Captors of Thai Union 3 wait for negotiator – no demands so far

05.11.2009
Pirates hijacked Thai vessel Thai Union 3 with 23 Russians aboard are waiting for "skilled negotiator" to begin talks with operator Siam Fishing about vessel and crew release. That was said to Dmitry Shport, the company's fleet manager by one of pirates in phone talk Nov 4, reports RIA Novosti.

Phone comm was established with the vessel which is currently staying at Somali port Haradhere. All crewmembers are well, the tunaboat is afloat. The captors have not made any demands yet. Walking around the vessel is curtailed for the crew, but access to primary sections like pilot motor and generator providing normal operation of the ship is allowed while standing. Pirates are obliged to keep hostages in normal conditions until negotiator arrives, added Mr. Shport having talked with chief mate.

Thai tunaboat Thai Union 3 was hijacked on Oct 29 in Indian Ocean 370 km north Seychelles. There are 23 Russians aboard, all are residents of Kaliningrad. Apart of them, there are 2 Filipinos and 2 Ghanaians among the crew.

As of October 20, there were 324 pirate assaults on civil vessels over the world in 2009. Pirates hijacked 37 ships and held 639 hostages. During the same period of 2008, these figures were 194, 36 and 631 correspondingly.

174 out of 324 pirate attacks were mounted in the Gulf of Aden and near Somali east coast. 35 vessels were captured and 587 crewmembers were held hostages there.

About 20 000 ships yearly pass through the Gulf of Aden.

That was the information of International Maritime Bureau, Lloyd's Register and Ecoterra International.

Reuters news agency cites following list of ships currently held captive by Somali pirates.

Win Far 161. Thai tunaboat. Hijacked on Apr 6, 2009.

Ariana. Malta-flagged Greek dry cargo vessel sailing from Brazil to Iran was hijacked on May 2, 2009 north Madagascar. 24-men Ukrainian crew is on board. The ship belongs to Greek operator Alloceans Shipping.

Charelle. Cargo vessel with 9 men crew. Captured on June 12, 2009 south Oman.

Alakrana. Spanish fishing vessel with 36 crewmembers was hijacked on Oct 2, 2009 400 marine miles northeast Mahe Island, Seychelles.

Kota Wajar. Container carrier with 21-men crew sailing from Singapore to Kenyan port Mombasa was captured 300 marine miles north Seychelles on Oct 15, 2009.

De Xin Hai. Ro-ro ship with 25-men Chinese crew and cargo of coal was hijacked on Oct 19, 2009 in Indian Ocean 550 marine miles northeast Seychelles. Shipowner is Qingdao Ocean Shipping Co.

Al Khaliq. Panama-flagged ro-ro ship with 26 crewmembers (24 are Indians) was captured 180 marine miles west Seychelles on Oct 22, 2009. Shipowner and operator is SNP Shipping (Mumbai).

Lynn Rival. Yacht with married couple from the UK was hijacked in Oct 2009. It was heading for Tanzania.

Thai Union 3. Tunaboat with 27 crewmembers (23 are Russians) was captured 200 marine miles north Seychelles on Oct 29, 2009.

Somalian government will eliminate piracy by 2011 thanks to a number of civil and military initiatives including providing legal employment for pirates, as Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, Somali Prime Minister recently said.

Source: RusNavy.com, photo: Somali pirates (vanityfair.com)