Horn of Africa Piracy Activity Update - 25 Mar

The news that a merchant vessel, during the course of an attack, suffered heavy weapons fire by pirates with the result that 3 crewmembers were injured, one allegedly seriously wounded, has raised the ante once more. The vessel carried out evasive measures and had an armed security team on board at the time, and managed to evade the hijack attempt, but the cost remains high for the seafarers. Another attack saw some confusion in reporting as the pirates have, again, adapted their tactics. In this case they managed to board the vessel, but the reports state that the vessel is safe after interdiction by US forces. 

The monsoon season in the Somali Basin/Indian Ocean region may have precluded whaler-based PAGs from operating, but the conditions are now becoming more favourable for pirate operations. In the meantime, the PAGs operating in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, based on hijacked fishing vessels or dhows being used as motherships, FV Jin Chun Tsai 68 and FV Montesa/Morteza reported in the vicinity of a number of attacks. Other PAGs are operating farther out in the Indian Ocean and activity seen in the Somali Basin.

The shipping conferences recently held have seen much debate on piracy. The Connecticut Maritime Association 'Shipping 2011' held a session entitled "People, Piracy, Practices and Priorities" to remind the broader global community of the continuing threat to the safety of seafarers, and the threat to world trade, posed by the current lawless environment. In the Asian Shippers Council (ASC) claimed the "pirates should be treated as terrorists" as it is believed there are links Somali pirates and al-Qaeda, and the time had come to "go on the offensive" ifw.net. 

The recent monitoring of suspect activity of pirate action groups and their motherships shows that the Greek-flagged, Panama-owned MV Irene SL, hijacked on February 9, has ceased to operate as a mothership in the area, with speculation that it is due to ongoing negotiations. The other large vessel used as a mothership, the MV Sinar Kudus, has steadily tracked southwesterly towards the Somali coast, and is presently in the vicinity of Eyl, one of the original pirate strongholds. Whether this is in order to transfer hostages ashore, refuel or prepare for negotiations is unknown.

In Somalia, the shift in attitude towards pirates by Somali people has been quite dramatic most recently. Pirates have used Eyl to launch their attacks 

on international ships and vessels transiting through both the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, however, the fishermen in the area are discontented with their boats being taken as result of the pirate activity (Somaliareport.com). In Puntland, the President of the semi-autonomous region, President Farole stated "that Puntland will never accept its territory to be a haven for pirates and a place to hold hostages, calling on Puntland police and security forces to wage war against the pirates," particularly in light of the Danish family and yacht crew being held in the region (Somaliareport.com).

The Danish hostages seized by pirates in February were said to be 'exhausted' in an article in Times Online quoting a Danish reporter who is said to have met the hostages on a boat in Somalia. The hostages were not allowed to talk to him, however, the father of the family, Jan Quist Johansen, was only able to tell him that the pirates had been warned “from Denmark that an interview would complicate negotiations under way.” The reporter went on to say "he had heard while on the boat that the pirates had demanded a $5 million ransom but only been offered some hundreds of thousands of dollars."

The SOS - Save Our Seafarers campaign, aimed at encouraging millions of people around the world to put pressure on their national Governments to crack down on piracy, see www.saveourseafarers.com/, continues to make in-roads in media across the map. OCEANUSLive were pleased to mention the campaign in a talk on piracy given to the International Salvage Union during the Annual Members' Day, March 16.

