The IMO Secretary General, Efthimios Mitropoulos stated Somali pirates are now able to attack ships in the Indian Ocean regardless of the weather, whilst outlining four "
nightmare scenarios" unless tougher action was taken. Until recently attacks had decreased during the summer and winter monsoons, making it difficult for pirates to operate their frail vessels. “
Now the pirates are not interrupted by the monsoon seasons,” said Mr Mitropoulos. Speaking during an international shipping conference in Oslo (see video below), he said “
Without a more robust international response to the piracy threat, crews could refuse to cross the Indian Ocean, crude oil shipments could be diverted, there could be a huge oil spill or a large cruise ship could be seized.” "
Forget establishing courts in the region or having better regulations," said the IMO chief. "
The solution is stronger political will that would translate by means of (more) naval vessels to support the (existing) efforts." Graham Westgarth, head of INTERTANKO, an organisation whose members own the majority of the world's tanker fleet, urged the international community to disable the mother ships. He went on to say, "
Over the last two years, we have had an escalating set of circumstances that could lead ultimately to the politicians having to take some form of political action."
Reuters. The issue of political will was also highlighted by the maritime researcher and analyst, Davide de Bernardin in a recent editorial, ‘Piracy – Crime and Punishment’ on
OCEANUSLive.
An update on the US piracy policy was given during the
Council of American Master Mariners’ annual meeting. It was stated that the National Security Council (NSC) has overall responsibility for counter-piracy policy for the US. Having developed an action plan in 2008, along three lines of action: Reduce vulnerability of ships by sharing information and the use of Best Management Practices (BMP) to avoid pirate attacks; interrupt acts of piracy by interdiction and intervention in pirate attacks, disrupting bases in Somalia, and depriving pirate’s ransom revenues; and hold pirates accountable through prosecution, reports the popular maritime blog,
gCaptain. It was stated that, “
as pirate operations have evolved, the NSC action plan has not kept pace: The GAO believes there is an urgent need for review, concerned there is no systematic method for tracking the costs of the counter-piracy efforts and are unable to determine if it is achieving the desired results.” While the GAO would like to quantify the results; it is clear those policies are not effective at suppressing piracy. The Dept. of State believes the best action plan is to deprive the pirates of ransom revenues; however it is very hard to track the money. The NSC calls for disrupting bases in Somalia, but no action has been taken. U.S. Maritime Labor’s position is that protection from piracy is a government responsibility, and in the absence of a willingness of the government to pro- vide protection, ships should rely on private armed security. The USCG is currently formulating its policy on the use of arms for defending against pirate attacks and rules of engagement. The attitude is beginning to change internationally on the use of arms, the article states.
On the Move
In an exclusive by
Somalia Report, the plight of the Danish hostages and the crew of
MV Dover has not improved. Local residents in Rasu Bina stated that the pirates holding the hijacked vessel and kidnapped Danes had moved from Hurdiyo village to the Bargal district in Puntland. A pirate holding the hostages confirmed that the move was due to two reasons: 1) the protest by local residents against the pirates, and 2) monsoon waves were becoming too severe on the ocean. It was stated that the
Dover and Danes will be held until a ransom is paid. Only last month the pirates were demanding $4 million for the ship and a further $5 million for the Danish hostages. Another pirate said that the Danes were feeling healthy and “
seem fine”, after the mother and daughter were reported to have been sick.
Human Cost
Launched on June 6, at Chatham House in London, as violence against seafarers by Somali pirates escalates, a new study has been completed that provides new insights into this issue. The study was commissioned by the Oceans Beyond Piracy Project, a group of maritime experts are especially worried about the lack of public concern. Thousands of seafarers have been subjected to gunfire, beatings, extended periods of confinement and, in some cases, torture in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden at the hands of their captors. Further details, with a link to downloadable documents, are available on
OCEANUSLive. Some of the details in the study indicate that during the course of 2010:
The Somalian Ambassador to India, Ebyan Mahamed Salah, urged Somali pirates to release the remaining seven Indian seafarers of
MV Asphalt Venture being held hostage, even after a ransom was paid and eight fellow crewmembers were released. She also said the Indian crewmen, “
have no connection with the 100 Somalis accused of piracy and detained in India,” during a visit to Taloja Jail in Mumbai, where the pirates are being held. The Ambassador was stated to be satisfied that the conditions in the prison and expressed the view that the Indian legal system is robust, just and very fair, says
Hindustan Times.
Shipowners’ Displeasure
Continuing with India, which has been lobbying Lloyd’s of London and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to overturn the expansion of the areas considered prone to pirate attacks, claiming the decision has triggered a 300% jump in ship insurance costs, which in turn, has raised transaction costs of commodities shipped into India, the demand has been spurned. “
It is generally understood that piracy (in the region) remains a threat—insurers therefore have to act accordingly,” Neil Roberts, senior executive–underwriting, Lloyd’s Market Association, said in an emailed reply. India’s government and shipping companies informed the joint war committee in May that stepped-up naval patrols have driven away pirates. “I
t would seem self-evident that if Indian waters were safe, there would be no need for naval patrols,” said Roberts, reported in
livemint.com.
