Somali Pirates: "Russian" Oil Tanker Grabbed

Reported by MSC(HOA) here:

Liberian flagged oil tanker hijacked
05/05/2010 10.04 UTC
On the morning of 5 May, the Liberia flagged (Russian operated) Oil Tanker MOSCOW UNIVERSITY, was hijacked approximately 350 nautical miles east of Socatra.

At the time of the attack, the MOSCOW UNIVERSITY was heading east with a final destination of China. The ship has a crew of 23, all from Russia, and all are believed to be well. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY, with dead weight of 106,474 tones, was not registered with Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) for their recent transit through the IRTC but they had reported to UKMTO.

It is understood that a Russian warship is heading towards the hijacked position. EU NAVFOR continues to monitor the situation.

Ship photo by Frans Sanderse from Shipspotting.com and used in accord with the terms found there.

UPDATE: Related? From IMB's Live Piracy Report:

Attack Number: 2010/127
Date: Wed May 05 2010
Vessel Type: Crude Tanker
Location detail: Arabian Sea
Attack Type: Hijacked
Incident Details:

05.05.2010: 0413 UTC: Posn: 13:13N – 059:30E: (Arabian Sea) off Somalia.

Pirates in a skiff chased and opened fire on a tanker. The tanker made evasive manoeuvres and contacted a warship for help. Later, owners informed that they had lost contact with the tanker and that the ship was not moving. They believed all crew had locked themselves. A navy helicopter is believed to have reached the tanker and established communication with the crew by radio.

UPDATE2: Somali pirates' progress so far in 2010 (from IMB Live Piracy Map):