Want to find out where and what ships are or find the location of a particular vessel in real time, then select the desired quadrant on the map and look through the ships" movement. To find out what the vessel is and who it belongs to, just click on the marker of interest on the ship map.

More options (if the map above is not available)

> riverships.com

Information on Russian river steamships (with photo).

>shipspotting.com

>shipsandharbours.com

Find a ship and see its photo.

> cfmc.ru/positioning

Information about the location of training ships.
Vessel position information is provided based on industry monitoring system (OSM) data. Positioning time is set to UTC.

> maritime.com.pl

Information on Polish courts.
Quote:
“The Maritime Shipping Section consists of the following modules: Maritime Agencies, Vessel Catalogue, List of Regular Lines.
This section contains a list of Polish vessels in service, with their full characteristics. In addition to detailed technical data, photos, illustrations and specifications can be found here. It is possible to find all the information for any vessel by entering its name, type of vessel, shipowner or technical parameters.»

> vesseltracker.com

If you want to see a photo of the ship, and brief information about the ship.

> marinetraffic.com

Real-time site to follow the ship

> containershipregister.nl
search by container name. You can search for a ship by name, you can search by IMO, etc.

> e-ships.net
In general, a search for all the courts of the world, but registration is required.

> solentwaters.co.uk
You can find a ship in real time by name.
In general, a great site.

> digital-seas.com
In the search for a lot of information on the vessel, photo, description, upon registration, access to the full database.

> digital-seas.com
shows a photo of the vessel, a brief info about it, current location, ports of call..
need registration

View information and photos on the steamers of the shipping company MSC Ships.
Photo super quality!

Marine site Russia no October 15, 2016 Created: October 15, 2016 Updated: July 25, 2017 Views: 74300

Based on data from AIS. All positions of ships, departure from the port and arrival at the port of destination in real time. Attention! Vessel positions may sometimes not correspond to real ones and may be an hour or more behind. All vessel position coordinates are provided for informational purposes only.

Search data from AIS (AIS) cannot be used for route planning When searching, you will find accurate information about the movement of ships on the map according to AIS data and you can see their photos. In order to find a ship, select a sector on the map, where the number of ships currently located there is indicated.

We click with the mouse, for example, on the region of Europe and get the picture that you see below. If you zoom in, you will see specific vessels. The map receives updates every few seconds.

When you hover over the ship, you can see its name, on the site you can get other information you are interested in for searching. To find the ship you are interested in, you should enter the name of the ship and, if possible, its localization in the search bar and press the search key. AIS map will show the position of the vessel in real time.

What is AIS?

To reduce the risk of ship collisions in 2000, AIS - Automatic Identification System, that is, the Automatic Identification System, was developed. Its functionality was so successful that after only two years, the International Maritime Organization required the mandatory installation of AIS terminals on all cargo ships with a displacement of more than 500 register tons, on “trucks” over 300 tons making international voyages, and on all ships for passenger transportation, regardless of tonnage.

Unlike radars, which are able to detect the appearance of large floating objects near the vessel and approximately estimate their current direction and speed of movement, AIS provides much more detailed and accurate information about the navigational situation.

To better understand the capabilities of the new system, first let's look at how it works.

The ship's AIS module is a digital VHF transceiver that communicates with the ship's navigation systems. Depending on the speed of the vessel, every 2–10 seconds (every 3 minutes at rest) it automatically transmits the following operational information: MMSI identification number, navigation status (“at anchor”, “in motion underway”, etc.). ), current position, true heading and speed, rate of turn, and timestamp.

In addition to dynamic data, static data are transmitted every 6 minutes: the IMO vessel identification number, its type, name, radio call sign, dimensions, type of positioning system (GPS, GLONASS, LORAN) and even the position of its antenna relative to the bow of the vessel. Routing information is transmitted with the same frequency: destination with estimated time of arrival, draft, cargo category and number of people on board. In addition, in case of a threat to the safety of the vessel, it is allowed to send text messages entered manually.

