Below is a list of vessels captured by Somali pirates in 2008-2010 with Russian crewmembers on board.
2010
* May 5. Russia's Moscow University tanker, carrying 23 Russian crewmembers and 86,000 tons of oil was hijacked 350 miles east of the Gulf of Aden by Somali pirates at around 08.00 Moscow time [04:00 GMT]. On May 6, Russian forces on the large anti-submarine warship Marshal Shaposhnikov accessed the tanker by helicopter, abseiled on board and freed the crew, which had locked itself in a safe room after disabling the ship. Ten pirates were detained and one was killed during the operation.
2009
* October 29. Somali pirates seized Thailand's Thai Union-3 trawler 200 miles north of the Seychelles. The crew included 23 Russians, two Filipinos and two Ghanaians. They released the vessel in exchange for a ransom on March 7, 2010.
* April 6. The British owned, Panamanian flagged Malaspina Castle cargo vessel was captured by pirates in the Gulf of Aden. The crew included two Russian nationals. On May 9 pirates released the vessel and the crew.
* April 4. The German owned Hansa Stavanger cargo ship was seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean. The crew of 19 people included three Russians. The vessel was released in early August after a ransom of $2.7 million was reportedly paid to the pirates.
* March 25. Norwegian tanker Bow Asir was captured by Somali pirates some 250 miles (400 km) off the coast of Somalia. The crew of 27 included a Russian captain. The vessel was released on April 10 after a ransom of $2.4 million was reportedly paid.
2008
* November 7. Somali pirates seized the CEC Future ship, operated by Danish Clipper Group company, with 13 crewmembers on board, including 11 Russians, in the Gulf of Aden. The vessel was released on January 15, 2009 after a ransom of up to $2 million was paid.
* September 25. Somali pirates seize Ukrainian-owned the Faina cargo vessel en route to Kenya carrying 33 T-72 tanks, tank ammunition and arms. Three Russians were on board, including the captain, who died of a heart attack after pirates stormed the ship. The ship was released on February 5, 2009 after a ransom of $3.2 million was paid.
* August 21. Somali pirates seized two vessels, the German-owned BBC Trinidad and Japanese-owned MV Irene. The crew of the German dry cargo ship included two Russians. Both vessels were released on September 11 under unspecified conditions.
* May 28. Somali pirates captured the Lehmann Timber, a German dry cargo ship, on its maiden trip in the Gulf of Aden. The crew of nine Burmese, four Ukrainians, one Russian (the captain of the vessel) and one Estonian were taken hostage. They were released on July 8 after a ransom of over $700,000 was paid.
* May 26. Somali pirates captured the Amiya Scan, a Dutch vessel with four Russians and five Filipinos of crew on board, in the Gulf of Aden. The vessel was en route from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the Romanian port of Constanta transporting a damaged oil platform. Pirates released the vessel on June 24 after an unspecified ransom was paid.
* February 1. Somali pirates seized the Danish-owned Russian tugboat Svitzer Korsakov, with a crew of two Britons and four Russians. The vessel was released on March 18 for a ransom of $700,000.
MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti)
