Hijacked chemical tanker, Fairchem Bogey arrives off the Somali coast.
The Marshall Islands flagged chemical oil product tanker, MT Fairchem Bogey, has safely anchored off Garacad in Somalia's Mudug region after it was hijacked by Somalia pirates on August 20, near Oman's port of Salalah.
Sources within pirates circles told our partner site, Somalia Report , that all 21 crew members of the vessel are unhurt and they are awaiting the arrival of a negotiator for talks with pirates.
All crew members of the 25,390dwt tanker are being kept in the wheelhouse, but have been allowed to call relatives and have been provided with food, according to the sources.  |
Chemical tanker FAIRCHEM BOGEY
(Source: Vesseltracker.com) |
The pirates have also allowed the master of the vessel to contact the Mumbai-based crewing company, Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, but the company has not yet established direct contact with the captors of the vessel. When hijacked, MT Fairchem Bogey was at an anchorage within the Salalah port limits waiting for berthing instructions from the port authorities after discharging at Al Jubail.
She had armed guards on board when she sailed through the Gulf of Aden on the way to unload at the Saudi port of Al Jubail on August 18, but was unprotected when she was taken by armed pirates on August 20 after dropping the security team off in Oman.
Sources state that a $10 million ransom is to be demanded as the pirate's negotiator initiates contact with the management company response team. The priority is the safety and return of the crew.
Other Attacks
The Saudi Arabia flagged chemical/oil product tanker, MT Al Balad, also came under pirate attack on August 21 while underway in position 16:09N - 053:36E, approximately 56nm SSW of Salalah and 50nm SSW of hijack (20 Aug) position of Fairchem Bogey, off Salalah. Pirates chased and fired upon the ship. The Master raised the alarm, increased speed and evasive manoeuvres were carried out. The pirates aborted the attack after several attempts to board as a consequence of evasive manoeuvres. The vessel avoided being hijacked. A mothership was reported to have been sighted in the vicinity.
The Liberia-flagged, Greek owned container ship, MSC Namibia II, while underway in position 13:08N - 049:11E on August 23 some 100nm south of Mukalla, Yemen, was attacked by five armed pirates in a white-coloured skiff. The ship was chased and fired upon by the pirates, however. the Master raised the alarm, increased speed, took evasive manoeuvres and contacted a warship for assistance. Pirates aborted after chasing the ship for 20 minutes. The vessel managed to evade the pirate attack.
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