Rumoured releases; attacks but no hijacks over past 7 days. Danish hostages sick; plenty of comment on the big business that is piracy; the take up of arms, call for a dragnet and the use of armed guards at sea; Senator Kirk's trip report to Somalia; UK action plan for Somalia stability; Kenya wants cooperation with India, whilst India seeks UN-led anti-piracy force. Russia deploys a destroyer to Somali waters. Using gaming to develop anti-piracy strategy.
Confusion reigned over the purported release of MV Dover on which the Danish yacht family have been held not long after capture at the end of February. Pirates have claimed to have received a payment, but one faction states the amount was insufficient to release the vessel. What will happen to the Danish yacht crew held on board is not yet known, particularly as the mother and daughter are in poor health Somalia Report.
The Taiwanese fishing vessel, FV Prantalay 12, with a crew of 25, has been stated as concluding release from pirate control for a number of days, and it has been stated that the vessel is no longer seaworthy. It is expected to be released without payment of any ransom. Attacked April 18, 2010, it was part of a small fleet of fishing vessels hijacked by Somali pirates. The vessels were reportedly carrying out illegal fishing, one of the few examples of pirates actually defending the territorial waters of Somalia, writes the OCEANUSLive partner site, Somalia Report. Of the 3 Prantalay vessels taken, Prantalay 14 was rescued by the Indian naval forces in January this year following a 12-hour gun battle resulting in 15 pirates being detained and taken to Kochi.
Four attacks by pirates were carried out over the last 7 days, all unsuccessful. A merchant vessel evaded a dhow, Jelbut 33, being used as a mothership in the Arabian Sea east of Socotra Island. After evasive manoeuvres and warning shots the vessel evaded hijack May 8. Three other attacks occurred on a north-easterly track off the Omani coast. One attack, which proved difficult to accurately assess, and may well be a copycat maritime crime and cannot be discounted as an unknown PAG, was in the Gulf of Oman close to the Iranian coast.
According to Indian media, Somali pirates were in the process of being paid a ransom for the release of the MV Suez and its crew, hijacked in August 2010. Although no confirmation has been given to date, determining the mode of transfer of money and the safety of the crew was discussed at a meeting held in Dubai etribune.
Kenya, one of the countries most affected by Somali piracy, wants to increase regional cooperation with India."The advantages of a common approach to the Indian Ocean" is recognised says a senior researcher at eh Nairobi-based Institute of Security Studies, and went on to say "security aspect has made it a more immediate and important issue." Keenly interested in strengthening the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), India is to take over as the chair of the IOR-ARC later this year twocircles.net.
India also seeks a UN-led anti-piracy force similar to the land peacekeeping missions, says the Indian Express. It would "provide a more equitable, efficient and better coordinated protection to all ships, notwithstanding their flag, the nationality of the sailors or cargo distribution," a representative of the Indian delegation to the IMO Maritime Safety Committee meeting in London this week. The IMO meeting also saw discussion on the use of armed guards at sea Tanker Operator. The growing reliance on armed guards is exponential to the increasing pirate attacks. Shipowners take arms says msnbc.com.
In a report by Geopolicity, piracy off the Somali coast costs the international community up to $8.3bn a year - BBC News. In gulfnews.com the "Spoils of Piracy" discusses the emerging industry that benefits pirates, financiers, sponsors, private security and inusrance companies, the toal income of pirates ranged from "$75m to $238m last year and this could rise to $400m by 2015." Whilst the Insurance Daily declares Somali piracy has taken an "alarming turn" since the beginning of the year, becoming more "prevalent, lucrative and violent." According to Maritime & Underwater Security Consultants (MUSC), an estimated $65m was paid in ransoms in the first quarter of 2011, compared with around $39m for the same period in 2009. The Atlantic Wire, along with many other reports, cites Geopolicity in the statement that pirates could make $33,000 to $79,000 per year - about 150 times the national average wage, but it comes with a pretty short life expectancy.
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB), the London and Malaysia-based premier piracy monitoring and reporting agency across the glove, claims that a "tipping point" has been reached in terms of piracy and its marked escalation of brutal attacks on seafarers, and wants a "drag-net on the Mafia of the high seas." The IMB director, the highly respect and personable Captain Pottengal Mukundan, said there is "not enough deterrent to stop them (Somali pirates)", reports Bernama.com. "There are not enough unified rules of engagement for naval commanders (to act in international waters)," added Capt Mukundan.
The UK Department for International Development (DfID) announced a 4-year plan of action for Somalia stability. The four pillars, says Somalia Report, will support governance and peace building; wealth and job creation; health care, in particular for women; and humanitarian assistance. The full report is available at www.dfid.gov.uk.
Raising a question that goes some way to explain the phenomenon of modern piracy, Robert Young Pelton, the publisher of Somalia Report, provides a comprehensive answer in the Bloomberg Businessweek. Imagine if you could invest $100,000 to control a $200 million asset for 3 months, and then sell it back to the owners for $10 million - tax free. That's the Somali pirate way, he says in "Somali Pirates' Rich Returns" - Bloomberg Businessweek.
