Remarkable Release of Turkish Vessel in Somali Pirate Case

The pirates could not find the crew, and abandoned the ship 17-18 hours later.

MV Yasin C Courtesy: tayyib.com

(NAIROBI, Kenya ) - First reported by the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, Somali pirates have abandoned a hijacked Turkish vessel, a Turkish news agency was quoted by AP as saying.

The Dogan agency reportedly cites Fatih Kabal, an official of Bergen Shipping based in Istanbul, as saying the pirates left the MV Yasin C which was captured just this Wednesday.

Kabal said Saturday that the crew had locked themselves up in the engine room and realized that the pirates had left the ship on Friday. "Due to the attack by the pirates there are huge damages to the ship but I can confirm that no crew member is injured,” he said.

According to the news agency he said crew members, who were unharmed, took the damaged ship to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, but ECOP-marine spoke to the harbour authorities who stated that by 14:00 on Saturday the vessel was still on the High Seas and had not arrived in Mombasa.

Somali pirates have been known to give up on ships they believe have no ransom value, such as vessels owned or hired by Somali traders.

MV Yasin C was the latest piracy victim and was seized on 7 April 2010, after a prolonged attack in the Indian Ocean which started at 12h43 UTC in position 0459S 04352E - around 270nm east of Kenya. The Turkey-flagged 36,300-dwt bulk carrier was then overpowered by Somali pirates in the afternoon. It is believed that the crew had armed personnel on board, first engaging in a fire-fight with the attackers, before locking themselves in.

The Turkish-owned vessel officially carrying wheat from Ukraine to Kenya has a crew of 25 sailors - assumed to all be of Turkish nationality - and was destined for Mombasa port in Kenya. The exact crew-list has not yet been transmitted.

The ship was reportedly first commandeered towards Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast, but with the crew safe in the machine room and able to manipulate the ship movement, the pirates must have had a frustrating experience and always had to fear the arrival of a navy vessel, which without hostages they would have no means to resist.

On the other hand: While the MV Yasin C was captured, dockworkers in Mombasa harbour rumoured that "Somalis had captured another weapon ship." If this rumour was only based on the fact that the vessel had sailed from Ukraine, a country infamous for its illegal weapon exports to Africa, remains to be seen, if someone looks under the bulk-wheat it carries.

"Yasin C was abandoned yesterday. The pirates abandoned it, and I think the crew will seek aid from the navy before coming to Mombasa," Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said.

Saying "Turkish Bulk Carrier suddenly released by pirates", EU NAVFOR meanwhile confirmed that the Turkish flagged Bulk Carrier MV Yasin C has suddenly been released by pirates on the evening of 9 April.

It was reported from Task Force 508 that the pirates had left the ship and the Master was back in control. Due to some technical problems on board the ship she has been freed and is now being towed back to Mombasa by a ship from Mombasa Port Control, the statement said.

Turkey's Maritime Undersecretariat said on Saturday that the Turkish-flagged "Yasin-C" ship was back under the full control of crew members, but, "The pirates pounded the bridge and deck with automatic guns, and set some parts of the ship on fire, whereas the crew hid themselves."

The undersecretariat said the pirates could not find the crew, and abandoned the ship 17-18 hours later.

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Source: Ecoterra International (sap/ecop-marine)