335 attacks worldwide; private sailor and tourist killed with wives kidnapped by Somali pirates; 23 crew taken by West African pirates but MV released with 24 crew by Somali pirates; EU expects a surge in attacks after the monsoon clears; greater action and support is declared as all parties prepare for the ‘new season’. IMO provides further interim guidance on private security. Ransom payments – brinksmanship and how much is your life worth? Extradition and bail for suspect pirates; stop ‘capture and release’ policy. Egypt prohibits carrying guns through the Suez Canal whilst Mozambique detains 'pirate hunters'. Pirates and terrorists linked once more.
Preparations are clearly underway by the antagonists and the protagonists in the dangerous theatre of piracy; on East and West coasts of Africa. The shift in targets by Somali pirates has demonstrated their willingness and ability to literally change tack. In response the military authorities are ramping up, or at least considering, their collective response. The hijacks in both regions resulting in the death of a French yachtsman and eventual rescue of his wife in the Gulf of Aden; the taking of the product tanker off Benin with 23 crew (hopefully for the cargo and theft rather than ransom the crew), and disturbingly, the killing of one British tourist and the kidnap of his wife whilst in a Kenyan resort has once more set alarm bells ringing.
The late-breaking news was the release of MV Hoang Son Sun and her 24 crew after 9 months captivity. The vessel is en route to the port of Salalah, Oman.
The declaration by the EUNAVFOR Chief of Staff that Somali piracy is set to surge as the monsoon ends (just like 2010), the undermining of international efforts due to financial constraints and the conflicting priorities with other military activity; seeking greater freedom to operate and being “completely agnostic” on private armed security has the industry abuzz. The call for action and coordination across international and organisational barriers is encouraging, including support being shown for seafarer campaigns.
The brinksmanship in high risk ransom negotiations is questioned and is comparable to playing poker. The months of negotiations taken to reach an amount and at the same time losing out on the use of the vessels is not the wisest option, nor the best choice for the safety of the mariners, or importantly, the peace of mind for those families at home. So what is the life of a seafarer worth? Once more, links between pirates and international terrorists through complex and growing web of networks is considered.
The Seychelles is to extradite a suspect pirate to Belgium for trail in the case of an attack from 2 years ago. Kenya becomes embroiled in arguments over bail for seven suspect pirates; commercial interests as put by the prosecution could not replace fundamental rights of individuals said the defence.
The Norwegian military, after much urging from shipowners, has deployed a patrol aircraft to the anti-piracy effort.
The fate of Myanmar mariners from Prantalay 12 fishing vessel sees them stranded in Puntland.
South African Development Community calls for the ‘capture and release’ policy to be abandoned as the potential threat to trade increases. The need for robust rules of engagement must be established and SADC should engage the African Union to help promote peace and security.
Egypt has decided to prohibit the carriage of arms during transit through the Suez Canal. The growing reliance on armed private security on vessels may well be affected. Meanwhile Mozambique detains five 'pirate hunters' transporting weapons.
South East Asia should not be overlooked as attacks continue against merchant shipping with 335 pirate attacks across the globe this year.
Pirate Activity – East Africa
A French yachtsman was killed by Somali pirates last week, while his wife was rescued by the Spanish Navy.
Spanish warship SPS Galicia intercepted a skiff carrying Evelyne Colombo toward the Somali coast, freeing her and capturing seven suspected pirates, the European Union’s anti-piracy fleet said in a statement. The European mission said previously that a yacht owned by the French couple was found empty off the coast of Yemen on September 8 by German frigate FGS Bayern.
Christian Colombo was killed during the pirates’ assault and his body dumped overboard, Agence France-Presse reported citing family members who had been informed by French officials.
The EU Spanish warship SPS Galicia’s helicopter attempted to stop the skiff, which was closing the Somali Coast, by using warning shots, but this was initially unheeded. Subsequent gunfire forced the skiff to stop, explains EUNAVFOR.
An armed boarding team from SPS Galicia approached the skiff and the suspected criminals opened fire on them. Following an exchange of fire the skiff capsized.
Mrs Colombo was immediately recovered uninjured. The seven suspected criminals were also recovered from the sea by the boarding team and transferred to the SPS Galicia. It has subsequently been confirmed that the other crew member of the SY Tribal Kat, Mr. Colombo, an ex-Frenchnavy crewman, was killed on 8 September when the SY Tribal Kat was attacked by suspected pirates.
