The 15 kidnapped crew members of the 'Davide B' have been released by pirates off the West African coast on April 14. They were taken hostage off the coast of Benin on March 11. According to the Dutch manager, shipping company De Poli Tankers, they were "in relatively good condition given the difficult circumstances in which they have been in recent weeks". Chiara de Poli, director of De Poli Tankers in Barendrecht, said he was relieved and delighted that the crew members can safely return to their families in Eastern Europe and the Philippines. "We admire our crew for their courage during this time and thank their families for their patience and resilience at a time of great uncertainty." The hostages, Philippines, Latvians, a Russian and a Lithuanian, have most likely been held in a pirate camp in Nigeria. It was unknown whether a ransom has been paid. The 'Davide B.' had sailed from Riga to the Nigerian port of Lagos to unload lubricating oil. The ship had agreed to a private escort with armed guards 200 nautical miles off the coast of Nigeria. However, the pirates struck just a little earlier 210 nautical miles off the coast, with the 21 crew taking refuge in the citadel. They called from there for help, but the escort ship arrived too late. The pirates broke open the citadel and took, among other things, all the officers with them. The six crew members who remained on the ship were unable to operate the tanker themselves. Locally hired officers sailed the 'Davide B.', accompanied by a private escort, to Ghana. This week, the ship will unload her cargo in Lagos with a new crew.
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PANTAZIS L
On April 11, 2021, at about 1.15 a.m., when the 'Pantazis L' was underway about 7,6 miles Northwest of Tanjung Pergam, Pulau Bintan, four perpetrators were sighted in the engine room. The alarm was raised and the crew mustered. A search on board the ship was conducted. At 2.55 a.m., the master updated the Singapore Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) that the search on board was completed with no further sighting of the perpetrators. The master reported that some engine spares were stolen. All crew were safe and accounted for. No assistance was required and the ship continued with her voyage from San Francisco du Sol to Ba Yu Quan with an ETA as of Aril 21.
RHL JULIA
The 'RHL Julia' has completed its cargo discharge on April 11. The vessel left Chittagong waters and headed to Singapore on April 12 without any temporary repair upon completion of all customs with an ETA as of April 17. The 'Aisha Sarwar' meanwhile has completed its temporary repair works and has sailed towards Mongla Port on April 9 with remaining 22.000 tonnes of cargo on board for the final discharge. She dropped anchor in pos. 22° 20.51' N 089° 38.03' E on April 13 at 5 a. m.
TRINA OLDENDORFF
Four robbers armed with knives entered into the engine room of the 'Trina Oldendorff' in the Singapore Strait in position 01 16 30.0N, 104 15 06.0E, on April 7, 2021, at 5.45 p.m. The duty motorman saw the robbers, who pushed and hit the motorman on the head before escaping. The alarm was raised, the crew mustered and a search was carried out. Nothing was reported stolen. The ship was enroute from Ngqura to Qinzhou with an ETA as of April 11.
AGROS
At least three workers suffered burn injuries in an explosion while working aboard the 'Agros' at the shipbreaking yard Jamuna Shipbreakers located at the Shitalpur area in Chattogram on April 11, 2021. The accident occurred while the workers were cutting pipes of the tanker. The injured workers were Pilot Hossen (22), Abdus Samad (40) and Md Jihad (18), two fitter workers and one cutter worker from Negassor, Kurigram district, and Sonaichori union of Sitakunda. All were taken to the Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) with burn injuries around 1:30 a.m. They were admitted to the burn unit of the CMCH. The injured have burn injuries ranging from 20 to 30 percent. They also seemed to have inhaled smoke from the fire. The supervisors sent the workers to cut it without proper safety gear like anti-fire resistant glass, gloves and jacket,