Pirate attack on Maltese-flagged ship thwarted

The Iranian Navy yesterday thwarted an attack by Somali pirates on a Maltese-flagged cargo ship, the MV Dandle.

State-funded news agency Press TV reported that Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Gholam-Reza Khadem Bigham said the ship was attacked by four pirate speedboats.

The commander said the pirates intended to attack the Dandle with light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades from all sides but theIranian fleet’s vigilance thwarted their plans.

The website reported that since March 21 the Iranian Navy has engaged in 10 confrontations with Somali pirates.

Maltese port authorities said the Dandle had last been in the port of Marsaxlokk on May 3.

The ship, previously known as Twelfth Ocean, was previously the property of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) but is now being chartered, according to a spokesman for Royal Shipping Lines, the ship’s agent in Malta.

The US had imposed sanctions on the Twelfth Ocean, which were then lifted on December 21, allowing for the judicial sale of the then-renamed vessel.