MT Stolt Valor

History
Hong KongHong Kong
NameMT Stolt Valor
Owner
  • Owner: Panama-registered company, Ocean Carrier Transit
  • Beneficial owner: Central Marine of Hiroshima, Japan
OperatorFleet Management Ltd. of Hong Kong
Launched10 November 2003
Completed2003
Out of service15 March 2012
IdentificationIMO number: 9274290
FateScrapped October 2012
General characteristics
TypeChemical tanker
Tonnage25,269 DWT
Crew22
Notes
  • Classed: by ClassNK
  • Insured: through Assuranceforeningen Gard

"It was not only an ordeal but also a nightmare for all of us on board the Stolt Valor." (Captain Prabhat Kumar Goyal, November 16, 2008)

[1]

The MT Stolt Valor was a Hong Kong-flagged ship that was hijacked while in the Designated Safety Corridor[2] within the Gulf of Aden, approximately 38 nautical miles (70 km) away from the coast of Yemen, while heading from the United States south through the Gulf towards Asia.[3] After the ship passed through the Suez Canal, it encountered hijackers and alerted the International Maritime Bureau.[4] Area coalition forces arrived too late to avert the hijacking which occurred at 10:16 UTC on September 15, 2008 by Somali pirates.[5]

The Japanese-owned chemical tanker, managed by Fleet Management Ltd. of Hong Kong, and on time charter to Stolt Tankers, carried a crew of 22 members, including eighteen from India, two from the Philippines, one from Bangladesh, and one from Russia according to Fleet's spokesman, Ferdi Stolzenberg.[3][6] The ship's captain was Prabhat Kumar Goyal of Teg Bahadur Road, Dehradun.[7] The ship was carrying 19,800 metric tons of phosphoric acid, loaded in Morehead City, North Carolina, United States, at time of capture.[8]

Following capture, the Stolt Valor made way to the pirate haven of Eyl on the eastern coast of Somalia. The pirates made contact with the ship's owners the following day, September 16.[3] The ship's Master, through email and phone, stated that his crew was unharmed and confined to the ship’s wheelhouse.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference ndtv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Couttie, Bob (September 18, 2008). "Stolt Valor Hijacking Update". maritimeaccident.org. Retrieved 2008-11-20. [dead link]
  3. ^ a b c "Hijackers board Stolt Valor in Gulf of Aden". lloydslist.com. September 16, 2008. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  4. ^ "Stolt-Nielsen tanker hijacked". tankerworld.com. September 17, 2008. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  5. ^ "Stolt-Nielsen says ship seized off Somalia, crew safe". news.alibaba.com. September 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  6. ^ "Mt Stolt Valor Carrying 18 Indians Hijacked Near Somali". india-server.com. September 17, 2008. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  7. ^ "Stolt Valor hijack sends shivers among Doon sailors". in.news.yahoo.com. October 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-20. [dead link]
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference indiatimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).