The crew of the Spar Rigel bulk carrier have been rescued from their vessel after it was attacked by pirates off Nigeria. The crew of the Norwegian flagged vessel locked themselves in the ship’s citadel and called for help, which was given by security forces.
The pirates who attacked the vessel on Tuesday abandoned ship after looting as much as they could.
“The crew, following the best management practices, locked themselves into the citadel – safe room – on board. The naval forces in the region were alerted and the vessel is now free of pirates and all the crew members are reportedly safe,” the Indian Shipping Ministry said. The crew is comprised of 20 Indians and one Ukrainian.
The 58 000 deadweight-ton Spar Rigel, built in 2010, is owned by Norway-based Spar Shipping AS.
Indian officials said pirates released the Savina Caylyn, an Italian-flag oil tanker, and its 17 Indian crew members on December 22 after 11 months of captivity. The tanker had been on its way from Marsa Bashayer, Sudan, to Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, with a cargo of crude oil when it was seized on February 8, 2011, about 500 miles west of India. Media reports suggest the ship’s owner paid a ransom of US$11.5 million to secure its release.
The Indian Ministry of Shipping reported that another 36 Indians remain aboard four hijacked ships. The MV Iceberg-1 of Panama was hijacked on March 3, 2010 with six Indians on board, while the MT Fairchem Bogey of Marshall Islands, hijacked on August 20, 2011, has 21 Indians amongst its crew. The MV Al Bedo of Malaysia (hijacked on November 26, 2010) has two Indian crewmembers and the MT Enrico Ievoli of Italy, hijacked on December 27, 2011, has seven Indian crewmembers.
In addition, another seven Indian crewmembers from the MV Asphalt Venture are being held hostage on land.
According to the European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor), there are currently around 200 seafarers being held hostage in Somalia after their vessels were pirated in the Indian Ocean.
Since the start of the EU Navfor counter-piracy mission in December 2008, a total of 2 317 merchant seamen have been held hostage for an average of nearly 5 months. The longest period in captivity is 19 months for the 24 crew members of the M/V Iceberg-1, who are still being held.
It is estimated that at least 60 merchant seamen have died as a result of their captivity in the hands of the pirates and many more have suffered torture and abuse. 49 of the 200 hostages are held without the collateral of a ship, following the ship sinking or being abandoned which means that their future is less clear as their value is seen as less than that of a ship.
Additionally, a recent tactic of the criminal gangs has been to agree to the ransom payment for the return of ship and crew and then hold back some of the crew when the ship is released in order to use them to negotiate for the release of convicted Somali pirates from the home country of the detained crew members. Currently four South Korean and seven Indian crew members from the M/V Gemini and the MV Asphalt Venture are held following the release of the ships.
The EU Navfor reports that Somali pirates obtained a record US$135 million in ransoms last year, while in the past year their income was US$80 million. In 2007 pirates demanded about US$600 000 in ransom for a captured ship, and in 2011 this sum has grown up to US$4.6 million.
Around two dozen ships patrol for pirates, but attacks rose by 15% last year. However, attacks are becoming less successful, according to the EU Navfor, with one out of four attacks effective in 2010, but only one in fourteen was successful last year.