Saturday, March 28, 2009

Pirates Release Hijacked Gas Tanker

Good news from Somalia: The MV Longchamp and its 13 crewmembers, held captive since January, have been released unharmed. Via AP:
The Longchamp was loaded with liquefied petroleum gas when it was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on Jan. 29. It is registered in the Bahamas and managed by Hamburg-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement.

The company said the ship was released at about 0600 GMT (2 a.m. EDT) on Saturday. It had 12 Filipino crew members and an Indonesian second engineer on board.

Bernhard Schulte spokesman Cor Radings declined to comment on how the release was achieved.

A statement from the company said it "would like to thank the many parties, agencies and professionals involved for their outstanding efforts in achieving the safe release of the crew and vessel."

Radings declined to elaborate, and would not say what happened to the pirates.

The ship was en route from Norway to Vietnam when it was hijacked, and the company said it would now head toward its original destination.

Thank God for this deliverance. Please continue to pray for the remaining ships and crews still held hostage.

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