NS ASIA tanker rebuffs pirates in Arabian Sea

VLADIVOSTOK. March 29. KAZINFORM Pirates tried to capture the NS ASIA tanker of the Novorossiysk shipping company in the Arabian Sea, but the security team rebuffed the attack; Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.

The state marine rescue and coordination center said the incident occurred on Sunday, when the tanker was 235 miles northeast of Socotra Island.

A boat with three people on board making 23 knots tried to approach the tanker, but at a distance of 500 meters, the tanker's security personnel fired warning shots. The boat turned and sped back to the mother ship.

Tanker captain Bogdanov reported that the vessel was out of danger. He said there had been no response to his mayday to NATO forces in the area.

The NS ASIA has a crew of 23 Russians. Its deadweight is 111,000 tons. The Liberia-flagged vessel was built in South Korea in 2009.