Maltese-flagged cargo ship released after being hijacked
July 29th, 2010 - 10:41 pm ICT by BNO NewsSOMALIA (BNO NEWS) – A Maltese-flagged merchant vessel was released on early Thursday morning after being hijacked for more than five months by Somali pirates, the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia reported.
The MV FRIGIA is a cargo ship with a deadweight of 35,000 tons and was hijacked on March 23 when it was approximately 1,000 nautical miles east of the northern Somali coastline.
MV FRIGIA has a crew of 21 members; nineteen of them are Turkish and the remaining two are Ukrainian. They were not believed to be injured during the ordeal.
The EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation ATLANTA has the task of escorting merchant vessels carrying aid from the World Food Program (WFP) and from the African Union Mission in Somalia. The operation also targets the protection of vessels from piracy.
- Somali pirates seize ship with 12 crew - Sep 25, 2010
- Somali pirates hijack two more ships, release third: source - Dec 29, 2009
- Bahamas-flagged merchant vessel escapes pirate attack - Nov 17, 2010
- Somali pirates release Panama-flagged MV VOC Daisy - Oct 19, 2010
- Somali pirates release Bulgarian-flagged chemical product tanker after four months - Sep 09, 2010
- EU NAVFOR Netherlands warship disrupts Pirate Action Group - May 08, 2010
- Malta-flagged vessel seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden - Sep 09, 2010
- Somali pirates hijack Thai cargo ship carrying 27 crew members - Dec 25, 2010
- Pirates seize vessel with 10 Indians off Oman - Feb 14, 2011
- Somali pirates hijack German-owned ship with crew of 12 - Jan 26, 2011
- Somali pirates release Greek ship, then hijack another - Jan 17, 2011
- German-owned vessel released from pirate control released - Apr 14, 2011
- Somali pirates hijack U.S.-operated container ship - Dec 11, 2010
- Somali pirates hijack German-owned ship off Oman - Dec 28, 2010
- UN chief appalled by Somali pirates' killing of Americans - Feb 23, 2011
Tags: bno, cargo ship, coastline, deadweight, european union, five months, maltese, merchant vessel, merchant vessels, mv, nautical miles, ordeal, piracy, somali pirates, somalia, thursday morning, wfp, world food program