Fast-acting captain hailed as tanker evades Somali pirates
International Desk
November 13, 2009
The captain of a Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker has been hailed for successfully eluding Somali pirates who attacked his ship with automatic weapons and grenades from two skiffs in the Indian Ocean.
Captain Sunil Fredrick Mani was in command of the VLCC BW LION when it was attacked by two pirate boats at 8.13GMT - 4.13pm Hong Kong time - on Monday about 900 miles off the coast of Somalia.
Mani "successfully evaded the attack through evasive maneuvers and increased speed," according to vessel operator BW Maritime in Singapore.
The 48-year-old captain joined BW Maritime in 2001.
He has at least 24 years' experience at sea, of which half were spent in command of large crude carriers.
There were no injuries, or environmental damage, reported.
The 30 crew are from India, Britain, the Philippines, with two from the mainland.
A Marine Department spokesman confirmed yesterday there was only slight damage to the vessel, a 320 meter- long, 298,567-tonne tanker built in 2004 carrying 281,390 tonnes of crude oil from Nigeria to India.
The damage was incurred when the pirates fired at the tanker " on the way to India," the spokesman said.
The Hong Kong maritime rescue coordination center received an alert from BW Lion at 4.13pm on Monday.
It later informed its counterparts on the mainland as well as a center run by the International Maritime Bureau.
"The Marine Department learned that the coalition forces stationed in the Gulf of Aden were informed of the attack," the spokesman said.
According to Safety at Sea magazine, the only large crude carrier ever hijacked was the Saudi tanker Sirius Star, which was seized in November last year.
It was ransomed and freed on January 9 this year.
Captain Sunil Fredrick Mani was in command of the VLCC BW LION when it was attacked by two pirate boats at 8.13GMT - 4.13pm Hong Kong time - on Monday about 900 miles off the coast of Somalia.
Mani "successfully evaded the attack through evasive maneuvers and increased speed," according to vessel operator BW Maritime in Singapore.
The 48-year-old captain joined BW Maritime in 2001.
He has at least 24 years' experience at sea, of which half were spent in command of large crude carriers.
There were no injuries, or environmental damage, reported.
The 30 crew are from India, Britain, the Philippines, with two from the mainland.
A Marine Department spokesman confirmed yesterday there was only slight damage to the vessel, a 320 meter- long, 298,567-tonne tanker built in 2004 carrying 281,390 tonnes of crude oil from Nigeria to India.
The damage was incurred when the pirates fired at the tanker " on the way to India," the spokesman said.
The Hong Kong maritime rescue coordination center received an alert from BW Lion at 4.13pm on Monday.
It later informed its counterparts on the mainland as well as a center run by the International Maritime Bureau.
"The Marine Department learned that the coalition forces stationed in the Gulf of Aden were informed of the attack," the spokesman said.
According to Safety at Sea magazine, the only large crude carrier ever hijacked was the Saudi tanker Sirius Star, which was seized in November last year.
It was ransomed and freed on January 9 this year.
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