March 26, 2009
Two more tanker hijackings
NATO reported earlier today that there have been five piracy incidents over the last 24 hours, including two tanker hijackings.
The most recent reported hijacking is that of the MT BOW ASIR taken at 0745 GMT in position 02 26' S - 048 11'E.
According to the Equasis data base, BOW ASIR is a 1982-built, 14,627 gt Bahamas-flag chemical tanker owned by Star Tankers Ltd. of the Isle of Man and managed by Norway's Salhus Shipping AS
The MT NIPAYIA was hijacked yesterday. There are 19 crew on board.
According to the Equasis data base, the ship is a Panama flagged. 5,357 gt chemical/oil products tanker managed by Lotus Shipping of Athens.
The ship is understood to have been captured 380 miles off Hobyo.
In an earlier incident noted by NATO, Somali pirates hijacked a yacht with two people on board after it left the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelless state broadcaster reported Wednesday (25 March). A government employee familiar with the case told The Associated Press that the vessel Serenity, with two crew from the Seychelles on board, disappeared after it left the islands Feb. 28 en route to Madagascar. It is unclear when the ship was seized.
There were also several unsuccessful attacks yesterday.
Yesterday at 0907 GMT, the MV EXPLORER III and the MV OCEAN EXPLORER reported that they were both being chased by two small boats. The EXPLORER III and the OCEAN EXPLORER increased speed, putting distance between them and the two small boats.
Yesterday at 2055 GMT, The MV FD GENNARO AURILIA reported a suspicious fishing boat approaching. The Master raised the alarm, increased speed and called for assistance from coalition warships. Fishing boat switched off its light and moved away.
Pirates in Somalia have seized two European tankers within twenty-four hours. In the same time frame three other vessels escaped and a yacht which disappeared after departing the Seychelles has been reported as hijacked.

Yesterday MV ''Nipayia'', a 9,000-ton tanker owned by Athens, Greece-based Lotus Shipping and flagged in Panama, was seized. The vessel has eighteen crew members from the Philippines and a captain from Russia. She was hijacked 380 miles from Hobyo.

Early today the MV ''Bow Asir'', a 23,000-ton oil and chemicals tanker, was also seized in the same area, a 750,000 square mile ocean expanse near the Gulf of Aden. The vessel is owned by the Isle of Man's Star Tankers and is managed by Norwegian firm Salhus Shipping. There are conflicting crew numbers of 23 or 27 crew on board, but it is known that five of these are Polish and the captain is Russian.

Salhus was alerted at 0729GMT by the Bahamas-flagged ship that two small boats were chasing the vessel; at 0745GMT another message said they had boarded and three hours later an email confirmed the ship had been seized. There are sixteen to eighteen pirates on board, armed with machine guns.

The Seychelles' state broadcaster reported yesterday that a small yacht from the islands is thought to have been seized. The ''Serenity'', with two people from the Seychelles on board, departed the nation on February 28 and headed into the Indian Ocean. The ship never arrived at her destination of Madagascar. Nothing has been heard from the ship since she left port.

Three other ships were also targeted in two separate failed attacks yesterday. At 0907GMT MV ''Explorer III'' and MV ''Ocean Explorer'' stated that two small boats were chasing them. The ships were able to outrun the pirates. Later, at 2055GMT, the MV ''FD Gennaro Aurilia'' increased speed after a fishing boat began to approach. The master radioed nearby warships for help, after which the boat turned off its light and retreated.