Bunkers Stolen from Vessel at Anchor off Chinese Coast

About 39 mt of low sulfur MGO is reported to have been stolen from the 176,346 DWT Nord Power on January 1, 2016.

About 39 metric tonnes (mt) of low sulfur MGO is reported to have been stolen from the 176,346 DWT Nord Power while it was in the Tianjin outer anchorage on January 1, says the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ICS).

"While at anchor, the watchman while on roving patrol found the diesel oil storage tank port manhole cover nuts were off the stud bolts," stated the ReCAPP report.

"Tank sounding and quantity check was conducted and upon investigation, they found that about 39 metric tonnes of low sulfur MGO was stolen from the storage tank."

The theft came mere days after the vessel owner Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S (Norden) had announced that they had sold the vessel, which data from VesselsValue.com indicates took place on December 28, 2015 to Greece-based Phoenix Energy Navigation, and was handed over to its new owners in February.

The vessel is now known as Maritime Power.

Further, the Nord Power robbery is said to be the third such incident that has happened to the vessel owner Norden in Asian waters within the last year.

On October 5, while at the Belawan anchorage in Indonesia, the 50,000 DWT newbuild Nord Supreme was boarded by three perpetrators.

Less than a day later, the 50,000 DWT newbuild Nord Swift, which was located in the Sandakan anchorage in Malaysia, was also boarded at about 6:30 a.m. local time.

In November, Ship & Bunker reported that the ICC's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) says there had been an overall global reduction in serious piracy attacks during the 2015 year to September 30, but cautioned against "complacency."