Pirates release tanker with 17 Pinoy seafarers

After nearly two months of using it as a pirate mother ship, pirates have released an oil tanker with 17 Filipino seafarers on board. The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) said the crew members of the “MV Irene SL" are in good health after Somali pirates released the sip. “INTERTANKO is delighted that the Irene SL has been released by the Somali pirates, who hijacked the tanker with (two-million) barrel oil cargo in February, and that Master, officers and crew are in good health after 58 days in captivity – especially after 12 days being used as a pirate mother ship," it said in a statement on its website Saturday (Manila time). At the time, INTERTANKO Managing Director Joe Angelo noted the Irene SL's hijacking marked a significant shift in Somali piracy, taking the crisis into the middle of the main sea lanes coming from the Middle East Gulf. He noted the tanker’s crude oil cargo represented 20 percent of total US daily crude oil imports, or five percent of total daily world seaborne oil supply. An earlier report by the European Union Naval Task Force Somalia (EU-NAVFOR) said the MV Irene SL was pirated last Feb. 9 about 350 nautical miles southeast of Muscat in the North Arabian Sea. EU-NAVFOR said the 319,247-ton Greek-flagged MV Irene SL was on its way to Suez from Fujairah when it was attacked. “She has a crew of 25 (seven Greek, one Georgian and 17 Filipinos)," the EU-NAVFOR bulletin said. It said the tanker was not registered with the Maritime Security Centre-Horn of Africa (MSC-HOA), but was reporting to the United Kingdom Maritime Trading Operations (UK-MTO). The development came after pirates seized a cargo ship with at least six Filipino seafarers off Oman. The EU-NAVFOR said at least 10 pirates boarded the general cargo ship “MV Susan K" some 35 nautical miles from the Omani coastline. “The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged and German-owned vessel was on its way to Port Sudan (Sudan) from Mumbai (India) when it was attacked. The MV SUSAN K has a crew of 10 (4 Ukraine and 6 Filipinos). There is no further information about the crew at present," it said. Enough is enough INTERTANKO said seafarers are today closer than ever before to saying enough is enough. “These latest developments in pirate tactics include the systematic torture of seafarer hostages, leading in some cases to execution/murder. The systematic use of pirate motherships means that the Somali pirates’ outreach now extends right across the Indian Ocean. No ship in this area is safe from the risk of pirate attack. There is no alternative route any more for the 17 million barrels of oil a day that come out of the Gulf – 40% of the world’s oil supplies have to pass through the Indian Ocean," it said. “The seafarers’ role in keeping world trade flowing in this area goes largely unrecognized by governments," says INTERTANKO’s Chairman Capt. Graham Westgarth. “Imagine if a 747 jumbo jet had been hijacked with 400 people on board held for millions of dollars in ransom and that hundreds of other planes had been attacked week in week out over the last year in unsuccessful hijacking attempts. Would there be government action?" INTERTANKO said there is little public outcry and therefore relatively little effort by national governments around the world to stop Somali pirates. National governments hold the key to resolving this crisis, but Westgarth said they seem unwilling to face reality and act. He said their brief to the naval forces has, in most cases, been simply to deter and disrupt unless it involves a national interest. “Even when caught red handed by naval forces, 80% of pirates are released to attack again. Why? Because the world’s politicians don’t realize the severity of this critical situation. How many ships need to be attacked? How many hostages taken, tortured and killed? How much is enough for national governments to take real action?" the group said. — LBG, GMA News