MV ''Yasa Neslihan'' is a

bulk cargo Bulk cargo is Product (business), product cargo that is transported packaging, unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate (as a mass of relatively small solids) form, ...

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

owned and operated by the

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

based Turkish company YA-SA Denizcilik A.Ş. (YA-SA Maritime Co.), a subsidiary of YA-SA Holding A.Ş., sailing under a

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

flag of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) refers to a business practice whereby a ship's owners Ship registration, register a Merchant vessel, merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ens ...

. She joined company's fleet on November 14, 2005. On October 29, 2008, the ship was captured by

Somali pirates Horn of Africa * Somali Peninsula, a region of East Africa, also known as "The Horn of Africa" * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Greater Somalia ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somali culture ...

in the twenty-ninth such attack in 2008. The ''Yasa Neslihan''s crew (at the time of capture) consisted of 20 Turks.

Hijacking

On 29 October 2008, the ''Yasa Neslihan'' was hijacked near the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...

. The ship was allegedly heading to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

transporting 77,000 tons of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

. The owner company learned about the seizure of the ship through vessel's alarm system.

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

warships followed the hijacked ship from a distance, made however no attempt to intervene. The pirates did not contact the owner to make any request before the ship anchored. The ship-owner received information from NATO only about the ship's coordinates. Fehmi Ulgener, the lawyer and the spokesman of the ship-owner, said at a press conference on November 1 that "the captain of the ship called us and said their ship anchored. He said the pirates treated them well and the crew was in good health condition". On November 4, the spokesman said the pirates demanded a ransom to return the ship and the crew, without disclosing the amount of the ransom. On 6 January 2009 the ship was released, Andrew Mwangura, East Africa's Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program said "Gunmen have released one of the three Turkish ships. The vessel was released on Tuesday and I'm not sure whether ransom was paid".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasa Neslihan Bulk carriers Maritime incidents in 2008 Ships attacked and captured by pirates Cargo ships of Turkey Ships built in Japan Piracy in Somalia 2005 ships Hijackings in 2008