Italian vessel pirated in the Indian Ocean

Italian vessel pirated in the Indian Ocean

2011-02-08 21:42:06 GMT+7 (ICT)

INDIAN OCEAN (BNO NEWS) -- An Italian vessel on Tuesday was pirated approximately 670 nautical miles east of Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean, the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) reported

The oil tanker MV SAVINA CAYLYN was attacked by one skiff carrying five suspected pirates. The criminals fired at the Italian vessel using small arms and four rocket propelled grenades before boarding it.

The Italian oil tanker was on its way to Pasir Gudang, Malaysia. The vessel departed from Bashayer, Sudan. There has not been any communication with the oil tanker since the pirate attack.

The MV SAVINA CAYLYN is Italian flagged and owned. The oil tanker has a crew of 22 people, including 5 Italian and 17 Indian. The condition of the crew members is currently unknown.

The Italian-flagged tanker has a deadweight of 104,255 tons. The vessel was registered with MSC(HOA) and was reporting to the UKMTO. EU NAVFOR is monitoring the situation.

EU NAVFOR - Operation Somalia escorts merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program (WFP) and vessels of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

The EU mission also protects vulnerable vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, deters and disrupts piracy and monitors fishing activity off the Somali coast.

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