Boskalis vessel Blue Marlin hijacked offshore West Africa
May 07 2019 - 5:33AM
Papendrecht, 7 May 2019
The Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis)
heavy transport vessel Blue Marlin was hijacked on Sunday
approximately 80 nautical miles offshore Equatorial Guinea. Through
the professional response of the crew and the coordinated support
from the navy of Equatorial Guinea and Spain, the violent hijacking
has been ended and the crew was safely freed.
Peter Berdowski, CEO Boskalis
"I want to express my compliments to our crew for
their extremely professional and adequate actions in this life
threatening situation. I am extremely grateful and in
particular thankful to the navy of Equatorial Guinea for their
quick and decisive response, as well as to the Spanish navy for
their assistance via MDAT-GoG. Because of their actions, this
hijacking could be ended quickly and our colleagues were brought
into safety."
After unloading a cargo in the waters of
Equatorial Guinea, the Blue Marlin departed last Sunday with
destination Malta. Sunday afternoon, the ship was unlawfully
boarded from a zodiac by several armed pirates. By acting quickly
and professionally, all twenty crew members were able to secure
themselves in the citadel. A citadel is a highly secured space in
the vessel equipped with various means of communication and
emergency rations.
Upon alerting the local authorities of Equatorial
Guinea and the NATO mission MDAT-GoG (Maritime Domain Awareness for
Trade - Gulf of Guinea), two helicopters were immediately mobilized
from Equatorial Guinea, followed by a navy vessel of Equatorial
Guinea and one from the Spanish navy, part of the MDAT-GoG
mission.
Monday morning at daylight, the Blue Marlin was
boarded and fully searched by the navy of Equatorial Guinea and
Spain. No pirates were found and the crew was freed from the
citadel. All the crew members are in good health. The pirates shot
several times during their time aboard the Blue Marlin and caused
substantial material damage on the bridge, preventing the ship from
being sailable. The vessel is currently approximately 40 miles
offshore Equatorial Guinea, in international waters.
After the freeing of the Blue Marlin, the Spanish
naval vessel left Monday afternoon, followed in the evening by the
naval vessel of Equatorial Guinea. The latter vessel left five
armed guards on board to protect the Blue Marlin. Boskalis has now
mobilized a oceangoing tug to take the Blue Marlin to a safe
location.
Royal Boskalis
Westminster N.V. is a leading global contractor and services
provider operating in the dredging, maritime infrastructure and
maritime services sectors. The company provides creative and
innovative all-round solutions to infrastructural challenges in the
maritime, coastal and delta regions of the world. With core
activities such as coastal defense, riverbank protection and land
reclamation Boskalis is able to provide adaptive and mitigating
solutions to combat the effects of climate change, such as rising
sea levels, as well as delivering solutions for the increasing need
for space in coastal and delta regions around the world. The
company facilitates the development of energy infrastructure,
including renewable energy sources. Boskalis is furthermore active
in the construction and development of ports, waterways, access
channels and civil infrastructure, thus helping to facilitate
socio-economic development and improve trade opportunities at the
locations at which we operate. In addition, Boskalis is a global
marine salvage expert and has a number of strategic partnerships in
harbor towage and terminal services (Kotug Smit Towage, Keppel Smit
Towage, Saam Smit Towage and Smit Lamnalco). With a versatile fleet
of more than 900 vessels and floating equipment and 11,300
employees, including associates, Boskalis operates in over 90
countries across six continents.
This press release can also be found on our
website www.boskalis.com.
pdf version press release
This
announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West
Corporation clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Koninklijke Boskalis Westminster N.V. via
Globenewswire
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