Another ship freed from pirates (Update 2)

(BRUSSELS2) Another ship held by pirates, the Mv Smyrni (or Smrini), has just been released, along with the MV Royal Grace (see also: A liberated Emirati ship. Spanish sailors to the rescue). Indian Minister of Maritime Transport, K. Vasan announced it yesterday (Saturday) to the Indian press, as reported by the Times of India. The 11 Indian crew members will be repatriated home, he said. The ship had a crew of 26 on board, including 11 Indians and 8 Filipinos. Even if the circumstances of the release have not been specified, the hypothesis of the payment of a ransom seems likely.

This release was confirmed by Atalanta HQ at B2, release effective Sunday evening. The Spanish frigate 'Méndez Núñez (flagship of the European anti-piracy force) provided security for the Smyrni. THE "Méndez Núñez remained in the vicinity of the Smyrni until a private security team mounted on board a tug, the "Condor", from which the release negotiations had been conducted, took over to ensure the tanker safety », we say on the side of the Spanish navy. " Once the release was confirmed, the frigate escorted the vessel along the Somali coast to safer waters ».

This Greek tanker under the Liberian flag, operated by the company Dynacom Tankers Management, was captured in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Oman on May 10, 2012 during an attack led by a dozen pirates aboard two skiffs, supported by a mother ship. The pirates would thus only have in their possession two merchant ships (*): the MV Albedo (captured in November 2010) and the FV Naham 3 (captured in March 2012) as well as 60 sailors.

(*) Yemeni dhows are not counted in this figure