After more than 10 months of being confined, an Italian oil tanker was released by Somali pirates.
The 105,000-ton tanker, Savina Caylyn, owned by Naples shipping company Fratelli D’Amato, was hijacked on February 8 after five pirates aboard a skiff opened fire on it with rocket launchers and submachine guns near the Yemeni island of Socotra. The tanker was on its way from Sudan to Malaysia and was carrying a load of crude oil for the Arcadia commodities trading company.
According to the Nairobi-based Somalia Report website, a ransom of $11.5 million (8.8 million euros) had been paid however the foreign ministry denied it had paid any money.
In October, the Italian government signed a protocol with shipowners’ association Confitarma allowing the presence of military forces or private guards on board merchant vessels, however it has not been enforced yet.
Britain, France, Greece and Spain have also undertaken legal steps to allow armed guards to board certain vessels.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, December 22, 2011; Image: EU Navfor