Mrs. Colombo has been transferred to FS Surcouf by helicopter for onward repatriation to France. The seven suspected criminals, three of whom sustained minor wounds during the hostage rescue operation were treated onboard the SPS Galicia and have now been transferred to the FS Surcouf.
Investigations continue to determine the details of the incident so that criminal prosecutions can be pursued. The yacht, SY Tribal Kat, is being sailed to a safe port by a crew from the FS Surcouf.
The seven pirates have been transfered to France for prosecution.
A hijack attempt on a Greek tanker, United Emblem, has been thwarted after the crew hid in a citadel and a Russian warship rushed to rescue the vessel.
Gunmen from two skiffs boarded the 162,000-dwt United Emblem on September 10 and headed to the engine room. EUNAVFOR reported the vessel as having been hijacked, reports Shiptalk.
However, as the crew had locked themselves in the citadel, the pirates could not gain full control of the vessel and this gave the Russian frigate, Severomorsk, time to act as it headed toward the stricken vessel.
The exact details of what happened next are unclear, however it was soon reported that the tanker was back under the master’s control in the Red Sea, south-west of Port Hudaydah.
The Iranian Navy fleet foiled a pirate attack on a cargo ship in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a senior Navy commander announced on Saturday, September 10, said Far News Agency.
"8 speed boats of the pirates sought to approach an Iranian ship near Abu Ali Island in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait but they failed in their ominous goal due to the bravery of the Navy forces," Navy's Deputy Commander for Operations Rear Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi said.
The special operations unit of the Iranian Navy forced the buccaneers to flee the scene through its vigilant and swift action, Mousavi added.
The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.
Armed pirates stormed into a hotel at the Kiwayu Safari Village, almost 30 miles north of Lamu Island, near Kenya’s border with Somalia overnight on Saturday, reports Shiptalk.
Controversial reports stated earlier that al-Shabaab, a group of fighters determined to overthrow the Somali government, has claimed responsibility for killing the Briton and kidnapping his wife.
This comes while latest reports confirm Somali Pirates being responsible for the attack on the hotel where the British couple was staying.
British Foreign Office has confirmed the attack saying one British citizen has been killed but has declined to make further comments.
Furthermore, the Foreign Office published a statement on its website that read, “Two British citizens were attacked on 11 September at a beach resort north of Lamu, near the Kenya-Somalia border. One was killed and another kidnapped. We continue to advice against all but essential travel to within 30 km of Kenya’s border with Somalia.”
The couple have since been identified as David and Judith Tebbutt.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder of a British tourist and the abduction of the tourist's wife from a Kenyan resort near the border with Somalia. Police are investigating the case and the woman is still being held by unknown abductors. The brazen attack on the luxury tourist site could hurt the local economy, says Aljazeera.net.
Pirate Activity – West Africa
A Cyprus-flagged tanker hijacked off the coast of Benin in West Africa on Wednesday is Spanish-owned and has Spaniards and Peruvians among its 23 crew members, government and company officials said on Thursday, according to Reuters AlertNet.
The Mattheos 1 tanker was taken by pirates during a ship-to-ship transfer of petroleum products about 62 nautical miles southwest of the port of Cotonou and taken to an unknown location.
Spain was trying to locate the vessel, owned and operated by Madrid-based Consultores de Navegacion, and to secure the release of the crew, which includes five Spaniards.
"Our embassies are doing everything they can to reach a solution to this issue as soon as possible," a Spanish foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters. A separate report stated that the 14 Filipino sailors are safe and their families informed of the hijack. It is hoped the robbers are only after the oil rather than a ransom for the crew as per the Somali model.
A spate of ship hijackings off West Africa indicates the region could emerge as a new piracy "hotspot", a global maritime watchdog warned Wednesday after a Cyprus-flagged tanker went missing, says News24.
The tanker was reported missing at 01:20 GMT on Wednesday after it transferred oil to another vessel off Cotonou in Benin, said the International Maritime Bureau's Kuala Lumpur-based piracy reporting centre, which did not name the ship [since determined to be the Mattheos 1].
The region has seen a marked increase in hijackings this year, with 18 vessels attacked since March in an area where no incidents were reported in 2010, said Noel Choong, head of the piracy centre.
"These are heavily armed attacks and not just simple thefts, they also steal the crew's property and the ship's cargo as well," Choong told AFP.
