Relative quiet returns to the Horn of Africa region. Fishing vessel taken in preparation for the next 'pirate season'. Gulf of Guinea profile stays on an upward curve, including ransoming a captain. India and Pakistan proxy war. Joint operations put forward between South Africa and Mozambique. The secret diary of the British couple held by pirates. Wikileaks tells of how Kenya backed out of piracy trials. Is the shipping industry learning to live with piracy? US Navy training to combat pirates.
After the flurry of activity last week, this week seems to be a lull before the storm. The monsoon weather has held on in the Arabian Sea for the time being, but it will not do so for long. If history and modus operandi are anything to go by, this time last year saw inactivity in early September but a series of hijacks between late September and into January this year. Hardening of ships, private armed security and greater naval patrols have made it more difficult, however, it is not beyond the Somali pirates to be considering how to bypass the heavier security. The 'press to test' use of 12-skiff attacks is an early indicator of their intent to reassert their criminal aims. One aspect, not widely reported, is the spate of fishing vessels being taken around the Somali coast (mainly Puntland) with the notion to make ready with a 'fleet' of motherships to attack merchant shipping. The ante has been raised between India and Pakistan with the accusation that a recently apprehended Iranian vessel, MV Nafis-1, carried personnel alleged to have been trained in piracy by Pakistan as part of a "proxy war against India". Only one suspect was Somali. In the meantime, India has issued guidelines allowing ships with Indian crew to deploy armed guards in a bid to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden. West Africa has received greater attention once more. Whilst the United Nations raises concerns over increasing maritime piracy, armed robbery and reports of hostage-taking in the Gulf of Guinea, a Cameroon vessel was boarded by robbers who took the Master hostage. He was only released on payment of an undisclosed "security tax". Southern African nations of South Africa and Mozambique look to establish a joint operations capability to combat the threat of piracy. The British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, released from Somali pirates after over a year in captivity, publish a book telling of their time as hostages, and the disappointment that their family did not receive appropriate support. Three people killed in clashes resulting from the search by Puntland police for a known pirate. US Navy demonstrates some the training undertaken to combat pirates.
Pirate Activity
International Maritime Bureau (IMB) lists five African countries’ sea-shore as piracy prone areas - Neptune Maritime Security. Five African countries along the continent’s sea coast have been listed by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) as risky areas for the movement of vessels and ships due to attacks by pirates said to be using weapons and rocket propelled grenade launchers.
The countries are Nigeria, Benin, Guinea, Cameroon and Somalia.
According to the IMB in its latest Piracy Prone Areas and Warnings report, ships including oil and chemical tankers are increasingly being attacked with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade launchers. These pirates use guns and knives whereas five years ago they were just as likely to brandish a knife as a gun (More at link above).
Three people were killed and five others were wounded in a clash between the police and militia in the port city of Bosaso in Puntland, Somalia, writes Somalia Report .
Sources claimed a group of militia opened fire on two police vehicles as the police were to arrest a well-known pirate in a house in a Bosaso neighbourhood since late June. Heavy gunfire was exchanged lasting around an hour and a half.
It is stated that the militia are from the same tribe as the pirate and they were defending the pirate escape from the police operation. The identity of the pirate the police were trying to arrest was not given, and further details would not be released whilst the investigation was underway. Speculation, however, says the pirate could be Abdi Nor, a pirate investor recently seen in the Bargal district. Other reports say the man is suspected of belonging to the pirate group behind the hijack of MT Jubba XX.
Pirates in Court
Kenya’s move from willingness to detain and prosecute Somali pirate suspects to wariness about presiding over a “second Guantanamo” is traced in a new set of US diplomatic messages released last week by WikiLeaks, reports Daily Nation . Initially, the cables show, the US embassy in Nairobi was telling the State Department about “a major success story.” Kenya had just agreed to prosecute 10 pirates who had seized an Indian-flagged vessel, the then-US Ambassador Mark Bellamy added in a January 30, 2006, message. In November 2006, however, he cited “the astonishment of many” at the “mere seven-year prison term” that had been imposed on the Somali pirates by a magistrate in Mombasa.“A more acceptable (in fact, expected) outcome would have been a sentence between 10 and 20 years,” the US envoy suggested. Nevertheless, the US embassy in Nairobi continued to describe Kenya’s anti-piracy policies in positive terms. By July 2009, however, Kenya was backing away from its agreement. According to the leaked cable, the then Kenya ambassador to the UN, Mr Zachary Muburi-Muita, warned that “many in the Kenyan Government are beginning to express concern about creating a second ‘Guantanamo Bay’ in Kenya.” In April of 2010, Kenya sent formal “cancellation notes” to the US and the EU, saying it could no longer bear the burden of detaining and prosecuting suspected pirates captured on the high seas.
