A MESSAGE in a bottle alerted the 31,565-ton Royal Navy supply ship RFA Fort Victoria of the plight of a hijacked 56,000-ton bulk carrier, which had been seized by pirates 620 miles off Somalia while bound for Vietnam from Liverpool with scrap metal.
A MESSAGE in a bottle alerted the 31,565-ton Royal Navy supply ship RFA Fort Victoria of the plight of a hijacked 56,000-ton bulk carrier, which had been seized by pirates 620 miles off Somalia while bound for Vietnam from Liverpool with scrap metal. The Fort Victoria responded to the distress call was reportedly delivered in a message in a bottle from the Italian-owned Montecristo. The message assured authorities that the crew was safe in the panic room, or "citadel", thus opening the way to a freewheeling assault on the pirates holding the ship - which turned out to be unnecessary when the gave up without a shot fired. The Fort Victoria is with Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), a civilian-manned fleet supplying naval operations worldwide. It also serves as a troop ship. The 23-man crew of seven Italians, six Ukrainians and 10 Indians were unable to use mobile phones or the internet once the pirates took control and resorted to throwing the bottle from a porthole in the panic room in which they were barricaded. The operation also involved the support of the 4,100-ton frigate USS De Wert. Separately, the US House Transportation Committee has approved an act allowing authorised armed guards on vessels carrying government cargo through high-risk waters which will reimburse operators/owners on cost. Britain is likely to take similar measures. Foreign Secretary Henry Bellingham told the Chamber of Shipping in London this week that the policy switch would be formally announced shortly, in effect reversing government advice that "strongly discouraged" armed vessel protection.