The waters off tiny Benin appear to have become particularly risky due to the country's weak enforcement capabilities, he added.
"It also looks like it will become a hotspot as neighbouring Nigerian authorities have increased patrols in their waters while authorities in Benin lack the assets and resources to secure their waters," he said.
Choong said all contact had been lost with the Cyprus-flagged tanker and the piracy centre suspected it had been hijacked. The other vessel, which was Norwegian-registered, was still at the scene awaiting the arrival of authorities, he said.
Released by Pirates
Mongolia-flagged MV Hoang Son Sun, was reported to have been released by Somali pirates on Thursday following a ransom payment of $4.5 million. The 24 crew are said to be safe and the ship is on its way to the port of Salalah, Oman. It is expected to arrive within 2-3 days. She had been held for 9 months during which time the negotiations saw demands between $5- $8 million. Read more OCEANUSLive.
Pirates in Court
The Seychelles will extradite to Belgium a Somali suspected of involvement in a pirate attack on a Belgian frigate two years ago, prosecutors said Wednesday, Sep 14 – Expatica Belgium.
The archipelago's interior minister made the announcement at an international conference that took place in the Seychelles last week, they said in a statement posted on the Internet.
"This will be the first time in the history of the Seychelles that it will extradite a person suspected of piracy to a European country," the statement said, adding "his fingerprints were found" on the hijacked vessel.
The suspect is being held in a prison in the Seychelles.
A Brussels court in June sentenced a second suspect in the same attack, Omar Mohammed Abdiwahad, to ten years' imprisonment in the country's first-ever piracy trial.
Abdiwahad was captured in November 2010 off the Kenya coast by a Belgian ship taking part in a European Union counter-piracy mission, while attacking a vessel flying the Sierra Leone flag, and was later identified by the crew of the Belgian ship, the Pompei, as one of their hijackers.
The ship and its crew were released 71 days after it was captured after a ransom was paid.
Private Security
What happens when an immovable objects (a disgruntled coastal State) comes up against an irresistible force (the need for weapons on ships)? - Shiptalk
Well with the news that Egypt has decided to prohibit the carriage of arms during transit through the Suez Canal we may find out.
There is an increasing reliance on these weapons to keep merchant vessels safe from pirates. We may not like that fact, but at the moment private maritime security providers are finding it increasingly difficult to ship the “tools of their trade” to the frontline.
As David Osler, writing in Lloyd’s List has pointed out – there are a host of problems whenever weapons come onto the scene. They may be the only workable solution we have to piracy, but they are a solution rife with problems. There have been arrests of Masters arriving into South Africa as they had guns onboard of self defence. Then there are the maritime security companies who have run afoul of the authorities in a range of nations.
It can only be hoped that the IMO’s Facilitation Committee (FAL) is able to come up with guidance which stops countries acting unilaterally, and in a way which clearly goes against the greater good of the industry.
Further interim guidance on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) on board ships to counter Somali-based piracy has been approved by an IMO intersessional working group - Maritime Executive.
The Intersessional Maritime Security and Piracy Working Group of the Maritime Safety Committee, which met at IMO Headquarters in London from 13 to 15 September 2011, approved the following Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) circulars for dissemination:
MSC.1/Circ.1408 on Interim Recommendations for port and coastal States regarding the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships in the High Risk Area;
MSC.1/Circ.1406/Rev.1 on Revised Interim Recommendations for flag States regarding the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships in the High Risk Area;
MSC.1/Circ.1405/Rev.1 on Revised Interim Guidance to shipowners, ship operators and shipmasters on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships in the High Risk Area; and
a joint MSC and Facilitation Committee (FAL) circular on Questionnaire on information on port and coastal State requirements related to privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships, which is aimed at gathering information on current requirements.
The circulars provide interim guidance and recommendations to be taken into account when considering the use of PCASP if and when a flag State determines that such a measure would be lawful and, following a full risk assessment, appropriate.
As stated in the circulars, the interim guidance and recommendations “are not intended to endorse or institutionalize” the use of armed guards. Therefore, they do not represent any fundamental change of policy by the Organization in this regard. It is for each flag State, individually, to decide whether or not PCASP should be authorized for use on board ships flying their flag. If a flag State decides to permit this practice, it is up to that State to determine the conditions under which authorization will be granted.
