M/V FILITSA (Marshall Islands) was assessed hijacked 513 nautical miles NE of Seychelles. UKMTO contacted the owner at 110400Z who had reached the ship. All that was said was “Somali, Somali.” CTF-151 is assessing with high probability the ship has been pirated. Verbal information received from the CSO of the owners indicates the pirates are already onboard and all communication with the vessel has ceased. It is suspected the pirates are in control of the vessel. There are 22 crew members onboard.

Maltese-flag Ariana seized by pirates at dawn

MV Ariana, was seized around dawn, carrying 35,000 tons of soya, about 250 nautical miles (287 miles) northwest of the Seychelles.
The crew members are Ukrainians and they are not believed to harmed.
MV ARIANA
IMO number :8014150
Call Sign :9HZS5
Gross tonnage :37955
Type of ship :Bulk Carrier
Year of build :1984
Flag :Malta


owner/agent Seven Seas Maritime Ltd. (SSM) London