Brillante Virtuoso
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The Brilliante Virtuoso was a large oil tanker that was endangered by fire on July 6, 2011.[1]
The crew reported they thought they were being attacked by Somalian pirates. The vessel was south of the port of Aden. Subsequently the vessel reported that the vessel was endangered by an uncontrollable fire, and they were bandoning the ship.
Sailors from the USS Philippines Sea were able to rescue the crew. They reported they found no sign of pirates.
The Brilliante Virtuoso carried 144,000 tons of oil.[1]
The initial inquiries of David Mockett, the first insurance investigator found evidence of insurance fraud.[2] He was subsequently killed by a car bomb, before he could finish his inquiry.
A British court of inquiry subsequently concluded that there had never been an attack, that the ship's owners falsely claimed there had been an attack, and had the ship set ablaze, in order to file a fraudulent insurance claim.[3]
The fire left the vessel too damaged to repair.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 USS Philippine Sea rescues Brilliante Virtuoso crew, The Wire (JTF-GTMO), 2011-07-06, p. 8. Retrieved on 2010-10-12.
- ↑ Holly Watt. Briton killed for standing up to pirate fraud gang, The Daily Telegraph, 2012-06-28.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Suez Fortune Investments Ltd & Anor v Talbot Underwriting Ltd & Ors (BRILLANTE VIRTUOSO) [2019] EWHC 2599 (Comm) (07 October 2019).