WATER PHOENIX

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Search for missing crew member suspended

A crew member fell over board from the 'Water Phoenix' on April 16, 2021, 750 miles from the Uruguayan coast, The Uruguayan Air Force deployed a C-130 Hercules for an SAR mission which carried out a search pattern of 10 miles by 10 miles for two hours until sunset. It took about three hours of flight for the aircraft to reach the search area. The operation ended without positive results. The KC-130 H Hercules aircraft returned to Carrasco. The reefer resumed his course. The Captain thanked the Uruguayan authorities, the National Navy and the Uruguayan Air Force for the effort in the search for the crew member.

Two hostages released after almost two months

Two crew members of the 'Water Phoenix' who were taken hostage have been released after almost two months of being held captured. They were about to be reunited with their family, the company announced on Nov 5. The end of the hostage situation came after "a long dialogue" with the pirates. A crisis team from the shipping company from Groningen worked behind the scenes all the time to bring the matter to a successful conclusion. The ship was attacked by pirates off the Nigerian coast on Sep 18. Two of 18 crew members of the reefer were taken hostage by the attackers. The Seatrade shipping company expressed its gratitude to the Dutch police and governments in Nigeria and from the Netherlands. The Russian embassy in Lagos also helped and they were grateful for that. They also expressed their gratitude to our crew members, who have shown great courage under extremely difficult circumstances. Both men have undergone a medical examination and were in relatively good condition given the circumstances. For security reasons, it was not disclosed whether a ransom was paid.

No contact to hostages or kidnappers yet

The two crew members of the 'Water Phoenix' belonging to the Groningen shipping company Seatrade were still kidnapped by pirates. The Seatrade spokesman Cor Radings called the situation "very dangerous and very worrisome." It has not been possible to make contact so far. "If there is, we hope to be able to start negotiations soon." The ship has moored in the Apapa port of Lagos on Sep 9 at 1.30 a.m. The 16 other crew members were safe. The Nigerian navy arrived on the scene after the attack at the request of Seatrade. The ship was searched by the navy to check if there were any pirates still on board. The ship was then escorted to the port.