OCEANUSLive - Maritime Situational Awareness

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.