The received information can be displayed on the terminal in the form of a table with information about nearby ships, as well as in the form of their symbols superimposed on navigation charts (for example, in a chart plotter) - of course, in this case it is much easier to assess the relative position and traffic dynamics.

In a word, according to AIS messages, the captain can absolutely accurately assess the current navigation situation. By the way, the radio exchange in the system is conducted in the range of 162 MHz, that is, at a much lower frequency compared to radar radiation. Longer radio waves are able to avoid obstacles like large ships and low islands, and therefore the range of AIS is pleasantly impressive. Under favorable conditions, it can exceed 40 miles, but keep in mind that the height of the antenna installation here, as in the case of other airborne transmitters, plays a decisive role.

For yachtsmen, at least those whose ships do not appear on the Forbes magazine charts, the subtlety of using the system is that ships under 300 tons are only allowed to install a simplified version of the terminals, designated "Class B".

They are distinguished by a markedly reduced transmitter power (2 watts versus 12.5 watts), which limits the range of reception of their messages to about five miles. Another trouble is a simplified data transmission algorithm that allows you to send information only if there is free space on the air during the radio exchange of older brothers equipped with class A terminals. The trick here is that at any given time on any of the two AIS channels it is possible to transfer one single block of digital data, and class A devices can agree on the order of their issuance in advance.

However, you must admit that despite such discrimination, being in a turbulent night sea, it is very pleasant to know that on a supertanker passing nearby, the watchman certainly knows about the presence of your 45-foot yacht at his side.

There is another way to use AIS, and it consists in installing a receiver that does not allow sending any data at all, but is able to track the movements of all ships equipped with full-fledged terminals. By and large, this does not even require a separate device, since manufacturers like Icom and Standard Horizon have begun to equip high-end VHF mountable radios with this feature.

Convenient, compact, not expensive, but there is one big “but” - it is problematic to place even a text table on a small screen with a low resolution, and even to build even the most primitive semblance of a map ...

That is why AIS receivers were developed, which do not show graphic information at all, but are able to convert data into packets of the standard NMEA protocol, understood by the vast majority of chartplotters. Plus, some of them can connect to computers via USB, or even transfer data via Wi-Fi to mobile gadgets running Android or iOS. Similar devices are produced, for example, by Weather Dock.

By the way, when installing AIS equipment, there is not even a 100% need for an additional antenna due to operation in the same frequency range with the onboard radio. However, keep in mind that splitters used to connect two different devices to the antenna usually reduce the signal level a little, and in case of problems with a single antenna, you will lose two security systems at once.

It would be naive to believe that such an advanced information exchange system was created solely to assist the helmsmen in operational maneuvering. AIS is also responsible for the global monitoring of vessel movements for the benefit of a variety of shipping companies, traffic control centers, as well as government agencies that may need information on the location of certain vessels or cargo. For this reason, AIS equipment can be based not only on ships, but also on coast stations, many of which are connected to a global network.

Well, in order to more effectively use the system to search and rescue sailors in emergency situations, emergency buoys are produced that can transmit AIS information with a higher priority. There are also so-called virtual buoys - this is the only type of device in the system, whose real location may not coincide with the coordinates in their messages. Typically, these are shore-mounted transmitters that warn passing ships of hazards such as poorly visible cliffs or headlands devoid of lighthouses that protrude far into the sea.

I must say that AIS receivers are placed even on satellites. After all, it is only on the surface of the Earth that the radius of propagation of its signal is limited by visibility to the horizon, and in space it can be received without problems from hundreds of kilometers. Today, more than a dozen spacecraft revolve around the planet, busy monitoring sea traffic.

It is especially nice that you can get to the data on the global movement of ships without being the owner of a shipping company or an agent of the secret service. Information is available for a fee (for example, in the full version of Google Earth), but in a somewhat truncated form it can also be seen for free, for example, on the www.marinetraffic.com resource, whose interactive maps and user-friendly interface are replicated on many other nautical sites.

