MV Free Goddess Confirmed Hijacked by Pirates
Source: Neptune Maritime Security
Following days of confusion and concern, Greek-owned MV Free Goddess has been confirmed as hijacked by pirates some 520nm Northeast of Socotra Island, Yemen, and is now transiting South towards Somalia.
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| MV Free Goddess Hijacked (Photo: Neptune Maritime Security) |
MV Free Goddess (IMO 9107045), has been successfully hijacked by Somali pirates. According to the report we received, the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier came under attack on Feb 7 in position 16.03N - 062.26E at around 1500 UTC from an unknown number of pirates.
Reports state that UKMTO received a call from the CSO of Free Goddess stating that he could not contact the vessel. The Free Goddess was en route from Adabiya, Egypt to Singapore, carrying 19,475mt of steel cable with a crew of 21 Filipinos on board. The vessel is not responding to any calls.
The last known positional data on the Free Goddess is that she has dramatically altered course and her last recorded position was 11.59N - 056.09E at 0533 UTC Feb 9, approximately 110nm south east of Socotra Island.
Trade Winds News stated the loss of the bulker to pirates comes as a heavy blow at a time when hijackings have been falling.
Experts note hijackings have fallen to a rate of one a month since last summer. This compares with the successful capture of seven ships last January alone.
The Free Goddess is one of seven handysizes in the Freeseas fleet, all of which are trading in the battered spot market. The company saw it's market value drop by close to one tenth following news of the hijack.
According to CMF, the vessel is heading towards the Somali coast.
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