Belgian stone dumper hijacked off Somalia

The vessel, with two Belgians, a Dutchman, four Croatians and three Filipinos comprising its ten man crew, had come under attack from automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades 700 nautical miles east of Somalia, according to the EU’s Operation Atalanta, which is monitoring the area and confirmed the hijack.

A crisis call established by the Belgian government said the Pompei was heading for port in Puntland, an independent region of Somalia not recognised by any other state. It was expected to arrive there yesterday.

The Belgian government held an extraordinary cabinet meeting in Brussels on Monday but its deliberations were not revealed for security reasons. The Afrique en ligne website suggested Dutch and Belgian forces might launch a commando raid to free the vessel before it could reach Puntland.

The 65.5m Pompei is jointly owned by DEME (50%), Jan De Nul (25%), and Herbosch-Kiere (25%). The vessel was reportedly being mobilised without cargo to Durban in South Africa when it was captured.

The European Dredging Association (EUDA) expressed solidarity with the three companies concerned as well as the Pompei crew and called for ‘the rapid establishment of a more determined and decisive approach by the concerned European Authorities. This European action should support our European maritime industries; not only the interests of the dredging industry but also those of the European maritime shipping industry in general.’

EUDA demanded that the Belgian and Dutch governments show greater determination to gain influence as to how Operation Atalanta resources are allocated and noted that substantial dredging plant will be leaving the Persian Gulf in the near future for mobilisation to other parts of the world. These ships will require effective European protection, EUDA said.