Seychelles Piracy

[MMNETSEA]

Gilbert Victor and Andre Conrad on board the yacht Serenity taken hostage by pirates in March while sailing for Madagascar from the Seychelles. Yacht now believed to be in Garacad - Somalia.

geographical location: Jariiban, Mudug, Somalia, Africa

geographical coordinates: 6° 57' 0" North, 49° 19' 0" East

Some 1700 km (930nm) NW of the Seychelles.

Somehow get the feeling that this yacht was not heading for Madagascar but heading for Europe?

[JohnT]

Hi Richard,

Another vessel has been taken with the crew as per the Noonsite report below:

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"The Seychelles-flagged "Indian Ocean Explorer" with seven Seychellois crew on board, was on her way from Assumption to Mahe when she was seized, Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Transport Joel Morgan said.

The S/Y INDIAN OCEAN EXPLORER, a high-end cruiser designed for oceanographic research with a state-of-the-art technical suite for underwater photography and diving equipment, is kitted out to hold 12 passengers.

Ten tourists had already disembarked on Asssumption before the hijack and flown back to Mahe, he added.

The crew are all safe on the vessel, which is believed to be heading for Somalia.

Giving details of the incident - the second recent act of piracy involving boats in Seychelles – Mr Morgan said information was received by the authorities yesterday morning.

He said they believe the hijackers are Somali pirates, based on information received."

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I am due to take handover of a Leopard 46 on 15 April for delivery to Mahe and am seriously looking at the route east of Madagascar, although it is already quite late in the season. Your thoughts?

John

[Lighthouse]

From the TIMES ONLINE:

Somali pirates seized the Indian Ocean Explorer 630 miles from their base

A tourist boat popular with British diving enthusiasts carrying a crew of seven has been boarded by Somali pirates near the Seychelles, hundreds of miles from the hijackers’ lair on the East African coast.

The Indian Ocean Explorer had just dropped her passengers on Assumption Island when she was attacked, according to Kirk Green, director of Aquatours, the London-based tour operator that books diving trips on the yacht.

He said that the Royal Navy had e-mailed to tell him that the vessel had been hijacked and would be taken to Harardhere, a pirate stronghold north of Mogadishu. He had been told to expect that she would be held about three months.

“Obviously one of the feelings we have is relief because none of our clients were taken,” Mr Green said. “But on the other hand, we are extremely concerned about our crew.”

All seven crew members were from the Seychelles, he added.

The attack happened last weekend, according to the US Navy, but news of it has only just come to light.

Somali pirates have turned swaths of the Indian Ocean into no-go areas for unescorted ships over the past year but the latest attacks suggest that they are venturing further afield — about 630 miles from their bases — to evade an international flotilla of warships.

In November the Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned oil tanker, was hijacked 520 miles off the Kenyan coast, a dramatic illustration of how the pirates are flouting the campaign against them.

“We believe the vessel is heading north towards Somalia,” said Andrew Mwangura, who monitors piracy for the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme in Mombasa, Kenya. “Maybe they are shifting in order to pull military escorts away from the Gulf of Aden, so they can go back to attacking shipping there.” .......



Full article from Times Online

[MMNETSEA]

Hello John,

Quote

'I am due to take handover of a Leopard 46 on 15 April for delivery to Mahe and am seriously looking at the route east of Madagascar, although it is already quite late in the season. Your thoughts?'

I would go along with a passage -- Richards Bay 28.48 x 32.03 >> Port Louis, Mauritius 20.08 x 52.27 (protection from the easterlies) >>>> Mahe 4.41 x 53.31. 4470nm at 6 kn >> 31 days

Coming into Mahe from almost due south should be ok.

The winds pretty steady for the whole passage; don't expect much change until mid May - The Moz channel blowing a hooly at the moment.

Stay well

Richard

[MMNETSEA]

Trop Storm '26' arrives on NE coast of Madagascar in a couple of days :-