MV ''Farah III'' was a general cargo ship built in 1981. She was registered in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and owned by Salam International Transport & Trading Co.

Fate

In December 2006, ''Farah III'' was en route from India to South Africa with a cargo of rice when she suffered engine trouble off the east coast of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The crew sent out a distress signal and dropped anchor near the town of

Mullaitivu Mullaitivu (; ) is the main town of Mullaitivu District, situated on the north-eastern coast of Northern Province, Sri Lanka. A largely fishing settlement, the town in the early twentieth century grew as an anchoring harbour of the small sailing ...

, an area held by the militant rebel faction

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

(LTTE). On December 23, the ship was boarded by members of LTTE's naval wing, the Sea Tigers. According to the crew, the rebels ordered them to raise the anchor, after trying and failing to blow up the anchor cable, then forced them into smaller boats. The Tigers later denied this account, insisting that were only helping the crew, who were delivered safely to the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. However, the drifting ship subsequently ran aground, and its owner, Salam International, reported some months later that the ''Farah III'' had been stripped bare by the LTTE; not only had 14,000 metric tons of rice been taken, but also equipment such as lights and generators. Salam International also reported that they had been unable to secure safe passage for the insurance company and surveyors to visit the ship.

Capture by LTTE and rescue by the Sri Lanka Army

On May 14, 2009, just days before government forces declared victory over the rebels and an end to the Sri Lankan Civil War, troops of the 58 Division captured the grounded ship, which was being used by the Sea Tigers as their operational centre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farah III Maritime incidents in 2006 Bulk carriers 1981 ships Ships attacked and captured by pirates Hijackings in the 2000s