Additionally, InterManager, the ship managers’ trade association has backed calls for flag States and charterers to allow operators greater freedom to employ armed guards on vessels transiting piracy-prone waters.
InterManager president Alastair Evitt has said the move is motivated by a desire to act in the best interest of seafarers and they believe that vessels should be able to use armed guards, “unhindered by restrictive flag state legislation or charterparty agreements”. However, it is stressed the measure should be in accordance with guidance set out in BMP4.
To illustrate the potential hazards for private security travelling in the Horn of Africa/Indian Ocean region, a report by BBC News “Mozambique holds 'pirate hunters'” shows what could occur in Egypt.
Four Americans and one Briton, who say they were trying to free a boat seized by pirates, have been arrested in Mozambique and accused of possessing illegal weapons. They were detained at the airport in the country's third city, Nampula, police say.
The men reportedly say they work for the US security firm GreySide. The US embassy says the group has no connection to the US government.
GreySide has not commented.
Nampula provincial police spokesperson Inacio Dina told the BBC that the weapons include an FN 5.5mm rifle, as well as ammunition and communications equipment.
The police have named the leader of the group as 42-year-old US citizen Michael Ferguson. He has not commented to the press.
The group had reportedly flown from the United States via Ethiopia and Kenya, where they picked up the weapons.
Mr Ferguson reportedly said their plan was to catch small boats in the northern Mozambican coastal city of Pemba before joining a larger vessel and trying to free the boat from pirates - it is not clear which ship they were allegedly trying to rescue.
They expected further weapons to reach them in Pemba, which they had not been able to load on the plane, police say.
Economics of Piracy
Commercial interests in the global maritime industry were on Monday cited by the Kenyan government as one of the reasons seven suspected pirates should not be granted bail by a Mombasa court, writes Philip Muyanga of the Business Daily.
Senior state counsel Alexander Muteti told the court that maritime insurance policies were going up as a result of heightened piracy in the Indian Ocean.
Mr Muteti said the Mombasa Port’s close proximity to the epicentre of piracy activities off the East African coastline was proving to be a thorn in the flesh of players in the maritime industry as shipping lines give the Mombasa route a wide berth.
Opposing an application by the seven suspected pirates to be released on bond, Mr Muteti said piracy was a matter of international concern.
Mr Muteti urged the court to consider whether or not the accused would turn up for trial if released on bond or when required to do so. He urged senior resident magistrate Tito Gesora to look at not only public but also international interest and also the question of international relations.
“Piracy is a matter of international concern, we have taken the lead, we cannot drop the ball at this time,” he said.
“Considering the nature of the charge and likely sentence, temptation to abscond is so high,” he said. He wondered if it would be right for the court to release the accused on bond.
However, defence lawyer Francis Kadima said commercial interests as put by the prosecution could not replace fundamental rights of individuals. He said the rise in insurance policies and commercial interests were irrelevant considerations.
“There are no statistics that piracy trials have reduced piracy,” said Mr Kadima, adding that the accused are Somali nationals and that it can be confirmed by Somali ambassador.
He told the court that there was no demonstration how they (accused) would flee and that their identification documents had been confiscated by US marines.
Mr Kadima said the accused were ready to abide by all the bail conditions given by the court. He said piracy was a bailable offence.
The accused are Mohamud Abdi, Abshir Salat, Abdullahi Ahmed, Abdirahman Hussein, Abdikarim Abdullahi, Hassan Isse and Feysal Ali.
They allegedly attacked a vessel, MV Polaris, on February 11 2009. The magistrate will rule on September 27.
There are fewer high risk games of brinkmanship than negotiating for the release of seafarers and multi-million dollar ships and cargoes - Shiptalk.
Sadly it seems that not only are we not getting any better at it, but according to Stephen Askins of Ince & Co, we are using the wrong financial model.
Metaphorically it seems that we are playing poker, while the pirates are playing are at the roulette table. They are happy to just keep spinning, and spinning, until their number comes up.
According to Askins, shipping has potentially lost upwards of $300m this year alone as negotiators have spent months fighting to drive down ransom payments for hijacked vessels.
He suggests that many owners who look to pay the lowest figures possible are actually not helping anyone – much less their crews, and even their businesses in the long term.