The attack can be thwarted either by the appearance of a warship (aircraft), or by the skillful actions of the crew of the attacked vessel. In 2008, 55 pirate attacks were successfully repelled in one way or another. For example, on October 28 last year, pirates in three boats pulled away from a fishing vessel and attacked the Leander supertanker sailing under the Panamanian flag. For five minutes, the pirates fired on the superstructure and tried to climb aboard. Maneuvering, the tanker broke away from the boats, and when the pirates went on the second attack, the Spanish Orion base patrol aircraft appeared, which, at a strafing flight, threw smoke bombs at the pirates.

In November 1999, the Indian corvette "Prahar", using force, released the cargo ship "Alondra Rainbow", previously captured by pirates, in the Arabian Sea. After 12 days of pursuit, the corvette, with the help of two reconnaissance aircraft and Indian Coast Guard patrol boats, neutralized the pirates and returned the stolen ship to its owner. This was the first time when, with the use of military force, it was possible to return a ship captured by pirates to its former owner and detain the bandits. _____________________

There are examples of active actions.

They are associated with the participation of military escort ships, the capture and transfer of pirates to justice. The ships of the Navy of Russia and other countries differed in this. However, by right, the operation to free the French yacht "Le Ponant" ("Zephyr") with thirty passengers on board deserves special attention of specialists and can be included in the encyclopedia of combating modern piracy. The yacht en route from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean Sea was hijacked by Somali pirates on April 4, 2008. After lengthy negotiations, the shipowner agreed to pay a ransom of two million euros for the people and the vessel, which, under the terms of the agreements, were dropped from the air to the coast by the pirates after the release of the hostages and the yacht.

During the beginning of the division of money, the pirates were suddenly attacked from helicopters by a group of French special forces, captured and transported to France for trial. Most of the money was returned to the ship's owner. International media say that since then the pirates have preferred not to get involved in confrontation with French merchant ships and avoided French Navy ships.

__According to the assessment of the judge of the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, President of the Russian Association of International Maritime Law Professor Anatoly Kolodkin, published in the Vesti program on November 20, 2008, the main condition for ensuring the safety of navigation in the Horn of Africa is a long-term international military action against Somali pirates. maritime operations under the auspices of the United Nations. A grouping of warships that is significant in terms of composition and nationality operates in the waters of the Indian Ocean mainly in a scattered manner, without clear coordination and planning. The region has not created a unified command and control center for multinational forces, which would be tasked with monitoring the situation in areas dangerous for maritime navigation, collecting information, making decisions on patrolling, coordinating relations with shipping companies in the formation and escort of sea caravans, and the procedure for reimbursement of services to ensure their protection and many other issues. Some countries in the Middle East offer to pay for the cost of warships to escort merchant ships. The legal norms of the leading maritime powers provide for such a practice. Russia is no exception: the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation provides for "remuneration to a warship for the provision of salvage services." But for less expensive escort, it is necessary to form a caravan of ships, which naturally leads to a loss of time and, as a result, an increase in the cost of cargo and its transportation._____________________

Epic blunders of Somali pirates

Pirates from the coast of Somalia are in the news for their daring and successful raids on large ships. However, not everything is so simple, and there are truly legendary failures in the history of young Somali piracy.

On April 25, 2009, pirates attacked the Melodi cruise ship, which was returning to Genoa from South Africa. The ship deliberately deviated from dangerous waters and had an agreement with a Spanish warship to escort, but nothing helped: the pirates were not where they usually were, and the Spanish ship approached only the next day.

The pirates opened fire on the bridge and everything. To which the passengers (and there were hundreds of them on the ship) were hidden in cabins and employees of the Israeli security company, who had been wisely hired by a travel company, were unleashed on the pirates. They first doused the Somalis with water. They laughed with dazzling smiles in response. And then the Israelis applied a technique worked out over centuries of human history: they showed that they also have machine guns.

Pirates rob ships not to die, but to spend money. And this time they thought it best to retreat. On the day after tomorrow, April 27, they were arrested by the Spaniards from the Numancia ship. The gentlemen of fortune were handed over to the authorities of the Seychelles, in whose waters the incident took place.

