Chinese cargo ship with 121 passengers hijacked in Indian Ocean

From CNN.

A Chinese ship with 146 people aboard was hijacked Monday in the Indian Ocean, the European Union Naval Force said.

The bulk carrier De Xin Hai was hijacked around noon about 550 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles and 700 nautical miles off Somalia's eastern coast, the EU Naval Force said in a statement.

The EU force found the ship not long afterward. Two pirates could be seen on deck, but as many as 20 could be on board, a task force spokesman said.

The 146 people on board included 25 Chinese crew members, said John Harbour, a commander with the British Royal Navy who serves with the EU Naval Force.

The naval force was monitoring the ship's movements Monday afternoon.

The ship was dragging two skiffs behind it, much like the kind of skiffs that pirates have been known to use to hijack ships in the waters off Somalia.

I find it odd that the Ship has 146 people on board, 121 non crew.

Why would a bulk carrier have so many people on board, or does anyone know if that is normal? I mean for a cargo ship to have so many passengers.

Here is some info on the ship:

Ship Info

De Xin Hai 76,431 DWT, Bulk Carrier, Built 2008
Owners/Managers are COSCO Qingdao, Built at Jiangnan S.Y., Peoples' Republic of China Flagged, Length Overall of 225.00 m., Length Between Perpendiculars of 217.00 m., Draught of 12.20 m., Beam of 32.26 m., Gross Tonnage of 40,892.

Owner/Manager Details
Qingdao Ocean Shipping Co. (COSCO Qingdao), Yiyuanyang Building, No.61 Xianggang Middle Rd., Qingdao, Shandong, China P.R., 266071,

Additional information

IDENTIFICATION: Panamax Bulker, Call Sign BQBP, IMO Number 9364758. DIMENSIONS/TONNAGES: Moulded Depth of 19.60 m., Tonnage of 25,841 International Net and 75,224 Dwt (long). ENGINE DETAILS: 1 Propellor.

75,224 D(ead) W(eight) T(onnage) makes this a medium sized Bulk Carrier, although we don't know what size cargo, if any, it was carrying at this point.

Also it's good to point out that this ship is twice as big as the Arctic Sea with a far greater tonnage.



[edit on 19-10-2009 by kiwifoot]

You pose an intriguing question about the number of people on board. I'm not sure how many are "normal" so It will be interesting to see whatever you may find out.

It will also be interesting to observe the Chineese reaction to the hijacking.

[edit on 19-10-2009 by Hazelnut]

reply to post by Hazelnut


I agree, I'm wondering how they will deal with this too.

My bet is they'll want to show the world how they flex their military muscles, all over TV.

I hope whatever happens it goes down well for the passengers.

I'm trying to find out if it's normal to carry so many!

what they (the ships) ought to do is get a bunch on them "africa bees" and put them on board there ships.

And when the y get hi-jacked by them pencil necked geeks they put bee suits on and then let loose the bees (after pissing with them to make 'em mad) and yee hah!

Originally posted by kiwifoot
I find it odd that the Ship has 146 people on board, 121 non crew.

Why would a bulk carrier have so many people on board, or does anyone know if that is normal? I mean for a cargo ship to have so many passengers.

75,224 D(ead) W(eight) T(onnage) makes this a medium sized Bulk Carrier, although we don't know what size cargo, if any, it was carrying at this point.

The cargo was likely smuggled Chinese emigrants.

[edit on 10/19/2009 by clay2 baraka]

reply to post by clay2 baraka


Hm, that's what i was thinking, but would the EU Navy know about them?

I guess the ship would have radioed for assistance when the attack began and disclosed that they had illegals on board.

That's assuming that it's not usual to have so many passengers.

Originally posted by kiwifoot
reply to post by Hazelnut

 

My bet is they'll want to show the world how they flex their military muscles, all over TV.

Agreed......Confucious say "Man who pick wrong boat to steal may end up picking steel out of his body"



[edit on 19-10-2009 by Signals]

reply to post by Signals


I'm glad you said it because it is what I was thinking too.

I suspect the Chineese will not want to let this crisis go unused. It seems to be common practice among world powers these days.

Originally posted by Hazelnut
reply to post by Signals

 

I'm glad you said it because it is what I was thinking too.

I suspect the Chineese will not want to let this crisis go unused. It seems to be common practice among world powers these days.

If it is a crime-syndicate operated, Chinese flagged ship, do you think the Chinese government is going to interfere? I am guessing the smugglers would be left to their own devices.

Unless, the government was looking to save face. If coalition forces (yes there is a UN task force patrolling), raids the ship and starts asking questions. .

The Chinese will probably raid first just to prevent embarrassment.

reply to post by clay2 baraka


It'd very tricky trying to predict what the Chinese will do.

But I think the importance of China's image in this will be a big factor, as will the passengers.

121, that's a whole heap of bargaining chips!

[edit on 19-10-2009 by kiwifoot]

reply to post by kiwifoot


Just an update, looks like the Chinese are making noises about a military rescue:

Spokesman: China to rescue hijacked crew, bulk carrier

BEIJING: China will make every effort to rescue the crew and the hijacked bulk carrier, the De Xin Hai, from pirates in the Indian Ocean, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Tuesday.

Ma told a regular press conference that the Chinese government was closely monitoring developments with the ship.

The Chinese vessel was hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean early Monday, with 25 Chinese crew aboard.

European Union (EU) naval force spokesman John Harbour confirmed on Monday that the 25 Chinese were taken hostage by Somali pirates, but they seemed to be fine.

Ma said the Chinese Foreign Ministry and other government departments immediately started an emergency response procedure.

Chinese embassies and consulates have received instructions to gather and review information about the incident.

Ma said the Foreign Ministry had issued a warning to Chinese ships and citizens to avoid crossing the waters where the hijacking occurred.

"We will watch closely developments in the incident and make every effort to rescue the hijacked crew and carrier," Ma said

It also seems now that the 146 passengers reported to have been taken is a running total that being held by pirates in Somalia.

Very odd.

Chinese ship hijacked in Indian Ocean

Counting these 25 new hostages from the bulk carrier, the total number of hostages held by pirates at the Somali Coastline has reached 146, the EU naval force said.

And it seems the cargo is coal.

[edit on 20-10-2009 by kiwifoot]