The sums appear to bear the argument out - according to Askins around $90m has been paid out to free ships this year, but the loss of use on those vessels has probably reached as high as $300m to $400m. This is not logically – owners want their crews and ships back, but they seemingly go onto the defensive with the pirates, who let’s be honest, hold all the aces.
With Somalis treating the hijacks as a “business process”, notwithstanding the violence – it seems that negotiators should perhaps be given a little more latitude to get the ships out, and quick.
Everyone knows that in the second oldest profession, shipping, as in the oldest, time is money. Spending months negotiating a ransom of say $4million when all the time you are losing as much as $20million just does not make sense.
Something for all parties to consider as the clock ticks and the pages of the calendar turn on the crews and ships held hostage.
The matter of ransoms for the lives of seafarers is discussed by freelance Italian researcher and analyst on maritime economics and international security, Davide de Bernardin, in an op-ed. Amidst the hypocritical question over whether or not to pay ransoms, almost 400 mariners still wait for freedom and many more people are making money thanks to their plight. How much is a seafarer’s life worth? Read more OCEANUSLive.
Call to Arms & Action
Somali pirate attacks are expected to surge in coming weeks after a monsoon abates, but defence cuts will undermine international efforts to fight them, a senior European Union navy official said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Pirate attacks on oil tankers and other ships are costing the world economy billions of dollars a year and navies have struggled to combat the menace, especially in the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean.
"The general trend for navies around the world is for them to have gone through a strategic defence review or something similar and emerged with either no more or in many situations less ships," said Captain Keith Blount, chief of staff with EUNAVFOR, the bloc's counter-piracy naval mission off Somalia.
"Balancing priorities is very difficult for governments and counter-piracy I am afraid has to fight for its place in that list of priorities," he told Reuters in an interview.
Naval patrols, including vessels from the European Union, the United States, South Korea, Iran and other nations have curbed the number of attacks in the Gulf of Aden, though not in the Indian Ocean.
Attacks have also slowed in the past two months due to poor weather conditions.
"I think we are going to see a surge in piracy because we always have done at this time when the southwest monsoon abates and the seas become flatter," Blount said.
"Typically the pirates have a really good go in the autumn and winter," he said on the sidelines of a shipping conference.
Blount said there were "conflicting priorities with other real military activity" in the Middle East, North Africa and other arenas.
"It is the challenge of industry and the military involved in counter-piracy to lobby governments to try and see piracy as a higher priority than it is," he told the conference.
Blount said the military wanted to be able to operate closer to the coasts of Yemen and Eritrea. He said navies were currently only allowed to tackle piracy on the high seas, outside territorial waters, according to the terms of a U.N. convention.
"There is diplomatic activity to try and allow us have a little bit more freedom to operate in those areas," he said.
The shipping industry, some of whose members already employ private guards, says better armed and increasingly violent seaborne gangs pose a growing threat to vital sea lanes.
Blount said the military was "completely agnostic" on private armed guards, and nations, flag states and the industry had to be clear on whether they backed using contractors.
"I think a ship with private security onboard will be taken successfully by pirates -- it is a matter of time," he said.
The industry last week urged the United Nations to create an armed military force to be deployed on vessels to tackle Somali piracy.
"The current military response -- with only a handful of navy ships available to provide protection on any given day -- has just been a sticking plaster on a gaping wound," said International Chamber of Shipping chairman Spyros Polemis.
"Governments have so far failed to protect shipping, and the smooth flow of world trade, from being literally held to ransom by Somali criminals," he said on Wednesday.
The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) should abandon its practice of "catching and releasing" Somali pirates and adopt robust rules of engagement before piracy seriously harmed trade off the east coast of the region, the government said yesterday, writes Wyndham Hartley of Business Day.
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Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
Photo: Business Day
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South African warships have been patrolling as far afield as the northern Mozambique Channel as the pirates move further south. Sadc has apparently had a "catch and release" policy with regard to Somali pirates, in sharp contrast to actions taken by international navies in the region.
A Cabinet cluster led by Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu (right) said Sadc had an international and regional responsibility to help promote good order at sea.
Threats of piracy were of particular concern to Sadc, whose coastline and shipping lanes were vulnerable to maritime crime and "as Sadc’s coastal areas do not fall within patrol areas of the international anti-pirate forces, Sadc will have to take responsibility for its own maritime security".
