The police in Mauritius say the chief cook on a 623-foot bulk carrier ship has confessed to killing the captain by stabbing him 30 or 40 times with a kitchen knife. The cook says the captain humiliated him for weeks in front of the crew and withheld his cigarette ration.
The cook, Calopez Alfred Kenneth Banghanoy, 33, had a fatal argument with the captain, Rolly Baquillos Solante, 44, on the carrier ship Meghna Liberty (formerly named the Loch Shuna) late at night on Nov. 14 in the Indian Ocean. The ship, with a crew of 20, was heading from South Africa to Haldia, India.
Police say Banghanoy told other members of the crew that “it’s done,” that he had killed the captain in his cabin. Other crew members found the captain there in a pool of blood.
Both men are Filipinos. The ship is flagged in Bangladesh.
The ship was about 230 nm northeast of the island nation of Mauritius at the time. The ship’s owner ordered it to head for the nearest port, Port Louis, on Mauritius, where police arrested the cook and held him on interim charges of murder.
A new captain and chief cook will have to fly to Mauritius before the ship can leave port. Built in 2014, the Meghna Liberty displaces 55,900 tons. Read more:
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/chef-murders-captain-aboard-bulker-in-indian-ocean
