History
NameQana (Gna)
Owner
  • Government of South Yemen (1978–1983)
  • Aden Refinery Company (1983–2009)
Port of registryAden Yemen
BuilderTokushima Sangyo, Komatsushima, Japan
Yard number531
Launched8 February 1978
Completed25 April 1978
In service1978
Out of service2009
IdentificationIMO number: 7722994
CapturedCaptured 26 April 2009, recaptured by Yemen
FateScrapped 2021
General characteristics
Tonnage
Length89.2 m (292 ft 8 in) oa
Beam13.0 m (42 ft 8 in)
Installed powerDiesel engine
Propulsion1 × propeller
Speed13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Crew23

MV Qana or Gna[lower-alpha 1] was a Yemeni tanker, built in Japan in 1978. On 26 April 2009 it was hijacked of the coast of Yemen by Somali pirates but recovered by the Yemeni coastguard the following day. The captured Somalis were later found guilty of piracy. The ship was broken up in 2021.

Description and construction

The oil products tanker was built in 1978 as Yard 531 by the Japanese shipyard Tokushima Sangyo, at Komatsushima and launched for the government of South Yemen as Gna on 8 February 1978.[2][3] It was measured as 1,886 GT, with a length overall of 89.2 m (292 ft 8 in) and breadth of 13.0 m (42 ft 8 in), and a deadweight capacity of 3,185 tonnes. The tanker was powered by a single diesel engine driving one propeller, which gave a service speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph).[2]

Gna was completed on 25 April 1978 and was registered at the port of Aden.[2] In 1983 the government transferred ownership to the Aden Refinery Company,[2] and the tanker was used for distributing oil products to other Yemeni ports.

Hijacking

The tanker, without cargo and with a crew of 23, was captured by Somali pirates on 26 April 2009, 10 miles (16 km) off the coast of Yemen, after it left Nishtun, Al Mahrah Governorate for Aden, escorted by Yemen Coast Guard vessels.[4][5] In initial unsuccessful attempts to regain control by the coast guard and the Yemeni Navy, two pirates were killed and seven captured.[5]

The following day, Yemeni special forces stormed the ship using helicopters and recaptured it. Three further pirates were killed and four were captured.[5][6] During the firefight five crew members, including one Indian, were injured.[5] After the recapture, it was taken to Mukalla.[5] The Yemeni forces also recaptured three smaller vessels which had been seized on the same day in a separate incident, killing two pirates and capturing at least four.[5]

It was later stated that, during the incident on Qana, one Yemeni crew-member was killed, another was missing, and four others were wounded.[7]

Trial

On 18 May 2010, six of the pirates were sentenced to death by a court in Sana'a, and six others sentenced to prison terms of 10 years each. In addition the pirates were ordered to pay 2 million Yemeni rials (about US$ 9200 in 2010) restitution to the ship's owner, some of which would be paid to the victims' families.[7][8]

Aftermath

Following restoration of the tanker to the Aden Refinery Company, it was laid up in November 2009.[2] In 2014, Gna was towed from the refinery to an anchorage off the port of Aden where, by October 2019, it had partially sunk.[1] In April 2021 the tanker's status was reported as broken up.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ The ship's registered name was Gna, but at the time of the hijacking was widely spelled Qana, which is a transliteration of the ship's Arabic name قنا (Q'na)[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Sinking oil tanker off Yemeni port is an environmental disaster" (in Arabic). Agence France Presse. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021 – via Getty Images.(note: another tanker is referred to, but Gna is clearly seen)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "7722994". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Gna (7722994)". Equasis. French Ministry for Transport. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  4. ↑ "Yemeni forces kill two Somali pirates". Hindustan Times. New Delhi. 26 April 2009. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Yemeni commandos snatch hijacked tanker from pirates". Brunei Times. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012.
  6. ↑ "Yemeni coastguard frees hijacked oil tanker and arrests 11 pirates". The Guardian. 27 April 2009. Archived from the original on 6 September 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Yemen court sentences six Somali pirates to death". Reuters. 18 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Yemen sentences six Somali pirates to death". Gulf Times. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06.
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