Pirates were thwarted in an attempt to capture a German operated multi-purpose vessel when the crew locked themselves in the ship's panic room.
In the early hours of Sunday morning (24 October), the Beluga Shipping-owned 12,744dwt vessel, Beluga Fortune, reported to the EU Navy Force (EU Navfor) that it was under attack from pirates 1,390km off the Somali coast line.
The vessel Captain reported the pirates were on board and that the crew had locked themselves in the ship's 'citadel' or panic room.
The crew had also disabled the ship's main engine, cut the fuel supply and blocked the bridge.
In the afternoon, the EU Navfor Maritime Patrol Aircraft was despatched to the area of the incident and reported sighting individuals on board, but was unable to establish contact with the crew.
The warship HMS Montrose headed towards the vessel as it was the closest ship from the scene of attack.
When the pirates saw the warship approach yesterday (25 October), they set fire to part of the vessel¡¯s superstructure and immediately abandoned the ship.
"A team of Royal Marines from HMS Montrose boarded the vessel this afternoon and released them from the safe room," explained NATO yesterday. "None of the crew were injured," it added.
Beluga Shipping said: "All involved forces have acted very target-oriented and, in combination with the excellent behavior of our colleagues on board, made such a swift and happy ending of the capture possible."
Along with the Beluga Fortune, the merchant vessel York, a Singapore-flagged tanker, was also attacked by pirates over the weekend.
The vessel was captured on 23 October by two skiffs, approximately 92km East of Mombasa.
The Turkish warship Gaziantep, operating under the Combined Maritime Forces launched her helicopter to investigate. The helicopter observed armed pirates on board the vessel.
The 5,000dwt York has a crew of 17, of which one is German, two are Ukrainians and 14 are Filipinos.
Including the York, Somali pirates are currently holding 19 vessels with 428 hostages. |
