MV Biscaglia
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Liberia |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Liberia}} |Ship name=Biscaglia |Ship namesake= |Ship owner= Winged Foot Shipping LLC, of the Marshall Islands{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/11/28/somalia.pirates.chemical.tanker/index.html|title=Three escape pirate-hijacked tanker|date=November 28, 2008|publisher=cnn.com|accessdate=2008-11-30}} |Ship operator= Ishima (International Ship Management) Pte. Ltd., of Singapore{{cite web|url=http://www.ishimaship.com/|title=News|publisher=.ishimaship.com|accessdate=2008-11-30}} |Ship registry= |Ship route=From Dumai, Indonesia, to Barcelona, Spain, via the Suez Canal{{cite news|url=http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/yet-another-ship-hijacked-near-gulf-of-aden-25-indians-among-crew-lead-changing-dateline_100124860.html|title=Yet another ship hijacked near Gulf of Aden, 25 Indians among crew|date=November 28, 2008|publisher=thaindian.com|accessdate=2008-11-30}} |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder= Odense Staalskibsværft A/S, of Odense, Denmark |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched= 8 August 1986 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed=1986{{cite ship register |register=DNV |id=23567 |shipname=Vessel BISCAGLIA |accessdate=2008-11-30 }} |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship identification= {{IMO Number|8406339}}, Signal Letters: A8FH3 |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship honors= |Ship captured=November 28, 2008 |Ship fate=Scrapped 2013, Alang. |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type=Chemical tanker |Ship tonnage={{DWT|27,350}} |Ship displacement= |Ship length= |Ship beam= |Ship height= |Ship draft= |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion= |Ship sail plan= |Ship speed= |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship complement= |Ship crew= 30 |Ship time to activate= |Ship aircraft= |Ship aircraft facilities= |Ship notes= }} |
MV Biscaglia was a chemical tanker managed by Ishima Pte. Ltd. of Singapore and held by Industrial Shipping Enterprises Management Company LLC of Stamford, Connecticut, United States.
Attack
On November 28, 2008 the ship was carrying palm oil in the Gulf of Aden and was hijacked by Somali pirates. The attack took place within the Maritime Security Patrol Area{{cite news|url=http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/news/viewArticle.htm?articleId=20017595274|title=Credibility of unarmed guards in Somalia questioned|last=Osler|first=David |date=November 28, 2008|publisher=lloydslist.com|accessdate=2008-11-30}} and was attributed to six pirates armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades in a high-speed skiff. The ship was the 97th to be hijacked off the coast of Somalia in 2008. In addition to the three security guards who escaped by jumping into the sea, 25 Indian and two Bangladeshi were members of the crew.{{cite web |url=http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081128/D94NUP200.html |date=November 28, 2008 |last=Houreld |first=Katharine |title=Somali pirates hijack ship, British guards escape |accessdate=2008-11-28}}
The two British and one Irish guard, were employed by British-based security company Anti Piracy Maritime Security Solutions (APMSS), of Poole, Dorset. All three were military-trained, two being former marines and one a former paratrooper,{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5253731.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805121624/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5253731.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 5, 2011|title=British and Irish anti-piracy experts rescued - after pirates attack|last=Fletcher |first=Martin |date=November 29, 2008|work=The Times|access-date=2008-11-30}} and were "... on board the vessel to provide logistical support and non-lethal defensive counter-measures." according to Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Program.{{cite news|url=http://www.soefartensledere.dk/WEB/Templates/Normal.aspx?Page=5d0be7cd-1805-4589-9bf4-dd8ced11a8a5&Module=09a83502-4949-4c1e-be6e-a0b52438340a&Item=f7f50b3b-27fe-4f2d-a69c-025a4b60630b|title=Guards reportedly flee hijacking|date=November 28, 2008|publisher=soefartensledere.dk|accessdate=2008-11-30|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717005821/http://www.soefartensledere.dk/WEB/Templates/Normal.aspx?Page=5d0be7cd-1805-4589-9bf4-dd8ced11a8a5&Module=09a83502-4949-4c1e-be6e-a0b52438340a&Item=f7f50b3b-27fe-4f2d-a69c-025a4b60630b|archivedate=July 17, 2011}}
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| quote =They did what they felt they had to do to save their lives and the lives of the crew. They were unarmed. They had no other option. As far as I'm concerned they deserve a medal. (Nick Davis, Head, APMSS, November 29, 2008)
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Unarmed, the security guards attempted to repel the attackers for about 40 minutes by firing water cannon, zigzagging the skiff, and using a LRAD, a non-lethal weapon that fires focused sound beams producing excruciating pain. A distress signal was received at 0447 hours UTC by the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre, in Kuala Lumpur. After the pirates boarded the ship and continued to shoot at the security force, the guards managed to escape by jumping overboard. They were rescued from the sea by a German navy helicopter,{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/piracy/3533644/British-crew-jump-overboard-as-pirates-hijack-another-tanker-off-Somalia.html|title=British crew jump overboard as pirates hijack another tanker off Somalia |last=Pflanz|first=Mike |date=November 28, 2008|publisher=telegraph.co.uk|accessdate=2008-11-30}} and taken first to the French light monitoring frigate {{ship|French frigate|Nivôse||2}} before being transferred to the Jean de Vienne, a F70 type anti-submarine frigate of the French Marine Nationale.
The incident caused the usefulness of LRADs to be called into question by Lloyd's List.David Osler, [http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/news/sonic-solution-may-not-be-a-sound-investment/1228132740372.htm Sonic solution may not be a sound investment], Lloyd's List, December 2, 2008.
The vessel was finally released on 24 January 2009 thanks to the efforts of Capt Satya Sahoo and his team from Ishima and the owners ISEC. All crew of the vessel at the time of its release were reported as being in good health.{{cite news|url=http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/industrial-shipping-enterprises-corp-announces-release-of-the-mv-biscaglia,690686.shtml|title=MV Biscaglia released|date=2009-01-24|publisher=earthtimes.org|accessdate=2009-02-08}}
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Piracy in Somalia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biscaglia}}
Category:Maritime incidents in 2008