Hunt on for 'hijacked cargo ship'

bbc ^

[Jonny foreigner]

A search is under way for a cargo ship which may have travelled through the English Channel after apparently being hijacked by pirates.

Coastguards fear the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea, carrying 15 Russian crew, was hijacked in the Baltic sea.

UK authorities made contact before it entered the Strait of Dover but the Russian navy told the Itar-Tass agency it was now looking for the ship.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the situation was "bizarre".

Spokesman Mark Clark said: "Who would think that a hijacked ship could pass through one of the most policed and concentrated waters in the world?

"It seems strange to think that a ship which had been hijacked was passing along the channel along with ships carrying day-trippers going over to Calais for the day."

'Extremely curious'

Hijackers may have been coercing the ship's crew when they made radio contact with coastguards at Dover on 28 July, the MCA fears.

Reports say Swedish authorities were told by the Finnish shipping line operating the 3,988-tonne cargo ship that it was boarded by up to 10 armed men claiming to be anti-drugs police as it sailed through the Baltic sea on July 24. The intruders apparently left the vessel - which was carrying about £1m worth of sawn timber from Finland to Algeria - 12 hours later on an inflatable boat after damaging the Arctic Sea's communications equipment.

But on 3 August, Interpol told Dover Coastguard that the crew had been hijacked in the Baltic Sea and asked UK authorities to be alert as the vessel passed through the channel.

By then the ship had already left the Strait of Dover and was last recorded off the coast of Brest, northern France, just before 0130 BST on 30 July.

The MCA said it was told the vessel...

[Ronin]

I guess its not the Somalis this time.

That wasn’t a joke. These people may not be interested in ransom.

I hope it’s not what we are all afraid of.

[HiTech RedNeck]

You mean just sank it in open water?

[Ronin]

Maybe, but I was not precise in my first post. I meant they might not be interested in money. This could be a variation of the hijacking for terror.

[Jonny foreigner]

Maybe, but I was not precise in my first post. I meant they might not be interested in money. This could be a variation of the hijacking for terror.

---

possible. but then travel trough the straight of dover? Because if someone would have allerted the coast guard sooner it would only take minutes to spot the ship. this waters are heavily patroled by several countries navies and coast guards.

[Cindy]

Snapshot in Time:

Off [Thread] Topic:

Note: The following report is a quote:

http://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=table&tableid=70&calculations=0&Itemid=82

Live Piracy Report

The IMB Live Piracy Report displays all Piracy and Armed Robbery incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre in the last ten days. Click on the map for more details.

Incident Details: View
03.08.2009: 2245 UTC: Posn: 05:28.44N - 005:04.41E, Escravos anchorage, Nigeria.

Five robbers wearing masks armed with automatic guns in a speed boat boarded a refrigerated cargo ship at anchor. They opened fire and kidnapped five crewmembers and escaped. The remaining nine crew were not injured and they sailed the ship to open sea.

View
04.08.2009: 1310 UTC: Posn: 13:32N - 048:50E, Gulf of Aden.

Eight pirates armed with automatic guns in a 7-8 meter long, blue coloured wooden boat, approached a general cargo ship underway at 15-17 knots. They fired upon the ship and attempted to board her several times. Master raised alarm, increased speed, took evasive manoeuvres, and activated SSAS, contacted coalition warships. Pirates aborted the attempted attack due to the effective anti-piracy measures. A coalition helicopter arrived at the location at 1341 UTC.

View
03.08.2009: 1500 UTC: Posn: 13:46.50N – 050:42.30E, Gulf of Aden.

Ten heavily armed pirates in two boats fired upon a bulk carrier underway. The pirates fail to board the vessel due to evasive action taken by the master. All the crew and the ships properties are safe.

View
02.08.2009: 0130 LT: Posn: 02:51.65N – 105:06.12E, South China Sea.

Five pirates on a boat armed with knives boarded a tug boat underway. All the crew mustered and managed to chase the pirates back into their boat. One crew slightly injured.

View
27.07.2009: 2355 LT: Posn: 01:05.41S – 048:29.08W, Mosqueiro anchorage, Brazil.

Robbers armed with knives boarded a bulk carrier at anchor. They tied up the watch keepers hands and stole ship’s stores and escaped.

