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]