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.

NAVIOS APOLLON: Panamanian bulker hijacked

Ms. Angeliki Frangou, chairman and Chief Executive of Navios Maritime Holdings




NAVIOS APOLLON IMO:9211145
Kleimar N V
Navios Shipmanagement Inc

NAVIOS Maritime Holdings has confirmed that its 52,068 dwt bulk carrier Navios Apollon was attacked 800 miles off the coast of Somalia on Monday.
Navios in Greece lost contact with the Panamanian-flagged vessel, owned by Navios Maritime Partners, and the last contact from the ship was a report that armed men were boarding the vessel.

Arctic Sea: return to the scene of the crime

Arctic Sea: Christmas in English Channel

Turned AIS transponder off after leaving Setubal around 12/22/2009 6:27:54 AM (UTC)and back on again on entering English Channel around 12/25/2009 12:50:35 AM (UTC)

Arctic Sea: destination changed back to KOTKA

Two members of the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) traveled to Russia on December 16 to conduct an investigation into the hijacking of the Arctic Sea ship. They were to question suspects and meet with Russian investigators. They planned to return to Finland on December 18. The vessel in question last turned on its AIS transponder to enter Setubal Portugal and then again on December 21 to depart, headed North. At 2009-12-22 05:36, the vessel's destination was changed (back)to KOTKA, Finland.

Arctic Sea: Gone underground away from Finns?

Finnish investigators are travelling to Russia on December 16 to conduct an investigation into the hijacking of the Arctic Sea ship. Accordingly, the stated destination of the phantom vessel was changed at 2009-12-16 21:22 to read "Underground." Previously, the destination had read 2009-12-21 08:00 Kotka [Finland]. The vessel last turned on its AIS transponder to enter Setubal Portugal.

Rabbe von Hertzen, who is heading up the investigation, says two members of the National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) are to question suspects and meet with Russian investigators. They are to return to Finland on December 18.

Von Hertzen says the trip is necessary because the suspects are being held in Russia.

The Arctic Sea was seized by a group of hijackers in Swedish waters in the Baltic Sea in July. The vessel was carrying a load of lumber from Finland to Algeria. The Russian Navy regained control of the ship off Africa’s west coast in August.

Arctic Sea: Phantom vessel near Lisbon

Vessel turns on AIS transponder to enter Setubal, circles to pick up pilot? Turns off AIS transponder.

Arctic Sea: Pusan Bound?

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.

Arctic Sea: Union pleads for those onboard

The Solchart site carries a plea said to be from a trade union
Four crew members – Master, Chief Engineer, Second Engineer and Bosun remain on board. Trade Union and relatives do not have connection with the remaining seafarers, and we are very concerned about the future of our brothers. Last week in the programme “Man and right” family saw Master Zaretskiy. He looked ill and exhausted.

Arctic Sea: more on the 'hijackers'

A leaflet outside a local supermarket in Estonia advertising security work in Spain led to a work contract, vague and written in English. The leaflet attracted ethnic Russians in Estonia, ordinary layabouts, petty criminals and heavy drinkers, six friends and acquaintances, stateless men holding "gray passports." Born in Estonia, all but one never met the tough requirements for Estonian citizenship, part of a lost generation of former Soviets who unprepared to make it. "No one needs us," a girlfriend, one of three pictured, says. "Estonia isn't going to fight for them, and Russia doesn't need them. The fact that we were born here and our mother was born here doesn't matter to anyone."

Solchart Archangelsk director and shareholder Nikolai Karpenkov gives his email address

Arctic Sea: piracy story was a cover

A senior figure close to Israeli intelligence told the BBC that the piracy story was a cover and that Israel told Moscow it was giving officials time to stop the shipment before making the matter public.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, added that he had no information about any visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly to Moscow.

Arctic Sea: Task Force to access crew?

"The investigation is going on and it will take some time before we have concluded," says Jan-Olof Nyholm, detective superintendent at Finland’s Centralkriminalpolisen, Finland's National Bureau of Investigation, and a spokesman for the four-nation, [Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Malta], Helsinki-based police task force investigating the case. When asked if the task force has had access to the crew and hijackers as yet, he stated emphatically, "I think we'll make some progress here."

Artic Sea - Why no phone home?

One outstanding mystery is why, if the ship was hijacked on 24 July, none of the crew was able to get the word out before contact was lost a few days later. "The vessel had all the necessary modern means of communication and emergency alarms, and was located in waters where ordinary mobile telephones work," said Mikhail Voitenko, editor of the Russian maritime journal Sovfrakht. "To hijack the vessel so that no one makes a peep – can you imagine how that could be? I can't." Mr Voitenko is one of the few commentators who have provided a trickle of information about the ship. He and other Russian experts have aired suspicions that the 98-metre freighter was carrying an undeclared cargo and that high-level state interests were involved, but so far nobody has been able to provide details. here

Arctic Sea - hijackers on board

Eight hijackers were found on board the Arctic Sea in addition to the 15-man crew. The hijackers had approached the Arctic Sea in a dinghy, claiming they needed help to repair their vessel, The suspects include four Estonians, two Latvians and two Russians.