SOMALIA – Just one day after our report mentioning the hijacking of an oil tanker there has been another major incident when pirates today seized control of a supertanker, the 320,000 tonne Irene SL, 300 miles from the Omani coast. There has been no contact with the captured vessel since an initial radio call reporting the attack.
There is some confusion as to exact details of the ships route. According to press reports the Greek owned vessel was en route from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Mexico with a cargo of crude oil with an approximate value of $200 million. EU Navfor Atalanta, the European Union security force charged with protection of World Food Aid supplies and assistance to freight and passenger vessels in the region, state she was heading for Fujairah from the Suez Canal, seemingly the opposite direction.
The Irene SL is owned and operated by Enesel Shipping and has a crew of twenty five consisting on seventeen Filipinos, seven Greeks and one Georgian national.
Photo: Courtesy of Enesel Shipping