Private Security
After the announcement, last week, that Germany plans to lobby other European Union countries to allow the deployment of private armed guards on their merchant ships in high-risk areas as a piracy crisis escalates, the Indian ministry of shipping, on Monday, issued guidelines allowing ships with Indian crew to deploy armed guards in a bid to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The move comes on the back of recommendations from the inter-ministerial group (IMG) of officers constituted to handle the hostage situation on hijacked ships and also suggest preventive measures.
It has been found that about 35 per cent of the ship transiting in these waters deploy armed security guards and that the pirates generally don’t attack ships with armed guards on board, an official release said on Monday. So far, 120 Somalian pirates have been apprehended by India as on date. As per the new guidelines, ship owners are allowed to engage private maritime security companies (PMSC) through a proper selection procedure. In line with these, all Indian ships visiting Indian ports are to furnish details of security personnel on board, the firearms carried by them and the details of licence issued, etc, to the port authority, customs, Coast Guard and the Navy. Foreign merchant vessels visiting Indian ports with security guards are also required to follow similar procedure, as per the guidelines - Indian Express.
An article on how armed security are helping fight piracy off the coast of Somalia hits on many themes such as the police (or navy, in this case) can’t be everywhere at once, and how difficult it is to distinguish between fisherman and pirates (the ones shooting at you are the pirates, but by then you’re already under attack), says Snowflakes in Hell. That means the warships can only react to attempted hijackings, racing to intervene after the sea bandits attack. It isn’t enough. Apparently harmless vessels can turn hostile in mere minutes. With more than 2 million square miles of ocean to patrol and 25,000 commercial ships a year to protect, the 30 warships are spread thin — and are usually too far away to respond in time. No wonder successful hijackings of large vessels held steady at around 50 per year for three years, despite the escalating naval patrols. “These guys [pirates] are making more money, we’re spending more money,” lamented piracy expert Martin Murphy. In addition to pursuing a doomed military strategy, the world’s governments dragged their heels on what seemed like the common-sense approach to beating pirates. A few armed guards should be sufficient to defeat a pirate attack, but allowing weapons on board civilian ships requires new regulations, which governments were slow to write.
Learning to Live With Piracy
In a deeply disturbing development two weeks ago, a products tanker was hijacked within the limits of the Omani port of Salalah. The 25,400 DWT Fairchem Bogey was preparing to enter port to load and her crew were clearly not expecting an attack, writes Meltwater News .
Ironically, the tanker's manager had been taking every precaution to prevent a successful pirate attack and the vessel had carried armed guards during what was thought to be the dangerous part of her trip around the region.
This attack is worrying because it was so brazen. Oman has a well resourced and efficient coastguard. In this case, an Omani Coast Guard vessel was on the scene within the hour but could not intervene because the pirates were threatening to harm the crew. No doubt Oman will be taking steps to make its anchorages even more daunting to would-be attackers.
This incident is worrying in that it shows a reckless, desperate determination to take vessels come what may. On the one hand, such desperation increases the danger to crews faced with increasingly ruthless gangs willing to take almost any risk.
On the other hand, this desperation does also appear to be a sign that the pirates are finding it much more difficult to hijack ships, thanks mainly to the measures being taken by shipowners. There have in fact been more pirate attacks on shipping this year than last, but the Somali gangs have managed to capture fewer ships and they have been able to hijack just two ships since the beginning of June.
One must, however, be cautious about assuming the pirates are now on the back foot. When the monsoon eases, as it soon will, the gangs will probably once again range far and wide across the Indian Ocean, where the chances of catching a vessel off guard are greater. Much will then depend on how determined and effective the naval forces are in acting against the pirates' mother vessels.
