Deadly Shoot-Out on Commandeered Iranian Citrus-Vessel off Somalia

Deadly Shoot-Out on Commandeered Iranian Citrus-Vessel off Somalia (ecop-marine)

A deadly shoot-out has occurred last night at around 01h00 local time on Saturday morning (UTC 22h Fri 16.April 2010) on British-managed, Bermuda-flagged reefer MV TALCA, which is owned by two members of the Iranian Fresh Fruits Importers & Exporters Union. The vessel is presently held off ILFOSHE near Kulub at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.

The serious fight among of the gang of sea-shifta loyal to different sponsors of piracy, one of whom hails from Baargaal and other elements of the pirate gang left two dead and two seriously injured, marine observers working with ECOTERRA Intl. reported. The report stated that none of the 22 crew was harmed.

Already earlier a serious dispute among the captors had broken out concerning the question if the vessel shall stay at the for pirated vessels unusual anchorage off Baargaal, wher the ship had been held at first, or proceed to the pirate stronholds of Garacad or even Harardheere. And in an operation by the Puntland security forces, Sheikh Abdihafid Yussuf – the provincial Commissioner of Puntland’s eastern region, reported that four members of that pirate group and the car of their leader were arrested and brought to the harbour town of Bosaaso. This is why the vessel had been moved further South to her present holding point at Ilfoshe.

Seized on March 23, 2010 the refrigerator ship was on her way to Iran from Egypt with a 22 men crew – 20 Sri Lankans, one Filipino and one Syrian, when she was attacked and overwhelmed 120nm off the coast of Oman at 13h33 UTC by Somali pirates in 2 skiffs in position 17º27N – 05º642E.

The 5000-tonne ship was carrying $4 million worth of Egyptian oranges.

The dead and the injured have been brought on land at the first daylight and are now said to be transported to Galkayo, the city divided between the Puntland and Galmudug regional states of Somalia.

A local radio-station reported falsely that there is a dispute concerning an “Italian” ship, because recently MV TALCA had been called by a Somali website to be “Italian”, which already created confusion caused by the iliteracy and ignorance of most of the pirate gangs.

- see further information concerning marine and piracy issues around the Horn of Africa, provided by ECOTERRA Intl. at www.australia.to