Maritime Incidents---September 17, 2009
Egypt Hands Over Pirates to Puntland Government
8 pirates are returned to Puntland after being held in Egyptian prison for holding Egyptian ships hostage.
The government of Egypt has formally surrendered eight Somali pirates to the regional authority of Puntland.
The pirates were in Egypt after they held two Egyptian ships and their crews hostage for several months along Puntland’s Sanaag region. The crew revolted, regained control of the ship and took the pirates to Egypt where they were put in prison.
Puntland’s government requested they be returned to the local authorities and tried in Puntland court. The pirates were released from Egyptian custody and arrived at the port of Bossaso on Monday, where they are being held in jail, awaiting their trial.
Maersk Line Container Ship Runs Aground
A Britain registered vessel ran aground in Singapore water on Wednesday morning
The vessel, MV 'Maersk Kendal' ran aground around 7:15 a.m. at the Sebarok Beacon, south of the Sebarok island.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore reported the ship was transiting the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) from the east, bound for the port of Tanjong Pelepas when complications began.
There were no reports of injury or oil pollution and shipping in adjacent waters has not been affected by the grounding incident. The ship is in stable condition and shipowners have arranged for a salvage company to attend to the vessel.
Greenpeace Protestors Removed from Ship
Greenpeace protestors who boarded a cargo ship carrying animal feed, have been arrested and charged with illegal boarding of a ship
After boarding a freight ship carrying palm kernel animal feed in the Port of Tauranga Wednesday, 14 Greenpeace protestors have been removed from the vessel and arrested and will be bailed to appear in the Tauranga District Court.
The protestors boarded the Hong Kong-registered ship, East Ambition, chaining themselves to parts of the vessel including the anchor and deck cranes to prevent the cargo from being unloaded.
Firefighters were dispatched to help and used cranes to lift a cage to cut the cables that chained five others to the ship. Police arrested protestors on the ship and from an inflatable raft and charged them with illegally boarding a vessel.
Greenpeace executed the protest because of its claims that palm kernel production destroys irreplaceable rain forests and called on New Zealand Prime Minister to stop imports of palm kernel.
Federated Farmers requested piracy charges to be laid against the protestors, saying the protestors interfered with commerce and free navigation of the seas.