India questions RI crew of pirated Japanese ship<\/p>\n
BOMBAY, India (AP): Indian naval officers on Wednesday were
\nquestioning the 15 Indonesian crew members of a merchant ship
\nthey intercepted after a tip that it was pirated on its way to
\nJapan.<\/p>\n
Engineers were pumping water out of the engine room of M.V.
\nAlondra Rainbow after the crew opened valves to flood the chamber
\nin an attempt to sink the vessel when it was intercepted in the
\nArabian Sea, said Commodore M.P. Taneja, chief staff officer of
\nIndia's western naval command.<\/p>\n
\"They are fairly hardened pirates and it will take awhile
\nbefore we get anything from them,\" Taneja said in a telephone
\ninterview.<\/p>\n
The Japanese-owned ship carrying aluminum ingots went missing
\nafter it left Indonesia on Oct. 22. It originally flew a
\nPanamanian flag, but changed it to that of Belize when its 15
\nFilipino and two Japanese crew members were abandoned in
\nThailand, according to Rear Adm. Suresh Bangara, assistant chief
\nof naval operations.<\/p>\n
Fifteen Indonesians allegedly took control of the ship and it
\nwas spotted off India's southern coast on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"When it refused to stop, an Indian navy ship opened fire on
\nTuesday,\" Bangara said.<\/p>\n
A naval missile cruiser in the area was alerted and it fired
\nan AK-630 cannon and a 76.2 mm gun, hitting the merchant ship.<\/p>\n
Indian naval personnel took control of the ship 430 kilometers
\noff the coast of the western state of Goa and extinguished the
\nfire, Bangara said.<\/p>\n
Bangara alleged that the crew had changed the name of the ship
\nto Megha Rana, and showed it as being registered in Mexico. They
\nmade it appear that it was sailing from Manila to Fujairah in the
\nUnited Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
The ship owner had announced a reward of US$200,000 to anyone
\nproviding location and helping the return of the vessel.<\/p>",
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