News

Indian authorities have entered into talks on the release of the 19 crew members who were kidnapped on Dec 3 from the 'Nave Constellation' off Nigeria. The Indian Foreign Service was in contact with the pirates. The father of the captain of the ship, who was among the kidnapped, has assisted the Foreign Service in the negotiations. The ship usually was underway with armed guards when it sails to Nigeria, but that was not the case this time..After the attack, the seven remaining crew members on the fully loaded tanker were asked to sail the ship to a safe place and moored off Bonny in pos. 02° 3.34' N 004° 24. The tanker had left the Bonny Offshore Terminal fully loaded with crude oil before the attack. It was the fourth time this year that pirates have been successful in launching an attack and capturing crew members in this position.

The 'Faye' was boarded by five perpetrators armed with two long knives 4.4 miles south southeast of Tanjung Bulat in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Singapore Strait, on Nov 23, 2019. They were sighted in the engine room. The crew immediately raised alarm and the perpetrators escaped. The crew followed up with search for any missing items and perpetrators onboard. The master later confirmed that there were no perpetrators onboard. He reported the incident to Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS). The ship resumed the voyage to Incheon with an ETA as of Dec 3.

The 'Nave Constellation' was raided by armed men on Dec 3, 2019, and 19 crew members were kidnapped, including eighteen Indian nationals and one Turkish national. The attack on the tanker took place 66 miles south of Bonny Offshore Terminal, and 24 nautical miles east of the Egina FPSO. The vessel was laden and outbound from the Bonny Offshore Terminal, underway at approximately 13.3 knots. It was not under escort at the time of the attack. Seven crew members remained on board and were instructed to take the tanker to a safe position to await the arrival of a security vessel and other support craft.

Pirates boarded a barge being towed by the 'Harbour Libra' in the early morning hof Nov 24, 2019, while the vessel was transiting off the coast of Indonesia. The incident occurred at 03:30 a.m. 2,2 miles northwest of Pulau Nongsa, Indonesia, in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Singapore Strait. The two pirates were seen boarding the barge that was loaded with containers. The crew onboard the tug saw the boarding party and raised alarm, at which point the pirates fled from the barge. Some twist locks and ropes had been stolen during the attack. The Master of the tug reported the incident to the Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS). The vessel resumed the voyage to Port Sibu, Sarawak.

The 'Kmax Evdokia' was boarded by five perpetrators on Nov 27, 2019, in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Singapore Strait. They grabbed the duty oiler and pointed a knife at him. Nothing was reported stolen.