History | |
---|---|
Name | Golden Hawk |
Owner | Abdirahman Bille Gurigube |
Port of registry | Panama |
Completed | 2015 |
History | |
Name | Abdullah |
Owner | Kabir Group |
Port of registry | Bangladesh |
Acquired | 2023 |
Identification | |
Notes | Hijacked in March 2024 by pirates |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Bulk carrier |
Tonnage | 32714 |
Length | 189 m (620 ft 1 in) |
Beam | 32 m (105 ft 0 in) [1] |
Crew | 23 |
MV Abdullah, originally named MV Golden Hawk, is a Bangladeshi bulk carrier.
Built in 2015, the 623-foot (190 m) vessel was acquired in late 2023 from Japanese owners. [2] It is currently owned by KSRM.
On 12 March,2024, the ship was hijacked by pirates [3] while underway, travelling from the capital of Mozambique, Maputo, to Hamriya Port in the United Arab Emirates. [4] The vessel was carrying 55,000 tonnes according to Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills, the ship's owner. [3]
All 23 members of the ship's crew were held hostage. [5] The ship had been 72 nautical miles (133 km; 83 mi) off the coast of Somalia. [6] On 14 March, a ship was deployed by the European Union as part of Operation Atalanta to shadow the cargo carrier. [7]
Some Indian media reports claimed that on 14 March, Indian Navy's INS Tarkash intercepted the hijacked ship to rescue the crew members onboard and dispatched a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft to the location. [8] Somali pirates released the hijacked ship MV Abdullah, a Bangladesh-flagged bulk carrier, and its crew of 23 early on Sunday, April 14, 2024 after a $5 million (€4.7 million) ransom was paid, which did not involve the deployed Indian Navy. [9] [10]
However, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud dismissed such media reports of the Indian Navy as "not true at all", and mentioned the government of Bangladesh's ongoing efforts to negotiate with the pirates. Another Bangladeshi official said that the ship was anchored close to the Somali coast, and "was commandeered away from its previous position to another hijacked ship which needs fuel." [11]
On 14 April, the ship along with her crew were released when the pirates claimed that they were paid a ransom of US$5,000,000. The claim was not independently confirmed, but the vessel's owner did confirm that the ship and her crew were released following negotiations. She was then escorted by two warships to the United Arab Emirates. [12]
Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel, and Somali Sea, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding places and has a long troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. It was initially a threat to international fishing vessels during the early 2000s, only to rapidly escalate and expand to international shipping during the War in Somalia (2006–2009).
There were 49 ships reported pirate attacks in the first three months of 2008, up from 41 in that period of 2007. According to the ICC International Maritime Bureau, in those attacks: "Seven crew members were taken hostage, six kidnapped, three killed and one missing – presumed dead." Up until mid-November 2008, more than 90 vessels had been attacked by pirates in the year. At the same time, with a more than 75 per cent increase since the previous year, pirates were holding 13 ships captive in the Somali ports of Eyl and Hobyo.
MV Faina was a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship operated by a Ukrainian company that sailed under a Belize flag of convenience, owned by Panama City-based Waterlux AG, and managed by Tomex Team of Odesa, Ukraine.
The MV Delight is a Hong Kong-flagged grain carrier. It was attacked and hijacked in the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Yemen in the Horn of Africa by Somali pirates on 18 November 2008 at 2 p.m. The Delight, chartered by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, was carrying a cargo of 36,000 tonnes of wheat, and was heading for Iran's Bandar Abbas port. The 25 crew members are from India (7), Pakistan (2), Philippines (7), Iran (7), Ghana (2). The ship was released on 10 January 2009.
The MT Stolt Valor was a Hong Kong-flagged ship that was hijacked while in the Designated Safety Corridor within the Gulf of Aden, approximately 38 nautical miles (70 km) away from the coast of Yemen, while heading from the United States south through the Gulf towards Asia. After the ship passed through the Suez Canal, it encountered hijackers and alerted the International Maritime Bureau. Area coalition forces arrived too late to avert the hijacking which occurred at 10:16 UTC on September 15, 2008 by Somali pirates.
The MV Yasa Neslihan is a bulk cargo ship owned and operated by the Istanbul based Turkish company YA-SA Denizcilik A.Ş., a subsidiary of YA-SA Holding A.Ş., sailing under a Marshall Islands flag of convenience. She joined company's fleet on November 14, 2005.
The MV Powerful is a Danish-flagged cargo ship owned by Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. of Greece. It was attacked with the intention of hijack by Somali pirates using assault rifles on November 11, 2008 in the Gulf of Aden off the Horn of Africa. Its capture was thwarted by the Royal Marines of the British frigate, HMS Cumberland, as well as the crew of a Russian Neustrashimy-class frigate.
The MV Iceberg 1 is a Panama-flagged roll-on/roll-off cargo ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates on March 29, 2010. It was the longest-held hijacked ship until the Puntland Maritime forces released it and 22 crew members on 23 December 2012.
Operation Ocean Shield was NATO's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA), an anti-piracy initiative in the Indian Ocean, Guardafui Channel, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. It follows the earlier Operation Allied Protector. Naval operations began on 17 August 2009 after being approved by the North Atlantic Council, the program was terminated on 15 December 2016 by NATO. Operation Ocean Shield focused on protecting the ships of Operation Allied Provider, which transported relief supplies as part of the World Food Programme's mission in the region. The initiative also helped strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states to assist in countering pirate attacks. Additionally, China, Japan and South Korea sent warships to participate in these activities.
The following lists events that happened in 2009 in Somalia.
MV OS 35 was a bulk carrier registered in Tuvalu, a flag of convenience. It was attacked by pirates near Somalia in 2017, and was beached near Gibraltar after a ship collision in 2022. The ship was disposed of afterwards.
Piracy kidnappings occur during piracy, when people are kidnapped by pirates or taken hostage. Article 1 of the United Nations International Convention against the Taking of Hostages defines a hostage-taker as "any person who seizes or detains and threatens to kill, to injure, or to continue to detain another person in order to compel a third party namely, a State, an international intergovernmental organization, a natural or Juridical person, or a group of people, to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition tor the release of the hostage commits the offense of taking of hostages ("hostage-taking") within the meaning of this convention." Kidnappers often try to obtain the largest financial reward possible in exchange for hostages, but piracy kidnappings can also be politically motivated.
2023 in piracy was marked by 120 events of maritime piracy against ships, according to the annual Piracy and Armed Robbery Report of the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB). 105 vessels were boarded, nine additional attacks attempted, two fired upon, and four vessels hijacked.
2022 in piracy resulted in 115 reports of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships to the International Maritime Bureau. 288 acts of global piracy and robbery were recorded by the MICA Centre. Piracy had substantially increased in the Gulf of Guinea; the year began with five incidents each month, through March, in the Gulf, where acts of piracy had become heightened during 2015 through 2020, while, overall, piracy incidents declined globally.
2024 in piracy included 33 reports of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships to the International Maritime Bureau during the first quarter of the year. Incidents included 24 vessels boarded, six of which experienced attempted attacks; two hijacked; and one fired upon. Crew continued to suffer violence, with 35 crew taken hostage, nine kidnapped, and one threatened during the first three months of the year.