Somali pirates hijack Turkish commercial vessel off Yemen coasts

Somali pirates seize Turkish ship in Gulf of Aden; Turkish warship races to area

A Turkish ship with 23 crew on was hijacked by Somali pirates on Wednesday and was shadowed by a Turkish warship in the Gulf of Aden, a shipping official and NATO spokesman said.

The ship was in route to Jordan carrying sulfate from Saudi Arabia, according to Omer Ozgur of Istanbul-based Horizon Shipping.

NATO spokesman Cmdr. Chris Davies said the Turkish warship Gediz had seen at least four pirates on the deck of the ship, but others may have been out of sight.

The pirates first surrounded the Horizon-1 in speed boats and then boarded the ship.

With the pirates aboard, the ship is continuing on its course with Turkey's TCG Gediz frigate following.

The ship was taken in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor, "which is not good news because that's where the ships are meant to be safer," Davies said. Warships patrol the corridor, where ships are encouraged to travel in groups to help prevent attack.

Attacks in the corridor are rare, and a Turkish warship on escort duty was diverted to the scene shortly after the Horizon-1 sounded the alarm. But most navies will not intervene after pirates are onboard a ship for fear of harming the hostages.

The Yemeni naval forces could foil four hijacking attempts by the Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea since the beginning of July 2009 the latest of which was thwarting an attempt to hijack a Yemeni oil tanker near Bab-elmandab last Monday.

According to Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program, the details of the vessels hijacked and still under control of the Somali pirates are as follows:

MASINDRA 7: Seized on Dec. 16, 2008. The Malaysian-owned tugboat, was seized with a barge off the Yemeni coast. The tug has 11 Indonesian crew.

 

SERENITY: The catamaran sailing for Madagascar from the Seychelles with three people aboard, was seized in March 2009.

 

INDIAN OCEAN EXPLORER: Seized March 2009. The 35-metre boat was built in Hamburg as an oceanographic research vessel. It accommodates about 12 passengers. Pirates have freed the seven crew.

HANSA STAVANGER: Seized April 4, 2009. The 20,000-tonne German container vessel was captured about 400 miles off the southern Somali port of Kismayu, between the Seychelles and Kenya. The vessel had a German captain and three Russians, two Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos on board.

WIN FAR 161: Taiwanese tuna boat, seized April 6, 2009.

SAMARA AHMED: Seized April 10, 2009. The Egyptian fishing vessel was detained with 16 crew.

MOMTAZ 1: Seized April 10, 2009. The Egyptian fishing vessel was detained with 18 crew.

BUCCANEER: Seized April 11, 2009. The Italian tugboat, owned by Micoperi Marine Contractors, was carrying 10 Italians, five Romanians and a Croatian, and was seized towing two barges while travelling westbound through the Gulf of Aden.

IRENE E.M.: Seized April 14, 2009. The St. Vincent and the Grenadines-flagged Greek-owned bulk carrier was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. Its Filipino crew of 22 was unharmed.

ARIANA: Seized May 2, 2009. The Ariana was seized north of Madagascar en route to the Middle East from Brazil. The 24-strong Ukrainian crew were said to be unhurt. The ship, flying a Maltese flag, belongs to All Oceans shipping in Greece. A Ukrainian ship was hijacked on the same day in the Indian Ocean with a cargo including U.N. vehicles. Maritime officials were unable to confirm this seizure.

VICTORIA: Seized on May 5, 2009. The Antigua and Barbuda- flagged cargo vessel was hijacked by eight pirates in the Gulf of Aden on its way to the port of Jeddah. The 146-metre ship had a crew of 10.

CHARELLE: Seized on June 12, 2009. The 2,800-tonne cargo ship carrying about nine crew, was attacked 60 miles south of Oman. Lloyds reported the vessel was owned by shipping firm Tarmstedt International.

HORIZON-1: Seized on July 8, 2009. The 34,173 dwt bulk carrier, believed to be carrying sulphate, was hijacked with 23 Turkish crew aboard.

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