"A threat around the Horn of Africa and Sadc waters will detrimentally affect Sadc’s trade and economy. Maritime security is a regional concern to all Sadc member states. Both Sadc coastal states and Sadc landlocked states are equally dependent on maritime trade. A policy is required to combat piracy in Sadc waters and to safeguard the economies of the many landlocked countries."
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said piracy had not yet had a discernable effect on Sadc trade "at this time", but was definitely a potential threat to trade on the east coast.
"Sadc must establish robust rules of engagement for anti- piracy, which should be largely consistent with the rules of engagement of other regions.”
"With regard to the legal framework, Sadc member states should ratify or accede to international maritime conventions/treaties/regimes and the incorporation of these into their national law. Sadc members should seek to put in place comprehensive legal regimes , consistent with international law, to prosecute pirates," he said.
The practice of "catch and release" of pirates should be stopped, since it allows experienced pirates to execute more sophisticated acts of piracy. Sadc should strengthen and harmonise regional and domestic legal frameworks for arrest, awaiting- trial detention, prosecution and imprisonment or repatriation of pirates, Ms Sisulu said.
Ms Sisulu’s cluster statement concluded that Sadc would have to take responsibility for its own maritime security in co-operation with other regions, task forces, navies and role players.
Military commanders are expecting a sharp rise in attacks by Somali pirates amid shipping industry warnings that the problem is worsening in the Indian Ocean.
The expected increase in raids coincides with the end of the monsoon. The rains and rough seas between June and September make it harder for the pirates to mount attacks from their small skiffs.
“We have been warned by naval commanders that they are anticipating a massive growth in attacks over the next two to four weeks as the monsoon season comes to an end,” said Peter Hinchliffe, secretary-general of the International Chamber of Shipping.
He said the situation in the Indian Ocean was threatening two of the world’s key shipping routes: the north-south run from the Arabian Gulf which carries 40 per cent of the world’s oil, and the east-west trade link between Asia and Europe. Read more FT.com
The change in tactics by pirates has led shipping companies to hire private armed guard to protect vessels on the high seas.
The shipping industry is so concerned about the problem that four associations, representing 90 per cent of the world’s merchant fleet, wrote a joint letter to Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, last month, says Marlink.
Seafarers’ organisations, shipping companies together with business leaders and the biggest ever grouping of shipping industry associations, which have joined forces to campaign against Somali piracy, have received a welcome boost from the British and Philippine Governments confirming their support for the global SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign.
In the UK, correspondence between members of the SOS campaign and the British MP Henry Bellingham, Minister for Africa, the UN, Overseas Territories and Conflict Issues, have led to the Minister expressing deep concern at the latest developments in pirate tactics, particularly the distressing and intolerable conditions in which seafarers are being held as well as the increasing incidences of violence being used against seafarers.
“The Government supports the campaign and the key actions it has prioritised,” said Mr Bellingham. “Together with the Minister for Shipping, Mike Penning and the Minister for the Armed Forces, Nick Harvey, I intend to hold another meeting with the shipping industry soon to have an open dialogue on their concerns and discuss the action the Government is taking against the priorities of the campaign as well as the wider fight against piracy.”
In the Philippines, the Filipino Labour and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz has said in a public statement that the world's number one source of world-class seafarers is morally bound to support global action to ensure the welfare and protection of seafarers.
Baldoz lauded the SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign for its "unrelenting" efforts to raise public awareness on the deleterious effects of piracy, particularly in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. "We are always mindful of the policy of the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III for enhanced overseas foreign workers protection," she said. "Foremost of this is to push for global call to stamp out piracy in the high seas, which is now affecting global maritime commerce," she added.
Giles Heimann, Chair of the SOS Campaign’s Steering Group, said: “We’re glad our campaign is being supported by the British and Philippine Governments. It proves that by working together as an industry we can push more powerfully for action to counter the growing and increasingly violent actions of Somali pirates against the innocent seafarers who keep world trade flowing through these crucial but increasingly dangerous trade lanes. We will continue to lobby support from all corners of the globe with our campaign that has received website visits from 174 countries worldwide, leading to more than 20,000 individual letters from members of the public to the heads of state of more than 100 countries around the world.”
The one issue which unites the maritime industry, reports Shiptalk, is the belief that pirates will be defeated not at sea, but ashore.
According to a report from Lloyd’s List, Keith Blount, chief of staff at the EUNAVFOR states that attacking pirates’ camps on the Somali coast before they put to sea to hijack merchant shipping is actively being considered at the highest levels in the military and governments.