On August 13, 2009, Egyptian fishermen, who had been held captive by pirates for more than a month, suddenly, unexpectedly and violently attacked their guards. Using improvised means, the Arabs took possession of firearms and soon completely mastered their ships (and the situation was complicated by the fact that two Egyptian ships were captured by the “indivisible deuce”). At least two pirates (according to other sources, seven) were killed, none of the Egyptians was injured. They managed to take four criminals with them and hand them over in Aden to not the kindest state of Yemen. The further fate of the pirates in Yemen is not reported, but with a high probability they were given a capital punishment.

Yemen is a different story; In April 1990, the empty tanker Qana bound for Aden was hijacked by pirates 10 miles off the Yemeni coast. From the shore, a special detachment was immediately sent in helicopters and recaptured the ship impudently. Five crew members of the tanker were wounded during the firefight - the Yemenis were not up to the health of the hostages when the honor of the nation is at stake. Seven pirates were captured, three were killed on the spot. Whether the captured were envious of those who died immediately is not reported.

Another truly epic failure happened to the Somalis on October 7, '09, 500 kilometers east of their native coast. Under the cover of night, two motor boats attacked a large vessel (157 meters long), which turned out to be a heavily armed French military refueling tanker with the proud name “Somme” (read “catfish”, which is already good, but named after the very river Somme ). The details of the night incident were not disclosed, but five were definitely taken prisoner.

This is not the only case when the French caught Somali pirates on live bait. Earlier in May of the same year, the small frigate Nivôse was mistaken in broad daylight (!) for a small merchant ship, supported this illusion, leaving the pirates in the sun, which made it difficult to identify it. This is reminiscent of an episode of another battle, on land in 1205: ... a detachment of Polovtsy breaks into the camp of the Crusaders, mounted knights are trying to pursue the enemy. After luring the crusaders out of the camp and leading them a few kilometers away, the lightly armed Polovtsians stop and shoot the detachment.

At some point, the French frigate turned around in all its glory, striking the pursuers with its characteristic profile with a cannon turret on the forecastle, launched speedboats and lifted a helicopter from the deck. The shocked pirates surrendered as part of eleven people.

And how can the ship's crew protect themselves in the event of a raid?

We urge people to be extra vigilant when their ship enters the so-called high-risk zone. If they spot the pirate ship long before it comes within a dangerous distance of their ship, the crew will have plenty of time to change course and escape. We also advise you to use a flammable substance so that if a pirate boat approaches, pour it overboard and set it on fire, thereby making it impossible for pirates to enter the ship. In addition, we propose to install an anti-theft radio beacon on the ship, so that in the event of an attack, emergency services can determine the location of the ship. However, crew members should not use or keep weapons on board as they could be used against the crew.

05/12/2009 - Another Novoship tanker, ns Spirit, fought off the pirates (photo)

On May 10, 2009 at 13:00 Moscow time, the tanker NS Spirit, owned by Novoship OJSC (Sovcomflot group of companies), became the object of harassment by pirates while passing through the Gulf of Aden.

According to the captain of NS Spirit, the crew promptly detected a boat with armed men moving in the direction of the ship, and fired two warning volleys of the ship's pyrotechnics.

The crew of the NS Spirit immediately established contact with the Admiral Panteleev BOD, which was 15 nautical miles from the tanker. A helicopter was lifted from the ship's side into the air. Thanks to the competent and resolute actions of the seafarers of Novoship OJSC, as well as the clear interaction of the ship with the ship of the Russian Navy, the pirates stopped the pursuit.

All crew members are healthy and ready to continue the flight.

Currently, NS Spirit is heading to the port of the Persian Gulf. He passes a dangerous section of the path, accompanied by the Admiral Panteleev BOD. No new attempts to attack the vessel have been registered.

Reference Information:

Product carrier NS Spirit with a deadweight of 47,000 tons was built in Croatia in 2006. The crew of the ship - 22 people (citizens of the Russian Federation). The flag is Liberia. The ship was heading from Southeast Asia to the port of the Persian Gulf with a cargo of 36,000 tons of gasoline.

