Arctic Sea: underway

picture published upon arrival
picture published upon departure
The Maltese registered vessel Arctic Sea left the Grand Harbour 11 November headed towards its original destination port namely, Algerian port of Bejaia. It was not listed as scheduled to arrive at Bejaia as of 14 November.

Mr Victor Matveev
Director
Solchart

As you know the mv Arctic Sea left Malta on the afternoon of Wednesday 11 November 2009, after the necessary repairs and all surveys and a flag State inspection had been carried out in order to ensure that the ship is in conformity with national and international requirements.

The mv Arctic Sea had entered the port of Valletta on Thursday 29 October 2009, after she had been inspected in international waters off Malta and her safety ascertained by the Civil Protection Department, the Malta Police and the Malta Maritime Authority. The inspection revealed that the ship was not carrying any dangerous cargo or any cargo other than that appearing in the ship’s cargo manifest.

LC Vassallo
Registrar General of
Shipping and Seamen

Filitsa: Pirates meet the Politician

The beneficial owner of the vessel is Fortress Shipping Co. and hence Fortress Investment Group. In 2006 Fortress Investments paid John Edwards $479000 for part-time work as a consultant- John Edwards was then the former vice-presidential running mate of presidential candidate John Kerry. He went on to run against Barack Obama for President.
John met Rielle Hunter in early 2006 and that during this time John was in NYC primarily because he was under contract as a consultant with the Fortress Investment Group (the hedge fund which the Edwards have invested a large portion of their wealth). Fortress‘ headquarters (1345 6th Ave)is only a few short blocks from the Regency Hotel (540 Park Ave). This relationship ended his presidential hopes.

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.

Francop: Israel shows captured arms documents

official web site

Arctic Sea: the Crew's story

Hey, what will we use for a North Korean Flag?
The Sunday Times gives a full account of the story now told by the crew. The Korean ploy is explained as follows:
"The crew said that when the Ladny first made radio contact with the Arctic Sea , Savin sought to fool its Russian navy officers by claiming the ship was North Korean - the hijackers had also painted over Solchart’s emblem on the deck."

===>>> One could wonder about the Russian statement at the time that "Both the name and an identification number painted on the Arctic Sea's stern belong to a North Korean bulk carrier that was docked in Angola at the time, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, but it offered no further explanation."

And the pictures provided show lettering that is more likely naval than work of the Latvian bravos that boarded the vessel, a paint job by the Frigate's artful sailors.

And a final nagging detail. Note how the IMO number on the stern is not square with the rest: can you imagine a spook saying to the seamen - "no, no, go back and use the right number."

Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier MV Delvina

The Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier MV Delvina IMO 9384796 was hijacked with seven Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos on board.

Vessel's Details:
Ship Type: Cargo
Year Built: 2007
Length x Breadth: 190 m X 32 m
DeadWeight: 53500 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 14.2 / 13.7 knots
Flag: Marshall Is [MH]
Call Sign: V7LN3
IMO: 9384796, MMSI: 538002772

Meadway Shipping Inc./ Medway Shipping Co S.A. is an international shipping company located in Athens, specializing in the transportation of dry bulk cargoes. Delvina Owner: Smart Shipmanagement Inc (Marshall Islands) hence Meadway Shipping and Trading Inc. (Liberia), controlled by the Delaportas and Famelos families.
Classed by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, the Delvina has P&I cover with the London Club.

KG shipping funds and Iranian Arms Shipments

An increasing number of KG shipping funds, which are popular among German professionals such as doctors, dentists and lawyers seeking tax breaks, are thought to be close to collapse as funding dries up. Peter Döhle Schiffahrts KG lists the containership Francop as part of its box fleet. The depth of the crisis was highlighted by confirmation that Peter Döhle Schiffahrts, one of the world's largest charter shipowners, has applied for loans from a government fund set up to help companies survive the global economic downturn. German container shipowners, who control a third of the world box ship fleet, are facing increasing financial difficulties and the threat of bankruptcy as charter rates test fresh lows with the end of the peak shipping season. An Israeli special forces squadron captured the Francop flying the Antiguan flag near Cyprus, containers with hundreds of tons of rockets, missiles and ammunition destined for the Hizbullah were captured.