It was reported via SomaliaReport.com that a distress call was sent from the MV Rak Afrikana stating that the vessel had a ‘hole in the hull’ and was taking on large amounts of water. Naval forces, including EU Spanish and Italian warships quickly responded. The vessel had been released by Somali pirates only a matter of hours earlier. See the earlier OCEANUSLive report here.
After an organized search and rescue mission, all crewmembers of the Rak Afrikana, were rescued and transferred to MV York, which had also been released on Thursday, March 10.
The release of MV York, was confirmed by the branch manager, Mr Bruno Gerber, of Sturrock Shipping Company, the local ship agents of MV York, and that all the crewmembers of Rak Afrikana were safely aboard York and heading towards the port of Mombasa in Kenya. Reports indicate that one of the 26 crewmembers of Rak Afrikana had died some time ago.
Mr Gerber went on to state that MV York is expected to dock in Mombasa within the next 4 to 5 days.
The Singapore-flagged, Greek-owned LPG tanker was hijacked by Somali pirates on October 23, 2010, approximately 50nm East of Mombasa whilst en route to the Seychelles. The hijack of the York had put the supply of oil in the Seychelles at an unprecedented low level.
The 17 crewmembers on MV York comprise of a German Master, 2 Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos. It is expected that the vessel will undergo major repair works and crew change once she has reached Mombasa before she can head to her destination.