At the 20th Asian Shippers Forum (ASF), Asian shipowners expressed impatience, anger and frustration at the ever-increasing number of attacks on ships and seafarers by Somali pirates. The proliferation of increasingly treacherous hijackings, kidnappings, and extortion over the past several years has forced some shipowners to employ armed guards to ensure the safety of their ships and crews. “
The various liabilities should not fall on the master of the ship or the owner,” said Robert Ho, the acting chairman of the Ship Insurance and Liability committee. He went on to say that, “Governments are unable or unwilling to provide the appropriate security.”
“It is high time for all governments, the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization to come together and put an end to these criminal activities! We cannot tolerate nor allow this to continue any longer,” said S. S. Teo, chairman of the Safe Navigation and Environment committee –
Manila Bulletin.
Flag Shift
Dockwise, a Dutch-Norwegian ocean transport company, has warned the Netherlands that it will sail its vessels under a different flag unless it is allowed private guards to fend off pirates, reports
Reuters. The company said in a statement on Tuesday it was making an urgent appeal to the Dutch government to remove some legal barriers to allow for armed private protection to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Andre Goedee, chief executive of Dockwise, said the company, an oil and gas provider,
”was vulnerable and should be allowed by the Dutch government to have armed private security contractors on its ships as other nations allow.” The protection of vessels by armed escort vessels contracted by the cargo's owner can be a solution in isolated cases, but many cargo owners are unable or not prepared to contract private security companies, Dockwise said. “
We would regret having to take such a decision, but we are left with no choice should the Dutch government remain idle,” said Goedee.
And finally...
The UK newspaper,
The Independent, covered the story of an apology by a maritime security company in a bid to free four British citizens held in Eritrea. The four men were taken on Christmas Eve following the ship that they were embarked upon being intercepted by the Eritrean navy. After an unscheduled stop in the port of Massawa, the men were sent to the mainland and put in prison. Eritrean television showed footage of the four men being paraded, including weapons and equipment seized from the ship. The ship, one of those owned by the maritime security company, PVI, on assignment in the Horn of Africa as part of their protection service against the threat of Somali piracy, suffered equipment failure and had attempted to refuel at the Eritrean port. The men have been held for 6 months now, and are perceived to be pawns in the rift between Eritrea and the UK. A spokesman for PVI explained, “
It was not our intention to engage in a hostile confrontation with Eritrea and we apologise unreservedly if that was the way things were perceived.” Founded in 2008 and one of the more successful security companies, PVI accounts for more than 40 per cent of all armed escort vessels operating in the Gulf of Aden, East Africa, and the Indian Ocean.
Piracy events
Over the last 7 days are:
Hijack:
3 Unsuccessful Attacks:
- June 6 at 1208 UTC, in position 1410N - 04219E, in the Red Sea, a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, Emperor, came under attack by 2 skiffs with 10 – 15 pirates. The Master raised the alarm, increased speed, carried out evasive manoeuvres and contacted authorities as the crew entered the citadel. The embarked security team enforced anti-piracy measures and the vessel managed to evade the hijack attempt.
- June 7 at 1339 UTC in position 1333N - 05027E, in the Gulf of Aden IRTC, approximately 179nm northwest of Socotra Island, a Panama-flagged bulk carrier, Achilleas, was chased and fired upon by 7-8 pirates in a single skiff. Anti-piracy measures were implemented and the pirates aborted the attack.
- June 10, at 1216 UTC, in position 1329N - 04237E, 30nm north of Assab, Eritrea, Red Sea. Six pirates in one skiff chased and fired upon a bulk carrier underway. The vessel took all anti-piracy preventative measures and contacted the coalition forces, resulting in the pirates aborting the attempt The attack was close to the position where the bulk carrier, Atlas, was attacked and boarded by pirates the previous week. The vessel also managed to evade the attempted hijack.
Suspect Pirate Activity:
- Despite the onset of the south westerly monsoon, the pirates seem to be most willing to push the vessels to their limit by continuing to seek areas and targets of opportunity. The sea state is not conducive to small boat operations. The dhow, Jelbut 31, was observed operating near the Mombasa/Da es Salaam shipping lanes,
however, NATO Shipping Centre assessed it to be unlikely to be a threat as it has no skiffs after an EU German warship destroyed them. - As predicted, the Red Sea and Bab al Mandeb Strait, have seen increased activity due to the south-westerly monsoon. The pirates remain likely to use the congestion of fishing skiffs, which often actively defend their nets and will approach any merchant ship encroaching on their nets, as a means to avoid detection and launch an attack, as evinced by the attack in the Gulf of Aden. It is emphasised again that extra vigilance and the early adoption of BMP are advised.
Vessels are reminded that the coalition forces' warships may not be in the vicinity of a pirate attack, subsequently, it is emphasised that seafarers can greatly reduce their chances of being pirated if they follow precautions as recommended in the
Best Management Practices, increasing speed and carrying out evasive manoeuvres is a proven deterrent to piracy attacks.
Vessels are advised to exercise extreme caution when navigating in the vicinity of any reported positions of attacks and maintain maximum CPA with any ship acting suspiciously. Additionally, registration of vessel movement with MSC(HOA) prior to transiting the region is recommended. OCEANUSLive.org permits the reproduction of this image providing source and link are published (Map ToU)
Any suspicious activity should be reported to UKMTO in Dubai in the first instance (UKMTO or Telephone+971 50 552 3215) and on entering the UKMTO Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA) bound by Suez, 78E and 10S.
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