Three Merchant vessel attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean. All managed to evade hijack.
Despite the raising of the stakes in the Horn of Africa region, Somali pirates continue to spread the fear of piracy amongst the seafaring community. On 25 February, no less than three merchant vessels came under attack by pirate action groups (PAG) in as many hours. The attacks all come within a distance of 248nm of each other. Two attacks were only 8.5nm apart but 240nm distant from the position of the hijack of the ill-fated US yacht, SV Quest.
The first attack this morning at 0530 was an attack by 1 mothership and 1 skiff in position 1446N 05839E, approximately 192nm Southeast of Salalah, Oman in the Indian Ocean. The attack was reported here.
The second attack occurred at 0829, where a merchant vessel came under attack by 1 mothership and 1 skiff in position 1437N 05840E approximately 300nm Southeast of Salalah, Oman. 1 skiff with 5 pirates onboard attacked the vessel using small arms and firing rockets. The vessel increased speed, conducted evasive manoeuvres and managed to evade hijack attempt.
The third attack, which occurred at 0952 UTC, saw a merchant vessel coming under attack by 2 skiffs in position 1141N 06129E, approximately 280nm Southeast of Socotra Island, Yemen. The MV master employed anti-piracy measures and successfully managed to evade hijack. The PAGs continue to operate in the vicinity.
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 the reported position of the 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.
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Any suspicious activity should be reported to UKMTO in Dubai in the first instance (UKMTO@eim.ae 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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