Shipping News. Latest and important seaman and shipping news

Part of the crew members released after ransom payment.

8:43 AM 8/7/2012.

Crew members from the ship M/V Albedo were kept as captives by the Somali pirates more than 20 months after the Malaysian owned ship was attacked and hijacked by the Somali pirates on November 26, 2010 while it was sailing west of the Maldives on the Indian Ocean. The ship was heading to Mombasa port from port Jabel Ali with a cargo of containers.

A group of Pakistan people and Pakistani families raised nearly US$1.1 million for the release of the Pakistani crew members from the merchant ship MV Albino and it was sent to the pirates through the negotiators. After the ransom payment 7 Pakistani crew members were released by the pirates and they have reached Pakistan through Dubai.

Remaining ship sailors, who includes seven Sri Lankans, six Bangladeshis and one each from India and Iran, are remaining in captivity.

Some group in Sri Lanka is working to collect money for the release of those Sri Lanka crew members from the ship M/V Albedo.

Fishing boats and crews were released after capturing the Somali pirates in the sea.

On April 12th 2012 a Danish warship Absalon, which is serving in the NATO's counter-piracy mission Ocean Shield stopped a Somali mother ship which used to give support for the pirates to attack merchant vessels on the sea. When they board the pirate mother ship a fishing boat that was captured by the Somali pirates and when the navy checked the boat, there were 3 Iranians and 9 Pakistani people as hostages and 16 numbers of Somali pirates.

The Iranians and the Pakistanis are freed and the 16 Somali pirates are being held in the Danish navy ship waiting to be hand over to any country which likes to prosecute them for the piracy.

Spanish Navy rescued Sri Lanka fishermen from Somali pirates.

20th April 2012.

Spanish battleship "Infanta Elena" in the coastal belt 50 kilometers off the African country Tanzania when they intercepted a Somali pirate mother ship found out that there were 6 number of Sri Lanka fishermen who were captured by the Somali pirates eight months before. Also in the boat were 7 Somali pirates who had earlier demanded US$ 6 million to release the boat and the fishermen from the boat's owner.

The boat owner had declined to pay the money as he too doesn't have so much of large amount.

Now the happy fishermen had talk to their relatives in Srilanka from the Spanish war ship and had requested their relatives to make arrangements to get them back hoe from there. Mean while the Spanish Navy had provided water and food for the fishing crew and the Somali pirates.

MV-Leila Freed By Somali Pirates.

MV-Leila the merchant ship was held in waters Puntland from the day it was captured till it was released by the money greedy Somali pirates who grab money at the risk of the innocent seaman's life. In many instances these pirates used to torture their captured mariners on board their vessels.

M/V Leila a Panama flagged ship was captured by the Somali pirates near to Oman in the month of February 2012. At the time of the capture the vessel was carrying general goods and motor vehicles.

The ship's release was confirmed by the port authorities of Berbera and they expect the ship to reach their port soon. Also in the unofficial news there are reports that a ransom of US$ 250,000 had been paid to the Somali pirates for to release the Panamanian vessel M/V Leila.

In the mean time there are reports that some people from the former Libyan forces had sold so much of arms to Somali pirates at low price as they need money for them to live as there is no income for them. This had made the international shipping community to worry much about the safety of the ship fleet passing the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

Somali Pirates hijack ship in Maldives.

Somali pirates who had invested lot of money in to their operation as they had got large amount of money from the ransom money paid to them are now with their own larger ships, sophisticated arms and latest technology to operate in any part of the world. Currently they are expected to holding 40 larger ships for ransom money along with the ship crew members.

This week they had attacked and captured an Iranian vessel off the north-western Hoarafush island in the Maldives. This is the first time such an active took place in this region of Maldives territory. The vessel M/V. Eglantine manned with 23 crew members on board did send one Global Maritime Distress Signal and it was picked up by the Maldivian authority.

Already they had sent their fast acting crafts to the hijacked spot and are seeking support from Indian Navy.

6 months back the Maldivian authorities had arrested around 37 Somali pirates when they were stranded and drifting in their seas where the Maldives Islands are nearly 3,000 km from the coast of Somalia.