All this is bullshit. I myself drove through Aden 7 times, though 6 of them on a container of 6.5 thousand teuses at a speed of 24 knots and a freeboard of 9 meters or so, I saw pirates on a large wooden boat, about 10 black-eared people with machine guns. We looked at each other friend and dispersed. And the last time on a cracker with a speed of 11 knots and a freeboard of 2.5 meters in cargo, they chased us, a caravan of Japanese ships was coming towards us under the escort of the Japs, they did not respond to a request for help, the cap drove into the thick of this caravan and the pirates reluctantly turned around. So the warriors guard only their own ships, the corridor is only on paper, and Ukraine, if at least one boat is sunk, will be dragged along all the ships.

I read that once the pirates refused to seize the ship, seeing sailors on board, armed with anything and ready to fight back. Although the pirates themselves had firearms.

Having stood in Nigeria on the roadstead of the port of Lagos for 5 weeks, we were forced to provide additional security watches at night. We prevented several attempts to board a pirate ship at night and stopped an attempt to enter the ship by a group of scammers who introduced themselves as an agency commission. All 5 weeks, any order received from the shore, I double-checked via satellite communications. These "gentlemen of fortune" have high-speed ships, excellent means of communication, are armed to the teeth, are confident in their absolute impunity, since the authorities practically do not react to the chaos that is happening. This situation is not only in Nigeria, but also in the waters of Indonesia, Bangladesh, in a number of countries in Africa and South America.

The sailors of a Chinese merchant ship repelled two attacks of sea pirates with beer bottles

Beijing. May 19. INTERFAX-CHINA - The sailors of the Chinese merchant ship "Anzejiang" repulsed two attacks of sea pirates with the help of beer bottles and other improvised means, local media reported on Wednesday.

While approaching the Nigerian port of Lagos, observers on the ship noticed that two motor boats with armed men were approaching the ship at high speed. Approaching the side of the ship, the unknown tried to climb aboard with the help of ladders and rope ladders.

The crew of the Anzejiang "with the help of a large number of beer bottles, pieces of wood and other improvised means" prevented the attempt. Later, the pirates made a second attack on the ship, opening fire from automatic weapons. In order to avoid casualties, the crew retreated from the sides to the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe vessel's living quarters and from there continued to fight off the attackers.

The repulse of the sailors was crowned with success, the pirates were forced to retreat and leave the ship.

During the clashes, four Chinese sailors, including the captain, were injured. They are hospitalized in one of the hospitals in Lagos, their life is out of danger.

The crew of the foreign tanker Handitankers Magic, which repelled an armed attack by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, consists entirely of residents of Primorye, a representative of the Far Eastern regional organization of the Russian Union of Seafarers told RIA Novosti.

Pirates attacked the ship on 19 April. A grenade launcher was fired at the tanker, but the grenade, having fallen on the cargo deck, did not explode, but fell apart. The crew from the ship's water-pressure systems managed to repulse the attack of sea robbers. Decisive and well-coordinated actions of Russian sailors helped to avoid more serious consequences from a meeting with pirates.

"The new tanker Handitankers Magic, built in China for the Greek company Roxana Shipping and registered under the flag of the Marshall Islands, was ferried by sailors of Primorye to Europe. In the Gulf of Aden, the tanker's watch service noticed a vessel with black sails, from which a motor boat departed and high speed rushed to the tanker.There were four pirates in the boat, preparing an aluminum gangway for boarding the ship.The ship alarm was announced on the tanker, captain Yuri Suponin ordered to attack the pirates from the ship's water-pressure fire system, which cooled their offensive ardor.However, the pirates still managed to fire a grenade launcher, which, fortunately for the crew, turned out to be unsuccessful," the source said.

According to him, Yuri Suponin radioed to the port of Nakhodka that none of the Russian sailors were injured during the pirate attack. At present, the tanker, having passed the Gulf of Aden, which is dangerous for navigation, is approaching the Suez Canal

Only one case of the release of hostages taken by pirates is known: this year, French special forces carried out an operation in Somalia to free the passengers of the French cruise yacht Le Ponan. The French did not limit themselves to the pursuit of pirates at sea, but continued it precisely on the territory of Somalia, as a result, one pirate was killed, six were taken prisoner, and the ransom paid to them was partially returned. By the way, the French decided to try the captured robbers in France: the invaders will get a life sentence.

