Report: Shipcraft couldn’t prevent pirate hostage crisis

The company that owned the MV Leopard, a ship that was hijacked by Somalian pirates in 2011, has been cleared of any wrongdoing

Shipping company Shipcraft is not to blame for the hijacking of its vessel the MV Leopard in 2011 according to a report from maritime accident investigation board, Den Maritime Havarikommission.

The board investigated why the ship's unarmed guards had been left in the port town of Salalah in Oman 24 hours before the hijacking.

They concluded, however, that armed guards aboard the ship couldn't have prevented the attack after both the captain and the crew told the board that the guards hadn't contributed significantly to the safety onboard the ship

Unarmed guards stirred tension
 "The guards' aggressive approach to their task created tension and insecurity among the crew members," the report stated.

READ MORE: Anti-pirate security are "tripper-happy cowboys"

Danish trade vessels have limited access to weapons, especially after leaked footage of private security guards firing at pirates onboard a Mærsk Line Limited ship was shown on the program Deadline last year.

Held captive for 838 days
Somalian pirates attacked the Shipcraft vessel near the Gulf of Aden in 2011 and kept six crew members hostage.

Among the crew were two Danes Søren Lynbjørn and Eddy Lopéz who were held for two years, three months and 18 days.

READ MORE: Danish hostages freed after more than two years in captivity

The two Danes and their four Filipino colleagues were released on April 30 by the Somali pirates were paid a ransom that TV2 News reported was around 40 million kroner.

Pirates made contact
While in possession of the hostages, the pirates actively sought media coverage by the Danish media.

The Copenhagen Post was on multiple occasions contacted directly by the men’s captors in the hope of generating media coverage.

The Copenhagen Post decided not to report on the matter following advice from the Foreign Ministry that argued media coverage would disrupt the negotiations to the hostages.




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