Qawareb Ship Management, that owns MV QSM Dubai, whose captain was killed by pirates on Thursday, said they were unable to provide armed security as it was sailing from Brazil.
Captain Maqsood Khan, Port Captain and QSM's security officer, told Emirates Business that the Panama-flagged ship is usually provided with armed security whenever it operates to Somalia, "but since it was sailing from Brazil, and we expected security cover from Nato, armed guards were not placed on the vessel".
Captain Jaffer Faffri, the captain of the ship, a Pakistani national, was killed when security forces from the northern Somali breakaway region of Puntland recaptured the ship held by pirates following a raid.
According to AFP, seven pirates were arrested following the raid to recover the 15,220-tonne Panama-flagged cargo vessel. It was captured on Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden with a crew of 24, which included nationals from Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ghana. "Our forces successfully stormed the ship and wrested control of it back from the pirates after they refused to heed our calls to abandon it," Puntland security official Mohamed Ali Jamaa told AFP by phone from the city of Bosasso.
"During the raid, the pirates shot the ship's Pakistani captain dead. Seven pirates were arrested."
Said Adan, another security official, said the ship was now free and heading towards Bosasso, the economic capital of Puntland, whose coast harbours several pirate bases. "The pirates ignored calls by the security officials to free the ship unconditionally but they were later made to regret it," Adan said, adding that two members of the Puntland commandos were also wounded in the raid.
According to Captain Maqsood Khan, the decision to deploy armed guards on the ship was taken following increased incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
"We have been trading in Somalia for quite some time now. Last time when the ship sailed to and from Somalia, we had armed guards on the vessel," he added. The ship was carrying sugar worth more than $9 million (Dh33m). Meanwhile, the crew of the hijacked Libyan owned merchant vessel RIM, have successfully retaken control of the ship. According to European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) - Somalia, one of the crew was seriously injured in the incident, which happened south-east of Garacad, off Somalia's northern coastline. In a statement, EUNAVFOR said: "It is believed that some pirates were killed during the incident; the ship is now under the control of the crew."
The crew of MV RIM then abandoned the ship on the request of the master and are now being transferred to a safe port.
By Joseph George
© Emirates Business 24/7 2010
