Cement carrier repels pirate attack in Gulf of Aden
A VESSEL protected by armed guards has successfully fought off an armed attack in the Gulf of Aden, according to the owner.
The 9,147 dwt NACC Valbella bulk cement carrier was headed from the Suez Canal to Cebu, in the Philippines, when the incident occurred on the evening of January 21.
It was attacked 90 miles southeast of the Yemeni port of Mukalla in the Gulf of Aden, in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor, a route that merchant vessels are advised to navigate along when voyaging the Gulf of Aden.
Nova Marine Carriers, the vessel’s owner, said all the crew were unharmed.
Alexandros Theodosios Kontos, chief operating officer at security services provider LSS, whose special anti -piracy unit armed guards were onboard the Valbella, said a motherboard pulling two skiffs approached the vessel’s bow.
As the NACC Valbella got closer, the motherboard increased its speed, reducing the distance between the two.
Mr Kontos explained that when such motherboards make a bow to bow approach it is to cover the skiffs and then enable them to surround the target and facilitate boarding.
The Valbella’s guards initially fired a flare, Mr Kontos said, but the motherboard continued its approach. The guards then fired an aerial warning shot, to which the assailants responded with shots. The perpetrators fled after the guards fired a second warning shot.
While the revival of Somali piracy remains a concern, the ongoing Yemeni civil war has stoked fears of further violence spilling over into the sea, with the potential of merchant vessels becoming collateral damage or facing terrorist attack.
Mr Kontos said that while he cannot be certain that this was a piracy attack and not a terrorist attempt, terrorists do not desert their plan after a few gunshots and usually engage for much longer.
Source: Lloyd’s List
