Chirag v. MT Marida Marguerite Schiffahrts

RULING ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS ON FORUM NON CONVENIENS GROUNDS

STEFAN R. UNDERHILL, District Judge.

This case arises from an unfortunate international incident, which has no real connection to this country or this court. In May 2010, Somali pirates hijacked a tanker in the Gulf of Aden, somewhere off the coast of Yemen. The tanker, the MT Marida Marguerite Sehiffahrts (“Marida Marguerite”), was a German owned and operated, Marshall Islands-flagged vessel with a crew that included sailors from India, Bangladesh, and Ukraine. The pirates, seeking ransom, held the crew hostage at sea for…