MV Seaman Guard Ohio incident
 MV Seaman Guard Ohio photographed at Singapore, July 2012 | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Owner: | AdvanFort |
| Port of registry: | FreetownSierra Leone |
| Builder: | Narasaki Shipbuilding, Muroran, Japan |
| Yard number: | 1064 |
| Completed: | 1984 |
| Identification: |
IMO number: 8410691 MMSI number: 667004026 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 394 GRT 197 DWT |
| Length: | 45.93 metres (150.7 ft) |
| Beam: | 7.32 metres (24.0 ft) |
| Installed power: | 2800 bhp |
The MV Seaman Guard Ohio is a patrol vessel owned by AdvanFort and used for anti-piracy patrolling. In October 2013, the ship was impounded and the crew and armed guards aboard were detained after it entered Indian waters without adequate permission.[1]
Ship
The MV Seaman Guard Ohio is a Sierra Leone-flagged former fishery patrol vessel (Call Sign: 9LA2125, IMO: 8410691, MMSI: 667004026) owned and operated by AdvanFort, a Virginia (USA) based private maritime security company that provides commercial anti-piracy protection services to merchant vessels.[2][3] The vessel is equipped with a wide array of directive and omnidirectional radio-communications sensors including numerous VHF, UHF, HF and satellite communications antennae, maritime radars and satellite navigation systems.[4]
The ship was built for Hokkaido Prefecture by Narasaki Shipbuilding of Muroran, Japan, and was originally named the Kaio Maru. In May 2011 she was renamed Timor Navigator, and in January 2012 Seaman Guard Ohio.[5]
Interception by Indian Coast Guard
The MV Seaman Guard Ohio was intercepted on 12 October 2013 beyond the ICC CSS High Risk Area and within Indian Customs Waters by ICGS Naiki Devi. The vessel was escorted to the VOC Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin). [6] The 10 crew and 25 guards were interrogated by a federal multi-agency joint investigation team comprising members of the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy, Customs, Research and Analysis Wing and the Q Branch of India's Intelligence Bureau.[7][8][9] On 10 July 2014, a judge of the Madras High Court dismissed the charges against the crew and armed guards, while reaffirming that the captain and the fuel vendor were liable to punishment for the ship's being refueled with subsidized diesel fuel.[10][11]
References
- ↑ "Police Arrests Crew of detained US Ship Seaman Guard Ohio". Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ↑ "Seaman Guard Ohio". Marine Traffic. 12 October 2013.
- ↑ Amanda Hodge (16 October 2013). "India seizes US mercenary ship". The Australian.
- ↑ Bhaskar Balakrishnan (24 October 2013). "Rogue vessels in Indian waters". The Hindu Business Line.
- ↑ "Seaman Guard Ohio - 8410691 - Patrol Vessel" (pdf). Maritime Connector. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Arms-laden US ship in Tuticorin: No clear answers yet". News X. 15 October 2013.
- ↑ "Ship with armed guards detained in Indian waters". The Hindu. 13 October 2013.
- ↑ "US ship with armed guards detained at Tuticorin; no papers authorising possession of arms". NDTV. 13 October 2013.
- ↑ "India seizes armed anti-piracy ship owned by US security firm". Times of India. 13 October 2013.
- ↑ "Madras high court quashes criminal case against crew of US ship". Times of India. 10 July 2014.
- ↑ "HC quashes invoking of Arms Act registerd against crew of US". Business Standard. 10 July 2014.