Bulk Carrier Taken

Yet another vessel is believed to have fallen into the hands of Somali pirates. The bulk carrier ‘Sinin’ was believed to have been pirated on the afternoon of February 12, approximately 350 nautical miles east of Masirah, Oman, in the North Arabian Sea, according to an EUNAVFOR report.

The vessel, which has a crew of 23 (13 Iranian and 10 Indian nationals), sent out a distress signal, saying she was under attack, late afternoon on Saturday to which an aircraft from the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) responded.

The aircraft photographed two suspected pirate skiffs on board the vessel. There has been no communication with the ship since the distress signal was sent and the ‘Sinin’ has now changed course towards the Somali coast. EU NAVFOR has no information on the condition of the crew.

The ‘Sinin’ is a Maltese flagged and owned bulk carrier. She has a deadweight of 52,466 tonnes and was on route to Singapore from Fujairah (UAE) when she was attacked.