MV S Venus

Career
Name:	MV S Venus
Port of registry:	Panama
Completed:	1984
General characteristics
Class and type:	bulk carrier
Beam:	189.73 feet / 27.6 meters
Notes:

The MV S Venus is an freighter of Panamanian registry, attacked by Somali pirates on January 1, 2009. It was successfully defended by defensive actions by members of Anti Piracy Maritime Security Solutions who used paint thinner, Molotov cocktails and a flare gun to set the attacking vessel ablaze. After receiving a distress call from the freighter, French naval frigate F792 Premier-Maître L’Her headed for to the rescue. However, before her arrival, the pirates ceased their attack. After that, MV S. Venus reiterated its distress call because of another attack at about 40 kilometers from the position, and the frigate once again went to the rescue of the Panamanian cargo ship and found two small boats nearby, designated by the crew of the ship as the skiffs for assault pirates. The special force of the French navy ordered two skiffs carrying eight Somalis to stop. A visit on board the boat found six AK47 assault rifles, one RPG rocket-launcher, ammunition, a grappling hook and two boarding ladders, and a GPS among others, which were confiscated by the navy. The eight Somalis suspected of piracy were taken into custody by the French frigate to be handed over to the authorities in that country.