Published: February 07, 2011
Alleged Chinese Vessel Attack Creates a Stir in Maritime Industry
By ecop-marine
Alleged Vessel Attack Confuses The Chinese
Rumors started yesterday, but ECOTERRA Intl. didn't include the alerting message from Yemen in the previous update. The organization monitoring marine protection and human rights around the Horn of Africa couldn't get any other source confirming the incident, which according to the Yemeni Interior Ministry involved a Chinese ship called "Tien Hau."
Yemen's interior ministry said in a statement on 5th of February 2011 that the Chinese freighter MV TIEN HAU was hijacked by Somali pirates some 11 nautical miles (20. 4 kilometers) off the Yemeni island of Al-Tair in Al-Hudaydah province.
We could establish that the 18299 dwt general cargo vessel MV TIEN HAU (IMO 9143312) was built in 1996, sails under a flag of Hong Kong and is handled by manager/owner FENWICK SHIPPING SERVICES Ltd. of Hong Kong and London. The crew of 25, were listed as of April 2010 all as Chinese nationals. The last AIS position of the vessel on February 05 was in 0040 12 16 N 43 44 E. But no confirmation of an incident was received from EU NAVFOR, NATO or the shipowner.
Then Xinhua, the Chinese State News Agency broke the story and - referring to Yemen's Interior Minister, claimed that the vessel had been sea-jacked. They stated that the Chinese military had confirmed that the Chinese-flagged commercial ship, which was registered in Hongkong and China, had been hijacked by the Somali pirates off the Yemeni coast, as the Chinese military attache to Yemen told Xinhua. The ship was then moved by the pirates towards the Somali coasts.
Meanwhile, a security source at the ministry told Xinhua "the security operation room of the ministry received unconfirmed information that an anti-piracy international navy fleet might intercept the pirates and help release the Chinese ship."
"We are following up the situation to confirm the release of the Chinese ship, as coast guard boats were dispatched to track the ship and pirates," he told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
THE TURN OF THE STORY But, the China Maritime Search and Rescue Centre (MSA) said thereafter that the Chinese-flagged ship has never been hijacked, and is now sailing safely with the escort of the Chinese anti-piracy navy fleet.
Both the "Tien Hau" ship, which was registered in Hong Kong, and its 22-member crew, are safe, an MSA official told the official Xinhua news agency. The centre contacted the ship to make sure it was safe, he said.
The ship had been followed by a suspicious boat for a while, but it was never attacked or hijacked, the official said. A Chinese naval fleet working as part of an international anti-piracy force in waters off Yemen was "safely" escorting the ship, a later statement by the MSA ensured also the family members of the crew, who had been alerted by the false alarm rung by their state news agency.
"But better a false alarm and everybody working together to establish the truth and not just running after breaking news and exclusivity, than no alarm at all. Unlike in the case of MV BELUGA NOMINATION, where the crew had been locked for two and a half days in their strongroom while the few who had received the SOS signal remained mum and didn't respond," an ECOTERRA monitor stated.
Search News