View
02.08.2009: 2317 UTC: Posn: 03:55.461N – 006:37.321E: Bonny river, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Heavily armed pirates in two speedboats, seven in each boat approached and opened fire on a bulk carrier at anchor. The vessel immediately heaved anchor and proceeded to open seas for safety reasons. One crew injured.

[Ronin]

Maybe, but I was not precise in my first post. I meant they might not be interested in money. This could be a variation of the hijacking for terror.

[Cindy]

Off [Thread] Topic:

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2248686/posts

Somali pirates guided by London intelligence team
Guardian News and Media Limited ^ | Monday 11 May 2009 12.59 BST | Giles Tremlett
Posted on May 11, 2009 12:02:25 PM PDT by gandalftb

The Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are directed to their targets by a “consultant” team in London, according to European military intelligence.

Pirate groups have “well-placed informers” in London who are in regular contact with control centres in Somalia where decisions on which vessels to attack are made. These London-based “consultants” help the pirates select targets, providing information on the ships’ cargoes and courses.

In at least one case the pirates have remained in contact with their London informants from the hijacked ship, according to one targeted shipping company.

The pirates’ information network extends to Yemen, Dubai and the Suez canal.

This enables the more organised pirate groups to study their targets in advance, even spending several days training teams for specific hijacks. Senior pirates then join the vessel once it has been sailed close to Somalia.

Captains of attacked ships have found that pirates know everything from the layout of the vessel to its ports of call. Vessels targeted as a result of this kind of intelligence included the Greek cargo ship Titan, the Turkish merchant ship Karagol and the Spanish trawler Felipe Ruano.

In each case, says the document, the pirates had full knowledge of the cargo, nationality and course of the vessel.

The national flag of a ship is also taken into account when choosing a target, with British vessels being increasingly avoided, according to the report.

European countries have set up Operation Atalanta to co-ordinate their military efforts in the area.

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...

[Jonny foreigner]

but this whole story sounds bizzare. because it took them 10 days to report to the police that the ship was hijjacked???

[Dog]

No....think it out.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The “obvious” would be it shows up again, nuclear weapon on board, and docks at its intended destination and blooie.

Except having disappeared, its reappearance would arouse all sorts of suspicion, and I doubt it would be allowed to get anywhere near land.

[Jonny foreigner]

a short video reporting about this ship.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8196583.stm

this is really strange because how in this world can someone hijjack a ship and nobody stops them in this part of the world?

[Dog]

Easy to paint a new name on the side of a ship while at sea.

[doodad]

So did they get off the boat 12 hours later or not? That is confusing me.

[Jonny foreigner]

yeah this whole story is confusing. from the report “12 hours later on an inflatable boat after damaging the Arctic Sea’s communications equipment. “ so if they left the boat and damaged the communication why did the ship not just enter the next port? and if not how did the coast guard made contact to the ship if the communication has been damaged? there are a lot of questions.

[bgill]

Just like schools, ships might as well post signs there are no guns aboard and bad guys are free to kill and take what they wish.

[Tainan]

Ship hijack ping - passed through the English Channel....maybe.

[Vanders9]

It is extremely curious. What are they trying to rob? The ship may have millions of dollars worth of timber but that is not exactly the most portable of loot!

[Vanders9]

If the authorities dont know that it is hijacked, why would they stop it? If a hijacker has a gun to the masters head, he’s going to say “Everything is fine” when the Dover coastguard hail him.

[Jonny foreigner]

If the authorities dont know that it is hijacked, why would they stop it? If a hijacker has a gun to the masters head, he’s going to say “Everything is fine” when the Dover coastguard hail him.

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correct the coast guard would do nothing (there are hundrets of ships passing the straight ove Dover each day).
But this story is absolutely confusing because if this has been the case the how did interpol knew that the ship was even hijjacked? How could they know if not someone would not have reported it? and then again if someone has known why it took them 10 days to report the incident? i mean this are not somali waters this is the coast line of Europe
they would have found the ship within minutes if someone would have allerted the coast guards. (it was last spotted by an air patrol somewhere near Portugal and then just dissapeared). just a “wierd” theory. How about there was no hijjacking at all and it was faked because the crew from russia desidet that they just sell the ship and the cargo somewhere in africa?