If you have insured cargo on board the following vessels and would like us to assist you in pursuing any claims arising from these incidents (or any similar cases), or if you require assistance in providing GA or salvage guarantees, please contact us as soon as possible.
Date: 26th November 2010 Type: Hijacking Voyage: Gulf Ports to East Africa
Reports have been received that Malaysian flag vessel ALBEDO (10837gt built 1993) has been hijacked by pirates and is now en route to Somalia.
There has been a very large number of pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean in the last few days. Until now, these latest attacks had been successfully repelled.
The container vessel, which generally trades between the Gulf and ports in East Africa, was attacked 900 miles east of Mogadishu whilst on a voyage to Kenya.
The vessel had left Jebel Ali on 19th November. She is likely to have transhipment cargo on board. The vessel has a crew of 23 from Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
It is likely that a ransom demand will be made by the pirates quite shortly. Shipowners commonly claim a proportion of any ransom payment from cargo owners as a general average contribution.
Because ransom payments can often lead to a very large claim on cargo insurers, it is important that the full circumstances of the hijacking are investigated.
We have acted for cargo insurers in respect of piracy incidents in the past and have often been able to negotiate reductions in general average payments requested from cargo insurers.