It would appear the one reason this course of action has yet to be pursued is because of the major practical and political issues involved. However with the expected big increase in pirate activity based in Somalia from October after the monsoon season, perhaps the pirates may finally force the hand of both politicians and Admirals alike.
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Defence Minister Grete Faremo with
Orion crew
(Photo: Forsvarets mediesenter)
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The Norwegian military is once again contributing to the battle against pirates off East Africa, after lots of urging from the shipowners’ lobby - Views and News from Norway.
“Finally an Orion aircraft is on its way,” Sturla Henriksen of the Norwegian Shipowners Association, told Aftenpostenthis week. The shipowners have earlier criticized the Norwegian government for not contributing enough to the international efforts to curb piracy attacks on commercial shipping.
Defense Minister Grete Faremo joined the send-off of the Orion P-3N aircraft and its support crew of around 40 from the Andøya naval air station on Monday. It will take part in the NATO-led anti-piracy operations Ocean Shield, flying surveillance missions from the Seychelles over the Indian Ocean from September 19 until December 15.
The Combined Maritime Forces suspect Somali pirates may be linked to international terrorist groups, the Royal Thai Navy's force on an anti-piracy mission in the Arabian Sea believes – Bangkok Post.
Adm Takeungsak Wangkaew, the RTN chief-of-staff, said the CMF, a multi-national naval partnership combating piracy near the Horn of Africa, believes the pirates may be connected to international terrorism as piracy entails a complex and growing web of networks involving many interests.
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| Armed Thai sailor patrols aboard the HTMSSimilan. (Source: WASSANA NANUAM; Bangkok Post) |
"The US-led CMF is investigating whether the ransoms which Somali pirates gained from hijacked cargo ship owners are being used to fund international terrorist groups," the RTN's Counter Piracy Task Group Commander Thanin Likhitwong said yesterday. The group joined the CMF in Bahrain.
Negotiations over ransoms in exchange for the release of 12 cargo ships seized by Somali pirates were still under way, said Capt Thanin, adding that 322 crew members of these ships were also being held by the pirates.
Capt Thanin said the ransom negotiations were done through companies. Ransoms must be paid in cash only and the cash is stuffed in bags and dropped from a helicopter at a designated spot.
The Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea between Yemen on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa are viewed as "red zones" of piracy, said Capt Thanin.
One way to improve security of the Thai cargo ships passing through the Gulf of Aden would be to deploy armed guards aboard the ships, he said.
The armed guards are likely to be recruited from the navy's special forces such as the SEALs, underwater demolition or reconnaissance teams.
Four to six armed guards would be deployed on each ship.
Representatives from 47 nations and organisations involved in counter-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean met at NATO Headquarters today [Thursday Sep 15] to exchange views, share experiences and discuss ways to enhance synergies between their respective efforts in the Indian Ocean, says NATO.
Participants included representatives from Australia, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates. The European Union, which runs Operation Atalanta, the United Nations and the African Union, also attended the meeting.
The exchange of views focused on how best to address the piracy threat in the most comprehensive, coordinated and effective manner.
Launched in 2009, NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield complements other international and national counter-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia and in the wider Indian Ocean. Its current mandate runs until 2012.
“This is a true international team effort” NATO’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said, “because we are working together, we are having an effect in helping to secure the Gulf of Aden”.
This meeting, the first in such format, marks NATO’s new engagement with partners across the globe on functional issues of shared interest, as laid out in the new Strategic Concept.
India has called upon the international community to address the “serious” problem of hostage-taking by pirates, saying it is ready to work with UN Security Council members on a draft resolution on the necessary legal mechanism for prosecution and detention of pirates, says Firstpost.
Piracy off the coast of Somalia remains a serious problem facing the international community, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri said at a UN Security Council debate on Somalia here. He said as of 31 August, the Somali pirates held 19 ships and 405 hostages.
Given the expanding problem, the international community must work towards adopting a comprehensive counter-piracy strategy. Puri said such a strategy should include an UN-led anti-piracy force to conduct naval operations, enactment of national laws to criminalise piracy, effective sanitisation of the Somali coastline as well as identifying safe corridors and buffer zones.
Steps taken by India, including anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and deployment of ships in Eastern and North Eastern Arabian Sea, have helped neutralise several attempts of piracy. ”While we will continue our counter-piracy operations, there is also an urgent need for the international community to address the serious problem of hostage-taking by pirates and consequent humanitarian problems faced by the hostages and their families,” Puri added.
