Horn of Africa Piracy Activity Update - 11 Mar

The Danish yacht family and crew stay as the main news in pirate activity in and off Somalia, whilst a further two vessels are released from pirate control as the Somali Prime Minister warns of the potential for September 11-style attacks by Islamist. The UN calls for international military reinforcements to African Union peacekeeping troops, meanwhile, 14 suspect pirates are indicted in Norfolk, VA, USA.

The failed attempt by Somali security forces from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland to free the Danish family, held by a Somali pirate gang, saw 7 soldiers killed in an ambush near the village of Hul-Anod. The armed force retreated back to the Beyla district, possibly with other wounded soldiers after it was alleged that the pirate gang received a tip-off concerning the mission, and were able to bring in reinforcements. Officials, maintaining anonymity, confirmed the incident in an AP report via MSNBC. The Danish family and crew are believed to be held together and may have been moved back to the yacht as a measure to avoid the rescue attempt. The Danish government were reportedly unaware of the plan for a rescue attempt.

Suspect pirates involved in the killing of the US hostages aboard the yacht Quest, were indicted this week in a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia USA. 13 Somalis and 1 Yemeni are charged with piracy and kidnapping which carries a mandatory life sentence if proven guilty, the WSJ reports.

Another change in the approach to the problems encountered by the TFG in Somalia was discussed by the UN Security Council. With the increased military action against the Al Shabaab militants in Mogadishu, the UN  has called on the international community to "make contributions urgently and without caveats to the UN Trust Fund for AMISOM," and to provide "actual troop, equipment and enhanced capacity" for the African Union peacekeepers (see left, AP image), "to consolidate recent fragile gains in stabilising the country," the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon said in the UN News. In the meantime, the port of Mogadishu has seen revenues badly affected by Al Shabaab militants roadblocks, creating a rise in the costs for basic food commodities, construction materials, and fuel in a country suffering from a humanitarian crisis. The TFG and local businessmen have asked for the roadblocks to be lifted to enable humanitarian aid to reach the people.

Two vessels have been reported as released from pirate control. The MV Rak Afrikana and MV York  were released this week, however, the Rak Afrikana was reported to have been taking on water. Following a rescue mission by the EU Italian warship, the crew were safely transferred to the released MV York, which had seen ransom negotiations since February 15, to continue the journey to Mombasa, Kenya. See OCEANUSLive report; the original report from Somalia Report is also available.

The Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) Prime Minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, told a UN Security Council debate that Somalia faced "two evils, the scourge of piracy and the plague of terrorism", and stated that "Not only are these two ills working in tandem, bu they are learning from each other." He gave a stark warning that there is the potential for the hijacking of tankers to be used "as deadly weapons" by al Qaeda's agents in Somalia, along the lines of September 2001 terror attacks in America (Reuters).

The SOS Save Our Seafarers campaign, aimed at encouraging millions of people around the world to heap pressure on their national Governments to crack down on piracy, see www.saveourseafarers.com/., continues to pick up worldwide attention.

In general, there is a perception that the recent increase in violent attacks and treatment will continue, and is likely to increase further as the stakes are raised once more in retaliation for rescue attempts, and the detention of captured pirates. Attacks have slightly decreased on the previous week, which may be attributed to the unfavourable conditions during the monsoon season. No pirate activity has been reported in the heavily patrolled Gulf of Aden. The NATO Shipping Centre (NSC) assesses that a significant number of regional dhows have been pirated and used as motherships. It further states that 3 whaler-based PAGs are operating in the Southern Somali Basin with one pirated fishing vessel operating in the central Somali Basin. See NSC assessment here. The week has seen six attempted hijacks occurring since March 5; there have been no successful hijacks and suspicious activity has been reported across a wide distance.

The piracy events in the Horn of Africa region over the last week are;

• March 4 (reported March 5); 2029 UTC,crude tanker was attacked approximately 375nm East-Northeast of Salalah, Oman by a 2 skiffs firing small arms;
• March 5; 1222 UTC, Japanese tanker, MV Guanabara, boarded 502nm Southeast of Salalah, Oman by mothership and a single skiff; USS Bulkeley commando unit rescued crew from safe room and detained 4 pirates;
• March 5; 1347 UTC, Russian general cargo ship, MV Chariot, attacked 450nm West-Northwest of Mincoy Island, India by mothership and 2 skiffs; decoy skiff and a camouflaged skiff with 6 pirates used. Armed guards (Spetsnaz veterans) engaged pirates. See OCEANUSLive report;
• March 6; 0901 UTC, attacked 505nm Northeast of Mogadishu, Somalia by pirates mothership and 1 skiff. See OCEANUSLive report;
• March 10; Tug attacked 550nm Northwest of Minicoy Island, India by mothership (green & white hull) and 2 skiffs. Embarked security team fired warning shots;
• March 11; 0454 UTC, MV, possibly the Japanese K Line-owned Vancouver Bridge (not confirmed) was attacked approx 416nm Northwest of Minicoy Island, India. Evaded attack by mothership (white tug with black hull) and 2 skiffs. Small arms and RPG fired at the vessel. See OCEANUSLive report.

Suspect Pirate Activity:

• Pirate Action Groups reported operating, including previously pirated MV Polar off the Somali coast, although reportedly, MV Polar, is now back in port in pirate hands and has ceased mothership operations; a pirated Dhow and 1 skiff (with 4 POB) off the Northern tip of Madagascar, and skiffs, most likely from a mothership, in the central Indian Ocean.

Over 700 seafarers remain captives of Somali pirates.

The OCEANUSLive situational map below provides a visual summary of the pirate attacks and suspect activity that have occurred between 5 to 11 March 2011.

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.