The U.S. Republican Senator, Mark Kirk of Illinois visited Somalia, Djibouti and Kenya on a fact finding mission, last week, to hear about the threats from piracy and terrorism. No stranger to conflict areas, says Somalia Report, Sen. Kirk seeks answers by going to the source. The resulting report is available here; a video covering the visit is below:
On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry declared that a Russian task force, led by Northern Fleet's destroyer, Severomorsk, was deployed May 8 to take up the protection of merchant vessels from piracy off Somalia on a 4-month mission commencing in June Wire Update News.
In a popular maritime blog, gCaptain, an issue surrounding security of shipping movements in the Gulf of Aden was highlighted. The publication of live AIS information, says a forum contributor under the pseudonym 'DeckApe', "could aid the pirates." The question is, does live AIS raw data from piracy regions put mariners at risk? - gCaptain.
And finally; the fight against piracy off the east coast of Africa just got a little more technical. The U.S. Navy has added to the warships, drones and elite special forces in an unlikely, but very much modern, manner. The Navy has added a new weapon: a "World of Warcraft"-like multi-player game game called MMOWGLI. It, says MSNBC, brings experts from around the government into a virtual environment where they can work together in developing strategies to thwart modern-day buccaneers. Developed within the Office of Naval Research (ONR), it is hoped to expand the program beyond piracy, and use it to solve some of the world's most intractable military problems Today Tech, Today.com.
Piracy events over the last week are:
Hijack:
4 Unsuccessful Attacks:
- May 8 at 0843 UTC, in position 1206N - 05928E, approximately 325nm east of Socotra Island, a container ship was reported coming under attack by 2 skiffs with 5 pirates on board each one. They fired the weapons of pirate choice, RPG and small arms, at the vessel. A mothership was observed in the vicinity and has been identified as the pirated Jelbut 33. The Master of the vessel raised the alarm and initiated an increase in speed and evasive manoeuvres to get away from the mothership and skiffs. The Master was also able to send out a distress message to the coalition forces operating in the area. An armed security detachment was on board and fired warning shots at the skiffs, which saw the attempted hijack aborted.
- May 10. At 1117 UTC in positions 1735N - 05756E, approximately 230nm ENE of Salalah, a bulk carrier came under attack by 2 skiffs carrying pirates armed with RPG and small arms. As they chased and fired upon the vessel, the Master raised the alarm, issued a SSAS alert, contacted a warship, increased speed and conducted aggressive manoeuvres to shake off the chasing pirates. Due to his evasive measures, the vessel and crew successfully evaded the hijack attempt and continued safely on the journey.
- May 10, saw a container ship approach by 2 skiffs in position 2517N - 05806E, approximately 105nm NW of Muscat in the Gulf of Oman. The skiffs carried 4 pirates in each, who chased and followed the vessel as close as 185 metres astern. Long rods with hooks and ladders, the common paraphernalia of pirates, were observed on the skiffs. The Master ordered a change in course, an increase in speed, conducted evasive manoeuvres and raised the alarm as the crew entered the citadel. The pirates aborted the approach and moved away with a mothership seen in the vicinity, leaving the vessel and crew safe to continue. The stipulation that this approach was by Somali pirates has been stated as only likely.
- May 11, at 0925 UTC in position 1842N - 05932E, approximately 325nm NE of Salalah. A product tanker came under attack from a single skiff, with a dhow mothership in the vicinity. The pirates, armed with RPG and small arms, chased and fired upon the vessel. Once more, a Master raised the alarm, took evasive action and ordered the crew into the citadel. In the meantime, the armed security team on board managed to deter the pirates attempt to board her. Exactly how they did this is not known at present. The vessel and crew are reported to be safe.
Suspect Pirate Activity:
- Two PAGs are conducting mothership operations in the Central Somali Basin with Reports indicating that the
pirated MV Eagle (left), in Northern Somali Basin, appears to have reversed course and heading back into the Somali Basin toward her previous anchorage. Coalition warship action along the Somali coast concentrated on pirate staging areas, resulting in the disruption of 3 PAGs, says the NATO Shipping Centre with FV Jih Chun Tsai 68 and Jelbut 24 being retaken from the pirates. Jelbut 33, however, despite being repeatedly spotted by maritime patrol aircraft, has carried on operations in the Arabian Sea. Possibly another dhow is in operation in the area. - The Gulf of Aden remains a high risk area with the potential for pirate skiffs to blend in with local traffic then launch an attack at an opportune moment. The southwest monsoon in the southern Somali Basin is slowly developing and will hamper small boat operations.
- Overall, the increased pressure by coalition warships and the deteriorating weather conditions has seen a distinct shift of operations focus to the north by Somali pirates.
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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