Also, preventing boarding requires owners to, at the very least, follow official guidance. And masters need to ensure effective shipboard measures and routines are in place. There are still ships sailing through the danger areas without taking proper precautions - which is almost the same as asking to be hijacked.
The last item mentioned is the crucial one. Put bluntly, few ships have been hijacked recently because many have been carrying private armed guards.
So far, no ship with armed guards onboard has been hijacked despite many attempts and numerous exchanges of gunfire.
The shipping industry has been very reluctant to take this course, and there are still many problems and unresolved issues - not least the legal position on the ship which varies greatly by flag state.
With the assistance of its members, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has issued a reference document collating the policy and rules of flag states on the carriage of arms and private armed guards onboard vessels.
The appalling reality is that shipping has been largely left to fend for itself and is now learning how to live with the continuing threat of piracy for the foreseeable future. How sad.
Economics of Piracy
The Somali pirates are an excellent example of how incentives succeed. Give a bunch of gun loving, entrepreneurial, ruthless, very poor people a way to make a lot of money, and they will come up with an endless number of surprises when you try to stop them. For over a decade, the Somali pirates have overcome every effort to stop their seizing of merchant ships, writes Strategy Page.
For example, on August 20, Somali pirates boldly attacked a chemical tanker waiting to dock at the Omani port of Salalah (not far from the Yemeni border). Salalah is a major port, built in the late 1990s and handles nearly a million tons of cargo a month. The pirates grabbed the Indian tanker before the local port security police could show up at the ship, which was anchored three kilometers (two miles) from the port itself (waiting for some dock space to open up). The pirates then told the port security forces to back off or the Indian sailors would be killed. The Indian ship then got under way and moved off towards Somalia and months of captivity, and a huge ransom for the bold pirates. Now Oman, and any other major port (catering to big ships that can earn a big ransom) along the mouth of the Persian Gulf, have to consider increasing their security considerably. It’s not just ship anchored off these ports, waiting for some dock space, but the ships that slowly approach these busy ports. Slow, big, ships, especially at night, are what pirates seek.
Meanwhile, the pirates have improved their tactics on the high seas. Instead of single mother ships sneaking up on a large ship at night, and sending one or two speed boats after it, several mother ships are coordinating their movements so that a half dozen or more speed boats, each with four or more pirates aboard, can quickly surround the ship. Even if one or more of the speed boats are spotted, with so many closing in, and boarding at once, the pirates now have a chance of overwhelming any defense the ship has (including the increasingly popular armed security detachment of about four former soldiers or marines).
Finally, the pirates are using more and more of their ransoms to bribe people in the shipping and maritime insurance business to pass on information about choice targets (where they are, what their cargo is and what the defenses are.)
The pirates remain in business because the nations suffering the billions of dollars a year in losses (most of it for higher insurance and security costs) are unwilling to go ashore and destroy the pirate bases in northern Somalia. For as long as there have been pirates, this has been the only way to shut the brigands down. But the foreigners would rather continue suffering from pirate attacks, than get involved fighting Somalis in Somalia.
West Africa Piracy
The United Nations Security Council voiced concern over increasing maritime piracy, armed robbery and reports of hostage-taking in the Gulf of Guinea, saying the crimes were having an adverse impact on security, trade and other economic activities in the sub-region - UN . The Council took note of efforts by countries in the Gulf of Guinea to tackle the problem, including joint coastline patrols by Nigeria and Benin and plans to convene a summit of Gulf of Guinea heads of State to discuss a regional response. "In this context, members of the Council underlined the need for regional coordination and leadership in developing a comprehensive strategy to address this threat,” said a statement read out to the press by Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri of India, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency this month.
The Council urged the international community to support countries in the region, as well as the regional organizations – the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) – and other relevant bodies, in securing international navigation along the Gulf of Guinea, including through information exchange, improved coordination and capacity building.
The Council took note of the intention by the Secretary-General to send a UN assessment mission to look into the situation in the region and explore possible options for UN support. Members of the Council also stressed the need for the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWA) and the UN Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) to work, within their current mandates, with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO), as well as with all concerned countries and regional organizations.
