Rim: No ransom paid? Crew retakes ship?

The MV Rim - which has a mainly Syrian crew of 10 - was hijacked in February by pirates who demanded $3m in ransom for their safe return.

Rim (IMO: 7328554)
Flag: Libya [LY]
Call Sign: HMVS5
IMO: 7328554, MMSI: 642146036
DWT: 4800
GT: 3493
Flag: Libya
Other names: RIMNICU VILCEA (1973-1998).

speed 7 kn

After it was captured, correspondents say that the pirates took the vessel to an area off the town of Laasgoray, on the border between Somalia's breakaway regions of Somaliland and Puntland.

The crew turned the tables on their captors as the ship was south-east of Garacad, off Somalia's northern coastline, Navfor said.

It said there had been "confusing reports" that the ship had been reboarded by pirates. But once a helicopter from the warship reached the scene of the incident, it was "quickly established that the crew were in control of the vessel".

"There were, however, pirates in the vicinity who were attempting to impede the EU operation," added the statement. more

QSM Dubai: hijacked in view of USS Cole

Panama flagged QSM Dubai, 15,220 DWT, inbound from Brazil was hijacked in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor.

QSM DUBAI IMO: 7610062
ex Empros,Tania (7/2006)


Qawareb Ship Management LLC, hereafter referred to as QSM, is a private company that was registered in Dubai, Qawareb Ship Management LLC Part of Lebanese Shipping Group established in 1902. Khaled Jamil General Manager Qawareb Ship Management LLC United Arab Emirates
A renowned and profitable freight management company, Qawareb Ship Management LLC is a prominent logistics and freight forwarding organization specializing in serving an international range of diverse clients with a need in the logistics industry. Operating in the industry since its inception 17 years ago, the Company is an independent, family-owned business from Lebanon. Based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Qawareb Ship Management LLC owns and manages four, 65,000 ton bulk carriers and large general cargo ships. Providing logistic services and travel to Qatar, the Company is also under contract to international clients in South America, Africa and Europe, and provides its customers the opportunity to manage and transport their products, equipment and freight in a timely and cost efficient manner. At the current time, the Company completes all logistical management activities and functions successfully by applying the extensive skills and talents of about 55 dedicated professionals who devote their full time to Qawareb Ship Management LLC. Reputable and well-established in the marketplace, the Company experiences an annual turnover in excess of AED 6 million. Providing executive leadership and guidance and support, Mr. Jamil serves in the position of General Manager of Qawareb Ship Management LLC. A third generation professional in the freight forwarding industry, he is credited with establishing and developing the Company into what it is today - profitable and respected across industries. Furnishing the vision and motivation behind the Company's success, Mr. Jamil is an experienced business development leader with a proven track record of taking advantage of all new opportunities and pushing the envelope. Capitalizing upon more than two decades of extensive practical experience, qualifications and an astute grasp of the industry, he manages day-to-day operations and administration of all corporate resources, processes and procedural protocols.

In the early hours of 2 June it was reported by the owner of the MV QSM Dubai that a group of armed pirates had boarded the ship and taken control. USS COLE from CTF 508 (NATO) first reported that they had seen a person with an RPG on board. A coalition Maritime Patrol Aircraft was tasked to investigate the situation and reported that the ship was hijacked.

Avenue Beauty: executes anti-piracy measures

USS San Jacinto Public Affairs

GULF OF ADEN, June 1, 2010 – The U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser USS San Jacinto yesterday disrupted nine suspected Somali pirates from attacking a Maltese-flagged vessel that was transiting here.

The San Jacinto responded to a distress call from the M/V Avenue Beauty, which was transiting 90 miles north of Somalia when the crew reported they were under attack by pirates. Upon hearing gun shots, the Avenue Beauty’s chief officer sounded a general alarm and directed the crew to execute counter-piracy measures, which caused the pirate skiff to call off the attack.

The San Jacinto responded to the attack and dispatched a helicopter to follow the fleeing skiff. Aboard the aircraft, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Casey Halliwell tracked the skiff on radar as it speeded south toward the Somali coast.

The skiff, with nine suspects on board, failed to comply with the chopper’s order to stop. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Corey Whittle then fired warning shots across the suspect vessel’s bow and stern, compelling the skiff to stop.


