Source: reuters // Reuters

* Two sailors escape hijacked ship to safety
* Another German ship attacked in Indian Ocean but escapes

Original Article By Brian Rohan
BERLIN, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Two hostages are reported to have escaped a German cargo ship, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged, German-owned, BELGUA NOMINATION, captured by Somali pirates on the previous Saturday, 800NM off the Seychelles and are safely aboard a Danish navy vessel, a spokeswoman for the ship's Bremen-based owners said on Saturday.
They did not confirm details of a report by German magazine Der Spiegel which said the two -- from the 12-men crew -- escaped during a firefight on Wednesday in which two other crew and up to two pirates were alleged to have been killed.
"Currently two members of the crew are missing," CEO Niels Stolberg of Beluga Shipping said in a later e-mail exchange. "Two other seamen could be rescued yesterday, and they are safe and sound," he said, adding that no ransom had been demanded.
According to the Spiegel report, the deaths occurred after a Seychelles patrol boat opened fire on the pirates in an attempt to rescue the ship. Two crewmembers escaped by jumping overboard in a life boat.

A report this month said piracy worldwide was costing the global economy $7-12 billion a year, with Somali pirates in particular driving up the cost of shipping in the Indian Ocean.
It was further reported that, on Saturday, another German-based operator, Hamburg-based Chemikalien Seetransport, had of its tanker ships, the NEW YORK STAR, carrying chemicals coming under attack on Friday in the Indian Ocean but had managed to escape.
Small arms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) were fired from a small craft as the pirates tried to board the ship, which escaped and was then escorted by a Dutch frigate.
German shipping companies have approached the German government in an effort to deploy military or federal police personnel on merchant shipping at key points to protect them against Somali pirates.

What Does OCEANUS Actually Mean?

Oceanus;Trevi Fountain, Rome

In classical antiquity, Oceanus (from Greek: Ὠκεανός, lit. "ocean"^[1]) was believed to be the world-ocean, which the ancient Romans and Greeks considered to be an enormous river encircling the world.

Some scholars believe that Oceanus originally represented all bodies of salt water, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, the two largest bodies known to the ancient Greeks. However, as geography became more accurate, Oceanus came to represent the stranger, more unknown waters of the Atlantic Ocean (also called the "Ocean Sea"), while the newcomer of a later generation, Poseidon, ruled over the Mediterranean.

When Odysseus and Nestor walk together along the shore of the sounding sea (Iliad ix.182) their prayers are addressed "to the great Sea-god who girdles the world." It is to Oceanus, not to Poseidon, that their thoughts are directed.
Source: Wikipedia

OCEANUSLive, by delivering a collaborative environment for the sharing of secure, real-time, maritime-based information, seeks to advance the comprehensive and coordinated response to the mitigation of risk in the maritime domain - across the bodies of water encircling the world.  By converging access to information through crowdsourcing, mapping and other social media, OCEANUSLive brings technological democratisation and the viral diffusion of information to the maritime community. 
Changing the game for the shipping industry against asymmetric adversaries such as pirates can only benefit the seafarer and, as a result, the economic stability of trading nations.

OCEANUSLive.org
Information, Security, Safety; Shared

Indian Navy, Coast Guard rescue Thai vessel from pirates after gun battle

Kochi:  In a joint operation, the Indian Navy and Coast Guard intercepted and neutralised 'Prantalay' Thai fishing vessel, which was being used by Somali pirates as 'mother vessel' since April last year for piracy at various locations in the Arabian Sea, a Defence press release today said.
  
There was an exchange of fire between INS Cankarso and the pirate vessel, following which fire was noticed in 'Prantalay' and some personnel were seen jumping into the waters.
  
Twenty Thai and Myanmarese fishermen, the original crew of the vessel, who had been held hostage by the pirates and 15 pirates, were pulled out from the waters by INS Cankarso. INS Kalpeni, CGS Sankalp, Naval and Coast Guard ships and aircraft are presently in the area searching for any fishermen or pirates, the release said.
  
This vessel had been a risk to international shipping for many months and has carried out several attacks, the release said.
Yesterday, a Coast Guard Dornier while responding to a Mayday call from MV CMA CGM Verdi, a Bahama Flagged container ship, located two skiffs attempting a piracy attack. Seeing the aircraft, the skiffs immediately aborted their piracy attempt and dashed towards the mother vessel Prantalay which hurriedly hoisted the two skiffs onboard and set a Westerly course to escape from the area, the release said.
  
This action cleared all doubts of 'Prantalay' being used by pirates as a mother vessel. While Coast Guard and Naval Dorniers continuously tracked 'Prantalay', Indian Naval Ship Cankarso (a recently commissioned Water Jet Fast Attack Craft) which was already deployed in the area for anti-piracy patrol, was directed to intercept and investigate Prantalay.
     
At about 1700hrs, INS Cankarso closed on to 'Prantalay' and made all efforts  to establish communication on the international Mercantile Marine Band, but the vessel did not respond and continued to proceed westwards in the hope of escaping.
     
In keeping with internationally accepted norms, Cankarso fired a warning shot well ahead of the bows of Prantalay to compel her to stop. 'Instead of stopping, however, Prantalay suddenly opened fire on INS Cankarso. INS Cankarso returned limited fire in self-defence out of necessity and as a proportionate measure only', the release said.
  
Thereafter the fire broke out on Prantalay (mother vessels are known to carry additional fuel drums to fuel the skiffs) and the 'personnel were seen jumping overboard.


Source: NDTV 
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Rhine River Accident Traps 300 Ships

Rhine River Accident Traps 300 Ships
Tanker capsizes on the Rhine River near St. Goarshausen, 1/13/2011. The cargo; 2,400 tons of sulphuric acid.

image from: adventures-of-the-blackgang.tumblr.com

OCEANUSLive Joins The Blogosphere!

OCEANUSLive joins the Blogosphere!

Everywhere we look the social media influence is growing daily. We are already on Twitter and posting tweets relevant to the maritime community. Whether its piracy, safety, disasters and emergencies, or even severe weather or political matters that affects shipping and the homes of the seafaring community, OCEANUSLive intends to share that information with you.

Collaboration and coordination are the cornerstones of information sharing. As long as the information is clear, relevant, necessary and able to be acted upon in the maritime environment, we'll keep pushing it out there.

If you have something to say that is to the benefit of the seafaring community, then please post a comment. Obviously, anything disparaging, defamatory, unfounded or crude, will be deleted for your sake as well as ours.

As OCEANUSLive continues to develop, we will look to future projects that enable information sharing to be implemented in other environments.

This situational map shows a recent unsuccessful pirate attack in the Indian Ocean. Such information is posted on OCEANUSLive News using trusted sources such as the International Maritime Bureau, NATO and EUNAVFOR.

Situational Map - Pirate Attack Using Dhow Mothership

OCEANUSLive.org - Information, Security, Safety; Shared