Pirates release St James Park after two other tankers are hijacked

14 May 2010 11:07  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)-- Pirates holding the chemical tanker St James Park off the coast of Somalia released it on Friday after the payment of an unspecified ransom, the EU naval force (EU NAVFOR) monitoring the region said.

The UK-flagged tanker was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on 28 December as it was carrying a 10,000-tonne cargo of ethylene dichloride from Spain to Thailand.

EU NAVFOR Somalia said the vessel and its 26 crew members were again safely under way.

Two other chemical tankers were hijacked earlier this week in the same region.

The MV Panega, a Bulgarian-flagged ship of 5,848 deadweight tonnes (dwt) was attacked by pirates on Tuesday, 100 nautical miles east of Aden, Yemen, during a voyage from the Red Sea to India, the EU NAVFOR said.

There has been no communication from the vessel’s 15 Bulgarian crew members since the incident, Bulgarian media said. The ship was to be scrapped in India and was not thought to be carrying a cargo.

The German-flagged Marida Marguerite was boarded by pirates on 8 May, 120 miles south of Salalah, Oman, the EU NAVFOR said.

The 13,000 dwt tanker and 22 crew members were believed to be en route from India to Belgium with an unspecified chemical cargo.

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By: James Mills
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