Pirate Fishing Vessel Thunder Sinks/Scuttles; All 40 Crew & Officers Rescued By Sea Shepherd

[hatrack]

At 1152 GMT today, the notorious poaching vessel, Thunder, sank at 0˚ 20' North 05˚ 23' East inside the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Sao Tome. The Sea Shepherd ships Bob Barker and Sam Simon are in the process of rescuing the entire crew of 40, including the captain, officers, and deck crew, who were all able to disembark to liferafts from the Thunder before it sank.

Captain of the Bob Barker, Peter Hammarstedt, said, “When my Chief Engineer boarded the Thunder in the hours leading up to the sinking, he was able to confirm that there were clear signs that the vessel was intentionally scuttled. Usually when a vessel is sinking, the captain will close all hatches so as to maintain buoyancy. However, on the Thunder, the reverse was done - doors and hatches were tied open and the fishhold was opened. It is an incredibly suspicious situation, to say the least.”

Sea Shepherd has been able to confirm that, at this time, there have been no reported injuries. The crew of the Thunder have been supplied with food and water, and will now be received by the Sam Simon.

Captain of the Sam Simon, Sid Chakravarty, said, “With the safety of my own crew also in mind, we will now take every precaution to ensure that the crew of the Thunder is retrieved from the lifeboats safely.” The Thunder is the most notorious of six vessels – which Sea Shepherd calls the “Bandit 6” - that are know to engage in Illegal, Unregulated, Unreported (IUU) fishing of vulnerable toothfish in the Southern Ocean.

EDIT

http://www.seashepherdglobal.org/news-and-commentary/news/poaching-vessel-thunder-sinks-in-suspicious-circumstances.html


The Thunder lists dramatically to the starboard side as it takes on water. Photo: Simon Ager


The Thunder continues to take on water. Photo: Simon Ager

[NYC_SKP]

1. Why would they scuttle their own ship?

Odd move.

[2naSalit]

2. What an interesting turn of events.

I have met several crew members as well as the captain of the Bob Barker... met him when he was a teenager but was already involved with Sea Shepherd Society as a ship's mate. Very nice folks.

I wonder if the crew of the Thunder were slaves and decided they couldn't shake these guys and decided to give it up. I bet there could have been too much damning evidence on board to just leave t or maybe they felt it would be safer for other mariners if they just scuttled it. Thoughts of that old Russian-? cruise ship that was floating around the planet for years come to mind.

I hope the Sea Shepherd crew can stay safe with these 40 people they've been chasing on board. I can imagine that it could get uncomfortable with that many potentially hostile people in such close quarters.

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