>> Vietnamese shipped attacked by pirates, crew safe
The Vietnamese government is launching an investigation into an incident where a Vietnamese ship with 24 crew members was seized by Somali pirates.
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| Pirates attack ships for ransom |
The vessel, Hoang Son Sun, was overtaken by pirates on January 17. The captain of the ship took advantage of a few moments of inattentiveness to get into the cabin and send a message back to the company saying that the crew were all safe.
This came as welcome news to Hoang Son Co. Ltd, and the media, after hearing the previous account, which was simply that the ship had been overtaken and was in urgent need of rescue.
Nguyen Phuong Nga, spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry gave the news, said, on January 18, the ministry got information the about the ship from the Maritime Security Centre under Vietnam Maritime Administration.
“After being notified of the incident, on January 21, the ministry instructed Vietnam’s diplomatic agencies in Tanzania, Somalia and several countries to coordinate with the Vietnamese military as well as the European Union Naval Forces to find the ship,” she said.
Hoang Son Co. Ltd. has hired a representative in the UK to negotiate with the pirates, but their demands remain unclear. It is not uncommon in such cases that pirates wait for two or three months before making ransom demands.
The Maritime Security Centre disclosed that Hoang Son Sun was attacked the along with another ship, named Lucky Viship, of Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin).
Lucky Viship escaped capture because it was newer and better equipped, while Hoang Son Sunwas old and slower.
Hoang Son Co. Ltd. operates eight maritime vessels for international transport.
According to the EU Naval Force, the Vietnamese ship was caught in an area 836 kilometres southeast of Oman. The craft, with an all Vietnamese crew, was flying a Mongolian flag.
To date, around 30 ships, and a total of 724 hostages, are being held by Somali pirates. Last year there were 445 incidents involving pirates from that country, up 10% from 2009. 1,181 crew members were captured.
On December 25, Somali pirates also seized a Taiwanese ship, named Shiuh Fu-1 in Madagascar. The ship was manned by 26 seamen from China, Taiwan and Vietnam. To date, 12 among the crews are still being held and they have not yet been allowed to contact their families. However, Taiwan’s Jason Global Enterprise Co. Ltd, the ship manager, affirmed that the crews still safe, saying that it is trying to rescue the victims because the pirates have not yet showed any signals about how much ransom they need. |