On Saturday off the coast of Nigeria, seven armed assailants had boarded the Cameroon ship, Monica, carrying 150 people taking the captain of the vessel hostage. It is now confirmed by the captain, Moukoko Lottin, that he was released by the pirates and returned back to Cameroon upon payment of a ransom. Lottin along with other crew and passengers are all unharmed. Reports from a shipping company and witness over the weekend had told AFP, says Maritime Executive Magazine, that the Monica was attacked around 08:00 am, kidnapping the captain and releasing some others on board unharmed. The Corner Water Shipping Company who owns the Monica confirmed the incident and that their Calabar office was negotiating to have the captain freed. A Navy spokesman from Nigeria commented that the Monica passenger boat was on its way from Cameroon to Oron, Nigeria and that the boat left back to Cameroon after being escorted by Nigerian navy personnel. Corner Water Shipping Company confirmed that the captain was released hours later after paying a “monthly security tax” to the assailants at their request. The company and Lottin have declined to say how much was paid during negotiations.
Call to Arms & Action
US-led NATO has asked India to shed its non-aligned policy and called for a partnership with it to tackle common security challenges such as terror threats, cyber security and piracy. "Even with regard to common missile threats, the ability to defend could be the same," a top NATO official said. The 28-member NATO has already reached out to New Delhi asking it to co-opt as a "dialogue plus partner". Stressing that India should shed its non-aligned policy and assume a bigger role as a leader, the NATO official said that even Australia, which is far away, has a relationship with NATO and is today the 10th largest participant with NATO in Afghanistan. Making a strong pitch for joint efforts to combat cyber threats, the official said, "cyber world does not recognise alignments. It only understands switches." Urging India to abandon Cold War mindset, the official pointed out that even Russia is in a special partnership with NATO. "The NATO-Russia Council determines cooperation on such vital issues as theatre missile defence, military logistics with respect to the US-led campaign in Afghanistan, terrorism, narcotics and piracy." He hinted at an understanding between India and US on the military intervention in Libya - IBN Live.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state summit in Luanda, Angola, two weeks ago adopted an anti-piracy strategy to fight a growing scourge along both the east and west coasts of the continent. Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu yesterday (August 30) said the policy was now being implemented, reports Neptune Maritime Security . “We are attending to the matter”, she told a media conference. A further event is to be scheduled to announce the policy, she added. A briefing last Thursday was cancelled when the Mozambican minister of defence, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, was recalled to Maputo for consultations, reportedly by that country's president. Sisulu and Nyusi were to co-chair the 3rd Session of the Republic of South Africa and Mozambique Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security (JPCDS). The JPCDS meeting started last Tuesday with the senior officials meeting preparing for the ministerial session. Sisulu's office said in a statement the commission was “tasked with implementation of joint operations such as border, joint navy and air patrols. The JPCDS will also consider issues of training and military health between the two countries.” Cabinet in February mandated the South African Department of Defence to develop a maritime security strategy following an incident of piracy in Mozambican waters in December. The strategy was approved by Cabinet in June. The Joint Operations Division of the South African National Defence Force deployed a frigate, SAS Mendi, air assets and Special Forces to Mozambique in February to conduct patrols and gather intelligence as part of Operation Copper. The Mendi was later replaced by SAS Amatola on the Pemba station. The Amatola returned to Simon' Town earlier this month. It is understood the frigate SAS Isandlwana will in the near future deploy into the Mozambique channel. Reports in the shipping industry recently noted that the Heroine-class submarine SAS Charlotte Maxeke had visited Durban and departed for points north. The military does not comment on operational naval deployments. It is not clear – and has not been announced – if the South African patrol has encountered any pirates or other law breakers, nor how they would have been handled, if encountered.
As part of the lead up to the World Maritime Day, the IMO Secretary General speaks about the campaign 'Piracy: Orchestrating the Response in a video released by the organisation - link to video.
Seafarers Plight
Hostages Secret Diary
The Mail Online provides extracts of the secret diary kept by the British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, held hostage by Somali pirates for a terrifying 13 months. The following demonstrates the fear and uncertainty for their future. Then a strange noise is heard above the familiar throb of our yacht’s engine. I grab a torch and direct it into the darkness where an unlit, narrow open boat packed with shadowy figures is accelerating towards us. Two shots ring out, I drop my torch in fright. A jumble of arms gets ready to grab hold of our guard wires, men jostling to clamber on board, guns clattering. The skiff slams into our side. Without thinking, I put up my hands and shout: ‘No guns! No guns! ’ I want them to know we are unarmed. A second skiff appears within seconds on the other side. My mind races.
