Navies responsible for the patrolling of pirate infested waters off the coast of Somalia are bracing themselves for what may happen now that they have captured a cargo ship carrying fast yachts.
“They fear that pirates will somehow figure out how to offload these boats once back to Somalia and use them as fast mother ships to approach other vessels undetected.” Says Michael G Frodl who heads up C-LEVEL, a maritime risks consultancy based in the USA.
Nine motor yachts on board the German-owned Beluga Nomination, which was attacked by pirates on 22 January while on passage from Malta to the Seychelles.
Five of the yachts were part of an on deck cargo shipped by the specialist Yacht Logistics company Peters and May a company based in Southampton and specialist in such shipments.
The company’s MD, Angus Bruce Jones told Motorboat & Yachting Magazine: “Peters & May’s primary concern is for the safety of the ship’s crew. We understand that Beluga Shipping are doing everything in their powers to negotiate for their speedy return.
“The five boats we are transporting are all fully insured and we are keeping our clients informed as much as possible about the status of this unfortunate situation.”
He added: “We transport yachts every week through this area and have never encountered pirates before. The yachts that are destined for the Far East and Australia are normally carried on very large container vessels travelling at speed with high inaccessible decks.