Other tough actions also had an effect: in November, the British frigate Cumberland, together with the Russian patrol ship Neustrashimy, repelled a pirate attack on the Danish ship Powerful. At the same time, the British destroyed two pirates.

Sailors strike back and they are effective

Sailors know what they are getting into when they head for the coast of East Africa. And although the crew members are not allowed to have weapons, they find other ways to fight off the pirates. Last year, when pirates attacked the Chinese ship Chenhua 4, the crew went up to the upper deck and raised the ladder. The sailors then turned on the fire hoses with strong water pressure and knocked the pirates off their feet. Once in a winning position, they began to pelt the pirates with Molotov cocktails. After the four hundredth bottle, the pirates left the ship.

Our compatriot, the captain of the ship "Taganrog" of the Novorossiysk Shipping Company Vitaly Starodubtsev testifies:

Having stood in Nigeria on the roadstead of the port of Lagos for 5 weeks, we were forced to provide additional security watches at night. We prevented several attempts to board a pirate ship at night and stopped an attempt to enter the ship by a group of scammers who introduced themselves as an agency commission. All 5 weeks, any order received from the shore, I double-checked via satellite communications.

Sometimes pirates are armed only with melee weapons. In April 2001, a Russian dry cargo ship sailing from Singapore was approached by two boats, from which 20 people with batons and metal bars climbed on board. The ship's guards - six Malaysians - offered no resistance. Then the crew of the ship, armed with improvised means, repelled the attack, simply throwing the pirates overboard. None of the crew members were injured.

Here is the story of a Russian navigator who sailed for a long time on large dry cargo ships owned by Western companies: "there is an instruction - in the event of an attack by pirates, do not offer any resistance, fulfill all their requirements. Owners of ships and cargo are well aware that the fight against pirates and the protection of cargo - not the concern of sailors. We are paid for receiving containers. In addition, everything is insured - and losses will be reimbursed. However, in my practice there was a case of pirate attacks. We were in the roadstead, a boat quietly approached the ship, from which armed people boarded "The captain ordered everyone to take cover in the wheelhouse of the ship. All the hatches were battened down, it was possible to get to us or to the engine room only along one corridor. In advance, a powerful hose was installed at the end of the corridor, capable of delivering water pressure of several hundred atmospheres. The pirates tried to poke their noses, but the jet of water prevented them from walking or even crawling.

The pirates limited themselves to unloading several containers with expensive equipment (computers, household appliances). By the way, they accurately determined which of the more than 300 containers has the most expensive cargo. Containers with plastic wrap did not even begin to open. Apparently, the information was received in advance."

The presence of various nations' navies prevented many of the takeovers, involving skirmishes with pirates to prevent attacks. British forces, for example, recently destroyed two pirates in a firefight, and an Indian ship reportedly sank a pirate shipping base in a firefight on November 18, 2008.

France, which maintains a naval base in Djibouti, has also carried out successful operations against pirates. In April 2008, French special forces captured six pirates responsible for an attack on a French cruise yacht with 30 people on board. After the hostages were released, the pirates were caught in a daring helicopter attack on a vehicle that was carrying the pirates and part of the ransom deep into the semi-autonomous province of Puntland. In September, French special forces freed a captured yacht three hundred miles from Somalia. Pirates have taken the yacht and a French couple hostage, demanding 1 million euros in ransom and the release of pirates previously captured by the French authorities. Combat swimmers successfully boarded the yacht on the high seas, killed one pirate and captured the six remaining intruders. The pirates who were captured on both occasions were brought to France for justice.

First of all, let me clear up one issue once and for all. Forced release of a ship captured by pirates can occur in two circumstances. In the first, the ship's crew is in the hands of pirates. In the second, the ship's crew hid in a hard-to-reach room and is inaccessible to pirates. In the first case, the probability of death of at least part of the crew is very high. The second one is practically non-existent. I am aware of cases of the release of ships, despite the fact that the crew was in the hands of pirates. If we talk about Europeans, then I know of only one case - the liberation by French special forces of a French yacht with three citizens of France. One of these citizens was killed, one might say, on the spot. His wife with a small child miraculously survived. Other cases involve local ships, local crews and local squabbles. There were several of them - made famous - and there were also victims.

