KIMBERLY

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Hijacker arrested again

A 34-year-old man serving a prison sentence for the hijacking of the Dutch 'FWN Rapide', and subsequent hostage-taking of the crew, was arrested again on Nov 12, 2024. He will stand trial again, this time for the hijacking of the 'BBC Caribbean', now sailing as 'Kimberly', in the Gulf of Guinea in 2017. The convicted man's DNA profile was found to match a DNA trace from Germany. This was a trace on a cigarette butt found on board the freighter. The BBC Caribbean was attacked in international waters on Feb 5, 2017, by pirates armed with AK47 Kalashnikovs. During the hijacking, eight crew members were overpowered and held for weeks in Nigeria under threat of violence. Three crew members had managed to hide on board and were not discovered by the pirates. With a new crew, they sailed the 'BBC Caribbean' to the port of Las Palmas. There, among other things, abandoned cartridge cases of 9mm bullets, 7 cigarette butts, fingerprints and DNA traces were secured. The hostage crew members were taken under threat of automatic firearms in a wooden skiff to the mainland of Nigeria. According to statements from the victims, the pirates celebrated their success on the way with alcohol, pills and marijuana, repeatedly shooting into the air. The pirates were met with jubilation and more shots in the air at a makeshift shelter further in the Niger Delta. The investigation into the hijacking of the 'FWN Rapide', which was attacked on the high seas en route to Nigeria, led to the arrest of the leader of the pirates in South Africa in 2018. In the criminal proceedings that followed his extradition to the Netherlands, the man was sentenced to a prison term of eight years and six months by the Rotterdam District Court in 2022. There was no appeal. In consultation with the German authorities, the Netherlands has made an additional request to South Africa to also prosecute the man for the hostage-taking of the crew of the' BBC Caribbean' and the hijacking of the ship. Based on the German, translated investigation file, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) has compiled a case file for the Rotterdam District Court. The suspect arrested this week by detectives from the National Expertise and Operations Unit (LX) was remanded in custody for two weeks by the examining magistrate in the new criminal case on Nov 14.

Hijacked crew members released

Seven Russian and one Ukrainian crew member of the "BBC Caribbean" were released on Mar 3 by the Nigerian hijackers after a ransom was paid. They were taken to Frankfurt upon Main for medical treatement, from where they were repatriated to Sewastopol. The unloaded "BBC Caribbean" was boarded by pirates on Feb 5 sputh of Bonny island in the Gulf of Guinea and the hostages taken from board. Three crew members had been able to escape. The ship entered Gran Canaria after the raid.

Negotiations regarding release of crew going on

More than two weeks after eight crew members of the "BBC Caribbean" were taken hostage off Nigeria negotiations were going on with the Briese company which was in contact with the hijackers. The seven Russians and one Ukrainian were at a yet unknown place.