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Rachel Chandler pictured using smuggled camera
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Eight black men, mostly young and gangly, scramble over the rails, struggling to find room on the narrow deck.
At least five rifles point at me. They shout to one another in incomprehensible language and bark commands at me in basic English. ‘Stop engine!’ ‘Lights!’ The men are jumpy, shouting at one another, gesticulating with their guns. I realise I must do as they say.
‘Crew? Number?’ ‘Two. Me. And man,’ I shout, indicating below. ‘Crew, up, up!’ They seem as confused as me as to what happens next. Our attackers must be Somali pirates. How did they get here, so far from Somalia, so close to the Seychelles? ‘Paul! Please come up,’ I call out tensely.
Paul: I hear the thuds and crack of gunshots and sit up in shock. I wrestle with the choice – Y-fronts or contact lenses? I press the red button on the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) and warily climb to the deck. The cockpit is full of men standing on the seats with guns aimed at Rachel and now me. I indicate my nakedness: ‘Clothes?’ The man questioning Rachel gestures OK, so I drop back down and grab T-shirt, pants and shorts. I’m keen to keep their attention from the EPIRB, its light flashing as it sends a distress signal via satellite to the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency. They will forward data to the Seychelles coastguard. They will easily find us by dawn. We have to be patient and sit out the next few hours.
Rachel: Another boat slams into our stern; more men clamber aboard. More guns. One of the new arrivals takes charge, staring at us and grunting instructions to the others. This alpha male tells us his name is Buggas. He’s heavily built, about 5ft 9in, and looks to be in his early 30s. He notices the EPIRB flashing and angrily gestures at it, shouting for Paul to switch it off.
In BBC News the Chandlers, held captive by Somali pirates for more than a year, have criticised the British government in a book, for failing to support their family. Paul and Rachel Chandler, formerly of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, but who now live in Devon, said assistance offered to relatives had been "derisory". The couple's ordeal began when their yacht was seized in October 2009. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said it had been in "constant touch" with relatives. The Chandlers, who now live in Dartmouth, make their claims in a book documenting their 388-day kidnap.
While the couple say they received "excellent support" from the FCO following their release, they criticise the support offered to their family during the ordeal. Writing in the book, they say: "We realise that once we were within Somalia, the government could do little directly to help us but they could and should have done more to support our close family members. "We were disappointed to learn that the assistance from the FCO was, if anything, negative. "The support and advice to our siblings, who were always likely to be on the receiving end of begging phone calls, was distressingly inadequate."
There are more indications a group of medical scientists in Papua New Guinea, missing for four weeks, has been abducted, reports Radio New Zealand . The five scientists from the PNG Institute of Medical Research and three crew disappeared while travelling to an island off West New Britain on August 1. Their seven metre banana boat has been found on a island in distant East Sepik province and the Institute’s director, professor Peter Siba, says the fact it was intact is suspicious. Police have already raised concerns that the group are victims of pirates and professor Siba says they think the scientists may be hostages. The scientists were conducting studies into malaria.
On September 7, 2011 at 09:30 in Piazza in Rome, Italy, Deputies will hold a demonstration organized by the Committee Free Now to raise awareness and call for an immediate intervention by the [Italian] Government to close the dramatic story of the ship Savina Caylyn seized by Somali pirates, and to bring [seafaring] colleagues home, reports SDM, the Seafarer Labour Union in Itlay. In translating the article by the SDM Seafarers' Union (Seafarer's Labour Union), they were invited by the Committee to attend the event, to be fair and say clearly that their presence and that of their directors or members / supporters was not happen if it was simply to display of their logos or other publicity. SDM said, as a guideline, by 2007 everyone knows they do not participate and do not offer and publicize events, as it does not bring about a successful outcome. These events [demonstrations] arise because both because the owner and Government are stated as not showing the effect on the families of their kidnapped colleagues, who are forced to seek attention at every turning. You cannot ask for a news blackout and leave these families without any real concrete information, SDM goes on to say. The silence of the press must be respected even by the Minister La Russa and Confitarma, particularly in a situation where negotiations should remain silent on such occasions. SDM ask institutions involved to instead of encouraging confrontation with the families of the hostages, who are exhausted by the protracted capture, but should set up a round table meeting with all involved, including State representatives that are handling the negotiations and the owner of the vessel. The Maritime Union, SDM, stated they have worked on raising awareness of the piracy issue since 2007 and will continue to do so.