The case with the liberation of Moscow University is the fourth of its kind only this year, when the crew hid in a hard-to-reach room and thereby escaped. Prior to Moscow University, the following were released in a similar way:

February 5 - Ariella bulk carrier with Ukrainian citizens as part of the crew, the ship was stormed by Danish special forces, the crew took refuge in the engine room.

April 5 - The German container ship Taipan with Russian citizens as part of the crew was stormed by the Dutch special forces, the crew took refuge in the engine room.

On April 7, a generally unique case, the Turkish bulk carrier Yasin C. was hijacked by pirates near Mombasa, Kenya, en route from Ukraine. The crew locked themselves in the engine room and, steering the ship from there, led it towards Mombasa, holding a pirate siege. The pirates could not stand it, and fearing the appearance of the military, a day after the capture, they simply fled.

See the appendix at the end of the article for details.

Details of the release of the Turkish bulk carrier: the crew held the defense for about a day and forced the pirates to leave!

Details have emerged of the release of the Turkish bulk carrier Yasin C., hijacked by Somali pirates on April 7 at 0459S 04352E, 270 miles from Mombasa Kenya. It turns out that the crew closed in the engine room and kept the defense there for almost a day! At the same time, the crew continued to lead the ship to where it was heading, to Mombasa - under the circumstances, of course, at least in that direction, to the west. The pirates could not break into the engine room and finally left the ship, apparently fearing that the military was about to arrive. The military, by the way, never arrived. The Turkish crew took a very big risk, but did not give up. Pirates in their hearts staged a real pogrom on the ship, shooting everything they could from machine guns on the bridge, destroying the crew cabins and even setting fires in several places. Still, their nerves gave out, and they left the ship. The ship is currently under tow in Mombasa, according to EU NAVFOR. Coming from Ukraine with a cargo of grain, the indefatigable Andrew Mwangura, Seafarers Mission Kenya, launched a rumor in the media that there could be weapons on board the bulk carrier, under the grain. Like, the dockers in the port are talking about this. To be honest, I highly doubt it. The composition of the wonderful crew is still unknown. It seems to be citizens of Turkey, but according to my information, there may be at least citizens of Azerbaijan.

Voytenko Mikhail

Bulk carrier Yasin C. - DWT 36318 tons, built in 1982, flag Turkey, operator Bergen Shipping Ltd Istanbul.

Dutch special forces freed three Russian sailors

The German container ship Taipan and the mixed German-Russian-Sri Lankan crew were very lucky on the morning of April 5, the ship was captured by pirates, but was released by the special forces of the Dutch light cruiser HNLMS Tromp. The container ship was en route from Djibouti to Mombasa, 500 miles off the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean, and was attacked by pirates who were able to board it. The ship ended up in the hands of pirates, but the ship and the crew were saved by something that had already helped others in a similar situation more than once - a shelter room, a specially equipped room in which the crew locked themselves, having with them communications equipment and some water and food. By pure luck, fortunately, not far from the container ship was a Dutch frigate, which, after receiving a signal from the ship about the attack of pirates, immediately moved towards it. The ship approached the container ship when it was already in the hands of the pirates. The Dutch tried to negotiate with the pirates in order to "peacefully" disperse, but they refused to leave such a rich booty. The Dutch already knew that the crew was in hiding, and the pirates had not yet been able to open it. A group of special forces was sent to the container ship, which very quickly and professionally freed the ship and detained 10 pirates. It is possible that one of the pirates was wounded and killed during the operation, this is not reported. If there were no military nearby, the shelter would not have saved the crew from pirates.

Container ship Taipan - capacity 925 TEU, deadweight 12611 tons, speed 19.3 knots, built in 2007, German flag, operator Komrowski Befrachtungskontor KG (GmbH & Co.). Crew 13 people, 2 Germany, 3 Russia, 8 Sri Lanka.

