A bulk carrier that featured in a well-publicised grounding off the Norwegian coast in 2009 (see SM, Oct 2009), the 26,758dwt Full City, has survived a pirate attack thanks to the efforts of the Indian and Turkish navies. Owned by China’s Cosco Group, and sailing under the Panamanian flag, the ship was attacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean while on passage from Jeddah to Tuticorini. The Indian Navy directed one of its TU-142 aircraft to fly over the vessel and broadcast that ‘naval warships were closing in’. The pirates abandoned the vessel just prior to the arrival of the Turkish warship Giresun. Chinese Vice-Minister of Transport, Xu Zuyuan, in a rare public acknowledgment, thanked both navies for their assistance.
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