KENYA: Somali pirates hijack a Russian-owned oil tanker off the coast of Yemen and warn against rescue attempts

Record ID: 361746

  • Title: KENYA: Somali pirates hijack a Russian-owned oil tanker off the coast of Yemen and warn against rescue attempts
  • Date: 6th May 2010
  • Summary: MOMBASA, KENYA (MAY 05, 2010) (REUTERS) JOURNALISTS LOOKING ON VARIOUS OF NAVY OFFICER ON GUARD IN FRONT OF A HELICOPTER ONBOARD THE CARLSKRONA NAVY OFFICERS SERVICING A HELICOPTER NAVY OFFICER
  • Embargoed: 21st May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Reuters ID: LVA5HMKX6TMIA29YGZPSZFOGZDQ6
  • Story Text: Pirates who hijacked a Russia-owned oil tanker bound for China carrying oil worth $52 million have warned against any rescue attempt and said the MV Moscow University was headed towards the Somali coast.
    "Any attempt to rescue the ship will certainly endanger the crew. The ship will be docked at Garacad," a pirate called Abdi told Reuters.
    He said it was too early to talk about a ransom. Somali sea bandits have taken tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from hijacked vessels, with heavily laden oil tankers considered a particularly lucrative prize.
    The ship was bound for China 350 miles off the coast of Yemen with 23 Russian crew and crude oil worth $52 million on board.
    Maritime experts said the tanker had a deadweight of 106,474 tonnes and a Russian shipping source said the vessel had begun its journey from Sudan with a cargo of 86,000 tonnes of oil.
    "This morning we had an attack on a Liberian flagged ship Moscow University in the north eastern horn of our operation," EU Navfor Commander Rear Admiral Jan Thornqvist told reporters in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.
    "The crew members locked themselves in the radar room. This ship has been hijacked."
    Somali sea bandits continue to outwit an international fleet of warships in the busy shipping lane linking Europe with Asia, raking in tens of millions of dollars in ransoms.
    Oil tankers are sailing further east into the Indian Ocean away from Somalia's coastline to avoid pirates who are striking deeper out at sea, shipping experts say.
    Some shipping companies are re-routing vessels around the southern tip of Africa to avoid the Suez Canal and pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, adding weeks to passage times and substantial expense. But many continue to run the gauntlet through the busy Gulf of Aden shipping lanes where warships operate convoys and have set up transit corridors.
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