MV ''Almezaan'' is a general cargo vessel active off the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. Originally built as the ''Tarcau'', she was renamed in November 2001. The name can be translated from

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

as "the balance" or "the scales" as well as justice and equity.

Pirate attacks

The vessel has been attacked three times by

Somali pirate Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel, and Indian Ocean, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding places and has a long troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. I ...

s. The first attack and capture was 1 May 2009, when the vessel, said to be taking wheat and used vehicles to

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

, was captured and taken to

Harardhere Harardhere (, ) is a historic town in the Mudug province of Somalia. It is situated in the autonomous Galmudug state and serves as the capital of the Harardhere District. History The town was controlled by the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group al ...

. It was released on 6 May 2009, reportedly without a ransom being paid and after it was confirmed that it had been hired by a local trader. The second attack was 8 November 2009. The ship was held off

Garacad Garacad (Somali: Garaacad) is a historic coastal town located in the Mudug region of Puntland, in northeastern Somalia. The town has significant historical, cultural, and economic importance due to its coastal location, the construction of the ...

and released on 19 November 2009, after a ransom of $15,000 was paid. The ship was believed to be carrying small arms, ammunition, rockets, and

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...

s, as well as armoured vehicles, but this was later denied by the owners. The ship was again attacked on 20 March 2010, while on its way to Mogadishu. The attack was repelled by a private security guard convoy, and one pirate was killed. Six suspected pirates were captured by

Navfor Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is an ongoing counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the Eu ...

the same day, but released after the master and crew of the ''Almezaan'' refused to testify.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almezaan, Mv Maritime incidents in 2010 Piracy in Somalia 1979 ships