Russian Amver ship attacked by pirates

Breaking news on Twitter and the BBC alerted us the Russian participating ship, Moscow University, had been attacked by Somali pirates. Tradewinds reports the Moscow University was seized by the pirates 500 miles east of the Horn of Africa.

The Liberian flagged tanker, owned by Novoship, enrolled in the Amver system in 1999 and has earned multiple Amver awards for participation.

According to media reports the Russian destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov was rushing to the scene. Tradewinds speculates a rescue operation could be mounted by Russian forces. We hope the crew remains safe and this issue is resolved quickly.

What do you think would help stop the scourge of piracy?

UPDATE:
At 1330 hours on 5 May Tradewinds reported the master of the Moscow University was able to alert Novoship that the crew had barricaded themselves in the engine room and the ship is dead in the water. The Russian warship steaming to assist should arrive in the early hours of Thursday. We'll keep you posted on updates as we learn them.


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