The release of the bulk carrier Ariella has turned into an international operation involving the Russian TFR Neustrashimy

The release of the bulk carrier Ariella from pirates has become an international operation. The bulk carrier was properly prepared for the Gulf of Aden, the sides were surrounded by barbed wire, but this did not stop the pirates. The pirates attacked the bulk carrier early in the morning, the ship immediately gave an alarm signal and tried to contact the military via VHF radio. The Indian frigate Tabar turned out to be in touch, it alerted everyone, including the coalition forces, via Mercury, the communication system between the military in the Gulf of Aden. A French patrol aircraft of the EU NAVFOR forces was nearby, it confirmed the fact of the attack by visual observation and reported that it was observing pirates on the deck of the ship. The plane contacted the NATO force command center aboard the Danish warship Absalon. Before sending a special forces team to the ship, the NATO military made sure that this did not threaten the crew, he took refuge in a specially equipped hard-to-reach room with communications equipment on hand, that is, there was communication with the crew even when he lost control of the ship, and the pirates were already on board. With the Absalon now less than a mile away, the Zodiacs, with commandos aboard, moved at full speed towards the bulk carrier. The pirates did not engage in a firefight with the commandos and immediately left the ship, they are not such fools as to fight with the elite special forces of the West. Meanwhile, the Russian TFR Neustrashimy got involved. The bulk carrier was attacked by pirates from two boats, one of them, with seven pirates on board, was detained by our military. Thus, the release of the bulk carrier Ariella became an excellent example of both the actions of the sailors of the bulk carrier, who prepared in advance for a possible attack by pirates, and the interaction of the military. If there were no shelter prepared in advance on the bulk carrier, the sailors would not have been able to win those minutes that were required for the commandos to approach, the pirates would have captured people and covered themselves with them, the special forces would have been powerless. The crew of the bulk carrier, which, according to the latest data, included 4 citizens of Ukraine, was not injured. February 05 - Somali pirates seized the Antigua-flagged bulk carrier Ariella in the Gulf of Aden today or last night. The bulk carrier was heading from Sevastopol to Surabaya Indonesia. Most likely, there are citizens of Ukraine in the crew, in May 2009 the crew consisted of 25 people, 7 citizens of Ukraine, 1 Slovenia, 15 Philippines, 1 India, 1 Bulgaria.

Bulk carrier Ariella - dwt 32441, built in 1983, flag of Antigua, owner of Splosna Plovba d.o.o. Slovenia.

Marine Traffic - what is it?

Marine traffic is a shareware service to track the location of a vessel online. On the world map you can find any ships that are in port or sailing. In the service options, you can also track the location of the vessel by its name in real time.
When you select a vessel on the map, a window pops up with information about the vessel online:

• vessel name
• vessel type (container, tanker, passenger ship, etc.)
• ship status
• vessel speed
• ship's course
• ship's draft

How Marine traffic and AIS systems work

At the present time, almost all ships are equipped with an automatic identification system AIS, which allows you to track the ship and avoid ship collisions. At what maximum distance can a ship be tracked on a map? It all depends on the height of the antenna located on the ship itself and at the nearest station on land. Regular AIS stations cover a range of about 40 nautical miles (about 75 km). In some cases, the location of the ship can be tracked at a distance of 200 miles, and this is no less than 370 km. But this is the case if the AIS station is located high above sea level, for example, on a mountain, and the ship itself is equipped with a good antenna. Thus, anyone can track the ship online using the Marinetraffic service.

How to track the ship on the map?

If you have the ship's name, the easiest way to find out the ship's location is to enter it in the map search and the system will immediately show the ship's position and information about it. If you know that the ship has not yet left any port or it could not go far from it, you can try to find the desired port in the same search form. And then all the familiar actions of the mouse point at all the ships and see information about them. Also, to make your search easier, you can filter ships by type. For example, select only passenger, fishing or cargo ships. The service is intuitive and if you have the skills to use the map, then it will not be difficult for you to find out the location of the vessel in real time.