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

8 Unsuccessful pirate attacks:

• March 19 at 1418 UTC, in position 0354S 04255E, approximately 190nm of Pemba Island, Tanzania. A container ship  was chased by 2 skiffs with a mothership sitting off 6nm. The master ordered the crew to the safe room, activated SSAS and carried out evasive manoeuvres, eventually sailing into the swell which deterred the pirates from pursuing any further;
• March 21 at 0846 UTC, a tanker, believed to be Liberian-flagged MT Al Nouf, was reported coming under attack by a pirate action group (PAG) consisting of 1 mothership and 2 skiffs in position 03494N 05333E, approximately 505nm East Northeast of Mogadishu, Somalia. The PAG, with 4 pirates on 1 skiff and 10 pirates on another, were reported to have fired upon the vessel using small arms and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs). The Master ordered an increase in speed, evasive manoeuvres and activated SSAS. The Master, 2 crew and security team remained on the bridge during the attack whilst the remainder of the crew moved to the safe room. The armed attack saw three of the crew sustain injuries, and one is believed to have been seriously wounded (head wound). Although the vessel successfully evaded the hijack attempt it suffered from damage caused by the pirates weapons (IMB Report). 
  A later report stated that the vessel escaped the pirate attack after the South African security team, who were armed, responded to the attack by firing weapons whilst the crew moved to the safe room, and the Master remained on the bridge. The 23 crew consisted of  14 Filipinos, 3 Sri Lankans, 5 Indians, 1 Pakistani and 1 Ethiopian. Three crew were reported as suffering injuries (SomaliaReport);
• March 21 at 1202 UTC in position 1714N 06318.34E approximately 522nm east of Salalah, Oman, a chemical tanker, MV Liquid Crystal, was chased by five pirates armed with AK-47 in a white skiff doing 24 knots. Master increased speed, took evasive manoeuvres, sent distress message and activated water jet from the fire monitor. Two of the pirates caught the ship’s side, cut the razor wire with a small tool and came on board while the other three pirates remained in the skiff. All crewmembers took shelter in the citadel. The pirates then made their way to the bridge and entered the bridge by breaking the glass and the protecting bars. The crew remained in the citadel for 3.5 hours and later searched the ship and found no pirates onboard. All crewmembers and the tanker are safe;
• March 22 at 1401 UTC, bulk carrier MV Avocet, reported coming under attack by 1 skiff in position 1310N 04906E, in the central sector of the IRTC. The vessel was fired upon, but managed to evade hijacking by employing anti-piracy measures implemented by the security team. It was later reported that military authorities had 'disrupted' the PAG, which is believed to mean that  the skiff had been destroyed.
• March 23 at 1015 UTC, in position 0900N 06627E 390nm West of Minicoy Island, India - heavily armed pirates in 2 skiffs and a mothership chased and fired upon a container ship. Master raised alarm, sounded ships' whistle, increased speed and took evasive manoeuvres. Vessel managed to outrun the skiffs, and no injuries were inflicted on the crew IMB Report.
• March 24 at 0455 UTC, in position 2250N 06344E, a 7-metre long white skiff with 7-8 pirates carrying weapons and RPG. Vessel carried out evasive actions, crew retreat to safe room, distress message transmitted, and the armed security team fired warning shots which deterred the pirate attack IMB Report.
• March 24 at 0737 UTC, in position 2226N 06340E, a bulk carrier, Philippine-flagged MV Falcon Trader II, was chased by a single pirate skiff. After appearing to abort the attack, the skiff returned and boarded the vessel. The 20 crew had retreated to the safe room. The vessel reportedly evaded hijack IMB Report. Later reports state that the US helicopters from USS Enterprise and Leyte Gulf investigated the incident. Pirates were seen on board the vessel and the helicopters fired warning shots. The pirates fled the vessel and returned to their mothership, which began firing small arms at the helicopters. No injuries were sustained. Falcon Trader II was freed by US forces the following morning. No reports of any further action taken against the mothership has been received (Image source: US Navy photo Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Robert Guerra/Released).

• March 25 at 1144 UTC, in position 1139N 06506E, a bulk carrier came under attack by 2 skiffs with 7 armed pirates firing weapons whilst chasing the vessel. Master raised alarm, increased speed, carried out evasive manoeuvres and informed authorities. Security team fired warning shots once skiff closed to within 50 metres. Pirates aborted attack and returned to mothership observed 4nm away. The vessel evaded the hijack attempt.

25 Suspect Pirate Activity Reports:

• Pirate Action Groups reported operating in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, but also the recently hijacked, MV Sinar Kudus, en route towards Somali, retained the potential to conduct mothership operations along the way. A pirated fishing vessels with 2 skiffs seen in the Arabian Sea and another (mentioned above) in the Indian Ocean are the main threats. Whaler-based PAGs are assessed to be moving to the south Somali Basin down to the Mozambique channel as the weather conditions become more favourable A situational map of suspect activity is available here.

Advice on the use of citadels by merchant vessels has been updated in wording agreed by EUNAVFOR, NATO, CMF, UKMTO and the industry signatories to BMP3. The information succinctly states the 'use of a citadel does not guarantee a military response. More can be read in an OCEANUSLive editorial here. Additionally, in amongst all the news on piracy, the Office of Iranian Naval Forces confirmed that preparations to send their forces are in place and the navy will be heading to Somalia soon. The office has also said its navy will carry out "a special operation" which will last 60 days.

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.