ESA e-GEOS Satellites locate seized Italian oil tanker

The Cosmo-SkyMed satellites, operated by the Italian space agency, have acquired the first images of the Italian oil tanker Savina Caylyn since it was hijacked earlier this week by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.

According to the satellite radar images, acquired by Italian space agency (ASI) and e-GEOS on Wednesday afternoon and early Thursday morning, the seized ship is about 330 km off the Somalia coast.

The 266-m long and 46-m wide vessel was about 800 km west of India when it was attacked on Tuesday. There has been no reported communication with the vessel and no information regarding the 22 crewmembers on board.

The techniques to rapidly locate and track this ship in open waters were developed and are currently operated as part of the MARISS (Maritime Security Service) project funded under ESA’s GMES Service Element.

MARISS provides pre-operational satellite-based maritime surveillance services for European waters, East Africa, the Caribbean and the Atlantic to support maritime law enforcement, anti-trafficking interventions and to protect shipping lanes.