Unheard-of accident of hijacking ocean-going ship in the heart of Europe, in Dunkirk France, of all places, took place during the night Oct 10-11. Several men armed with wooden clubs seized bulk carrier TRUDY and held her, together with replacement 20 crew, for some 4-5 hours, until around 0500 LT Oct 11. They thoroughly searched the ship and cargo, without an apparent goal, like drugs or information in computers or in paper form.
They didn’t take anything and left the ship, several crew said to be injured during the hijack. The bulk carrier was seized by French police on Oct 1 on suspicion of drug trafficking, the ship was taken to Dunkirk and searched, more than a ton of cocaine was found. All 20 crew were arrested, they were replaced with a replacement crew.
Perpetrators invaded the port, hijacked the ship, and after that, fled, without seemingly, any problem – they weren’t arrested or persecuted or contradicted (except it seems, by crew), they did what they planned to do, and disappeared.
Less and less difference between the EU and world “hot spots” like the Gulf of Guinea, in terms of law, safety and security. Welcome to “build back better” and to a “new normal”.
Previous news:
Bulk carrier with 1,1 ton of cocaine intercepted in English Channel by France
Bulk carrier TRUDY was intercepted in the English Channel and taken to Dunkirk on Oct 1, by French law enforcement agencies or agencies. French anti-drug agency was alerted by a “source” on possible drug trafficking on board of TRUDY, which was en route from Brazil to Antwerp, with a 1-day anchorage stop at Las Palmas. 1127 kilo of cocaine were found in the cargo hold – apparently hidden in cargo, most probably bulk cargo, considering countries of departure and destination. All 20 crew were arrested, and reportedly, taken to Paris for investigation. The crew is multinational, including Russians, Ukrainians, Filipinos, Ethiopians, and Romanian Master. It is highly unlikely, that all of the crew (if any at all) were involved in drug trafficking. Overzealous police? Probably.
Marine Traffic reported: : Bulk Carrier TRUDY is currently located at UKC – English Channel at position 51° 0′ 21.348″ N, 2° 10′ 37.11″ E as reported by MarineTraffic Terrestrial Automatic Identification System on 2021-10-07 17:47 UTC (4 days ago)
Added: The vessel is currently at port DUNKIRK, FR after a voyage of 16 days, 2 hours originating from port ARATU, BR.
New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/
