Latest Somali pirate attacks foiled by crew safe rooms

THE Antigua-flagged MCL Bremen and a Turkish-flagged freighter MV 26 Agustos foiled separate attempts in the Indian Ocean to board vessels by locking themselves into secure rooms until the pirates took flight.

The German ship owner of MCL Bremen notified that its crew of German national, captain, three Ukrainians, a Russian officer and seven Filipinos, in a secret place following an attack some 950 nautical miles from the coast were EU navies patrol off the coast of Somali.

The German-owner Schepers shipping company thanked the Danish frigate who came to the rescue. "We can only send congratulations to our captain and his crew for executing excellent security procedures," it said in a report from a maritime pilot's blog Safe Seas.

The following day MV 26 Agustos crew, en route from Romania to Bangladesh, were able to take control of the engine room and call for help when attacked 150 nautical miles (about 270 kilometres) north-east of the Yemeni island of Socotra on leaving the Gulf of Aden.

"This morning (Sunday), a NATO patrol reached the ship and started communicating with it. It was established that the boat was secure and its crew in good health," said the rescue team in a statement following the dispatch of a helicopter and the destroyer USS Shoup.

According to latest research by Kenya-based Ecoterra International group who tracks pirate activity in Somali waters pirates are holding 30 vessels and more than 500 sailors in total.
(Source:www.schednet.com)