And finally...
An inside look at Special Training for pirate fighters - Video - KITV Honolulu. Certain sailors aboard many U.S. Navy ships are now specially trained to board and search hostile or suspicious ships with pirates, smugglers, or terrorists on board.
Piracy events
1 Hijack:
- Somali Coast - August 27 in the afternoon, Yemeni fishing boat Al Ain, attacked by 8 pirates off Bargal district, Somalia. 13 crew with 3 crew wounded during the attack. Captain and 3 wounded to hospital in the local area. The hijacked vessel likely to be used as a mothership. believed to be part of a spate of dhow 'thefts' to be utilised by pirates.
4 Unsuccessful Attacks (All Regions):
- South China Sea - August 26 at around 0225 LT, in position 01:25N - 104:29E, approximately 7nm Northeast of Horsburgh Lighthouse.Singapore-flagged petroleum product tanker, Valiant, boarded by 7 - 9 robbers. Singapore Police Coastguard informed and investigated, but robbers escaped after stealing ship equipment and crew personal belongings. The crew were unharmed. Singapore Port Operation Control Centre tried to establish communication with the vessel after receiving distress alerts, but no contact was made.
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South China Sea - August 27 at 0600 LT: in position: 01:27.6S - 116:48.6E, Lawe-Lawe Anchorage, Balikpapan, Indonesia. About 6-7 robbers armed with long knives in a motor boat approached and boarded an anchored Liberia-flagged tanker, Tataki. They took hostage the duty watchman and tied him up. The robbers stole ship's stores and properties and escaped. The Master made several attempts to contact the port and harbour authorities and PFSO by VHF but received no response (via IMB).
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Gulf of Guinea - August 27 round 0800 LT off Nigeria, seven armed assailants boarded the Cameroon passenger ship, Monica, carrying 150 people taking the captain of the vessel hostage. The captain was later released after the payment of an undisclosed ransom fee. All passengers and captain unharmed.
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Gulf of Aden - August 29 at 0655 UTC: in position 12:30.25N – 043:52.37E. Five pirates armed with guns in two skiffs approached a Tuvalu-flagged chemical tanker, Theresa Arctic, underway. The Master raised the alarm, gave one long blast and the crew mustered in a safe place. When the skiffs came close to within 15 metres of the tanker, the onboard security team fired warning shots resulting in the pirates aborting the attack.
Suspect Activity:
- NATO Shipping Centre, in its weekly assessment, refers to the "theft of local dhows appears to be on the increase and may be related to predictions of increasing piracy activity in the next few weeks," rather than classifying them as hijacks.
- A recent United Nations High Commission for Refugees report had noted an increased number of Somalis fleeing to Yemen, with August being the most active month so far, NSC continues. The movement of people by small boats will affect the number of boats seen by ships transiting the Gulf of Aden. The boats transit relatively slowly when fully-laden with people; but on the return leg will likely travel at speed and may well pass close to transiting merchant vessels.
- The recent attacks on shipping within territorial waters (Oman, for example) are a reminder of the need to be alert for pirate activity at all times. It is strongly recommended that all vessels continue to maintain a high state of readiness and vigilance, implementing BMP at all times within the High Risk Area.
At least 19 ships and an estimated 373 seafarers remain captives of the Somali pirates. Particular concern was highlighted for the South African couple, Bruno Pelizzari and Debroah Calitz (SY Choizil) who are being held in southern Somalia, an area severely affected by the humanitarian blight of famine. The release of MV Dover and the Danish hostages was expected to occur at the end of Ramadan, however, the pirates, facing adverse reaction from residents in the Rasu Bina and unable to find an ideal location to complete any exchange, are yet to confirm whether this will happen.
Somalia Report's Weekly Piracy Report provides a round up of vessel held and additional insight into pirate activity in the region.
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BMP v4 (Source:OCIMF)
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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. BMP version 4 is available at the link above; a high resolution version can be downloaded here. The DVD, Piracy: The Menace At Sea trailer can be downloaded at these links (via Steamship Mutual):
Trailer in PowerPoint format;
FLV Format.
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.
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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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