8612 9470143 AVENUE BEAUTY 9HDH9 Bulker 16988 2008 Malta

company: V Ships Asia Pte. Ltd., Singapore Roberto Giorgi
reg. owner: Spac Shg. Ltd., Malta
ex- QIN FENG 117 (China)


A Special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is a collective investment scheme that allows public stock market investors to invest in private equity type transactions, particularly leveraged buyouts. SPACs are shell or blank-check companies that have no operations but go public with the intention of merging with or acquiring a company with the proceeds of the SPAC's initial public offering (IPO).

rachel corrie: 480 to a Beersheba prison

"We have not made a final decision yet, but 'Rachel Corrie' is coming. She left Malta on her way to Gaza the night before last and she should be coming near Crete today," Bomse said, adding she was proceeding slowly.
About 480 of the foreign activists who were stopped by Israel on the high seas while sailing to Gaza were transferred over night to a prison in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba where they were being questioned.

Another 48 activists had already been transported to Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv to be expelled abroad.

Rachel Corrie: Gaza bound Cambodian-flag

Rachel Corrie
IMO 6715281 LINDA XUJW8 General Cargo Ship 1205 1967 Cambodia




The mv Linda, which was detained by an order of the High Court last year, will be auctioned at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Dundalk at 12 noon tomorrow (Tuesday 30th March).

The structurally sound 1,800 tonne Linda was built in Germany in 1968.

It was the first vessel acquired by Guinness for bulk exports to the British market before being converted for use as a freighter.

The last owner of the Cambodian registered vessel was Forestry Shipping in Riga, Latvia, which has gone out of business.

In July last year, the vessel and its largely Ukranian crew were abandoned by the owners at Dundalk port.

The crew had only one days food and were left with arrears in their pay totalling €42,000. With the assistance of the International Transport Federation (ITF), an affiliate of SIPTU, they were repatriated to their home countries in November.

ITF inspector, Ken Fleming, successfully applied to the High Court for the seizure of the vessel. The proceeds of tomorrow’s auction will go towards the payment of arrears owed to the crew.

In recent weeks, equipment valued at €15,000 to €20,000 was stolen from the empty vessel at Dundalk and has yet to be recovered.

“I am hopeful that we can raise enough money at the auction to pay the crew the arrears that they are owed,” Ken Fleming said.
The rechristened MV Rachel Corrie sails today from Dundalk, Ireland, to join the Freedom Flotilla intent on running the blockade of Gaza. Israel is already warning Cyprus against allowing the humanitarian convoy to shelter in its ports, rehearsing plans to intercept, and Turkish supporters are rebuffing Israeli threats to bomb relief ships which attempt to reach Palestine. In other news, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has accepted Israel’s membership, cementing First World culpability for Israeli growth from conquest. Critics had urged Israel’s disqualification because its capitalization has been owed to the occupation and illegal appropriation of Palestinian resources, but could the OECD ultimately disown the US-European joint colonial venture?

What a coincidence that today’s date in 1949 marked the end of the siege of Berlin, when an international effort was mounted by world governments to fly relief convoys of supplies to the besieged population of Berlin. Today western governments won’t abide the expressed will of their citizens and so the people themselves are having to save the Palestinians abandoned in Gaza.

The MV Rachel Corrie has been repainted with a giant Irish flag on its side, and the words “FREE GAZA” along its top. The cargo ship retains its original IMO 6715281 for communications and tracking. Bloggers and journalists will be charting the flotilla’s progress online.

Among the participants on the Free Gaza project are Ken Fleming, Nobel Peace Prize winner; Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize winner; Denis Halliday, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq; Matthias Chang, Perdana Global Peace Organizer; Aengus.O’Snodaigh, Sinn Fein; Chris Andrews; Free Gaza Movement co-founder Greta Berlin, Caoimhe Butterly, Ewa Jasiewicz, Fintan Lane, and Niamh Moloughney.
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Arctic Sea: in re Viktor Matveev

Is Viktor Matveev alive? Most likely he is well and living in Switzerland. here

You might ask Igor Shumik, merely because he is available -in the sense that pirates have got him and he will be released. here

Let's review in simplest terms. The bad guys in the Russian military and regional entrepreneurs exported AA missiles to Iran in the Arctic Sea. That's the common story. The good guys in the Moscow establishment got them back or at least stopped the shipment. One would think that Viktor was hired by the bad guys, but maybe the good guys, or maybe he is a simple ex-Navy man who came into some money.

If you really, really want to know, ask the Federal Prosecution Investigation Committee. here

Iceberg 1: McFaul releases deck prisoners

The deck passenger prisoners were removed from the McFaul on May 27 and were being transported back to Somalia, Navy officials said. the alleged pirates, who were captured April 5 in the Arabian Sea by the McFaul, a U.S. guided missile destroyer. The McFaul apprehended the pirates after they had hijacked an Indian cargo ship and taken nine crew members hostage, Navy officials said. here more more more