MV BELUGA NOMINATION declared as hijacked by pirates after days of uncertainty
On the afternoon of 22 January 2011, the MV BELUGA NOMINATION was attacked by a skiff with an unknown number of pirates on board. Small arms were used against the vessel during the attack, which took place in the Indian Ocean in position 0145N 05635E, approximately 390NM North of the Seychelles. MV BELUGA NOMINATION is an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged, German-owned, general cargo vessel which was on passage to Port Victoria in the Seychelles when it came under attack.
To date, no further information on the condition of the crew of 12 (Polish Master, 7 Filipinos, 2 Russians and 2 Ukrainians) has been made known, although the Ukranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated the case is under special control of their consular service and are engaging with the German operator to follow the development of the situation. EUNAVFOR is also monitoring the situation.
MV BELUGA NOMINATION was stated as being registered with MSC(HOA) and having reported to UKMTO. When the pirates boarded the vessel, the crew went into a citadel, where they remained for 2 days, which the pirates were eventually able to breach and enter.
It should be stressed that the use of a citadel by crew members does not guarantee a military response. The coalition forces' warships may not be in the vicinity of a pirate attack, subsequently, it is emphasised that seafarers can greatly reduce their chances of being pirated if they follow precautions as recommended in the Best Management Practices, increasing speed and carrying out evasive manoeuvres is a proven deterrent to piracy attacks.
Vessels are advised to exercise extreme caution when navigating in the vicinity of the reported position of any attack and maintain maximum CPA with any ship acting suspiciously.
MV BELUGA NOMINATION (Source: gCaptain)
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Any suspicious activity should be reported to UKMTO in Dubai in the first instance (UKMTO@eim.ae or Telephone+971 50 552 3215) and on entering the UKMTO Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA) bound by Suez,78E and 10S.
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