He said India hoped that the secretary general’s report on piracy, due in October, would contain concrete recommendations on all aspects of the problem of piracy, including hostage-taking and plight of hostages. Addressing the worsening humanitarian situation in Somalia, Puri said combating maritime piracy is an important issue “intrinsically linked with security situation” in the country.
Seafarers Plight
Fourteen Myanmar seamen freed from the Prantalay 12 are still stuck in Garowe more than two months after their release, with no funds at their disposal to return home, reports Somalia Report.
The Thailand-flagged Prantalay 12, with a crew of 25, was taken on April 18, and kept first in Garacad District in Mudug region, then Ceel Dhanane. Abdirisaq Ducaysane, Puntland Anti-Piracy Agency director, told Somalia Report that elders in Ceel Dhanane secured the release of the fourteen in early August, but negotiations for the remaining five have failed, although talks are ongoing.
The seafarers, who were paraded sitting on plastic chairs and chain smoking outside their hotel in Garowe, told Ducaysane that their fishing vessel capsized in the monsoon waves, leading them to be kept on land. Six of the seafarers died some from taking expired medicine and others from illness, Ducaysane said.
[SR EDITOR'S NOTE: Ducaysane refused to let Somalia Report speak directly to the seamen, saying they were not prepared to talk to the media].
Ducaysane said the 14 men were unable to return to Myanmar due to a lack of financial support and proper documentation, but that the Puntland government was trying to get them back home.
“The government has made steps to ensure the safe journey back to their home country he said. “We are now cooperating with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to help us with the travel arrangements and proper documents they require to travel back.”
IOM confirmed it was helping with the repatriation, and said it would shortly provide details on the status of the process.
Ducaysane said the former hostages were desperate to return to their home country.
“They are stressed because they are not familiar with the living conditions of Somalia and the weather, and they have communication problems since most of them do not speak Arabic or English,” he said. “They are tired of staying indoors most of the time, as they don’t know where to go and who to go with.”
Piracy events
1 Hijack:
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Gulf of Guinea – September 14 (via IMB) at 0121 UTC: Around 62nm SW of Cotonou, Benin. Armed pirates boarded and hijacked a Cyprus-flagged, Spanish-owned product tanker, Mattheos 1, during STS operations and took her 23 crew members hostage. The pirates sailed the vessel to an unknown location.
10 Unsuccessful Attacks (All Regions):
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South China Sea – September 8 (via IMB) at 2343 LT: in position 01:07.45N - 103:35.75E, Nipah Island, Indonesia. Four robbers armed with long knives boarded a Panama-flagged tanker, Pacific Harmony, carrying out STS operations. Robbers entered the engine room and were spotted by the duty oiler who raised the alarm. All crew mustered in the CCR and contacted CSO and local authorities. Later Indonesian naval personnel and marine police boarded the vessel to conduct a search.
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South China Sea –September 9 at 2305 LT in Dumai Inner Anchorage, Indonesia. Six robbers armed with knives in a boat approached an anchored Marshall Islands-flagged chemical tanker, Fairchem Birdie. Three of the robbers boarded the tanker from her stern. They threatened the duty AB on deck. Duty officer on bridge raised the alarm upon sighting the robbers. Robbers manage to escape with stolen ships property. The master made several attempts to contact the port authorities but received no response. Port authorities later informed along with Indonesian navy and marine police.
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South China Sea – September 9 (via ReCAAP) at (or about) 0200 LT in position 01:03.80N - 103:30.6E, approx 4.3nm NE of Tanjung Rambut, Pulau Karimun Besar, Indonesia. Panama-flagged chemical tanker, Ginga Falcon, at anchor when duty crew spotted 3 robbers on quarterdeck. Contact Master and raised alarm. Robbers escaped taking one lifebuoy. No crew were injured.
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Red Sea - September 10, at 0535 UTC: 14:04N - 042:51E: Around 4nm off Jazirat Jabal Zuqar island. Six pirates in one skiff chased and fired upon a Greek tanker, United Emblem, underway. Another two skiffs were seen at a slight distance. The Master and all crew gathered on the bridge, sent May Day via VHF, increased speed, activated SSAS, contacted CSO, made evasive manoeuvres and locked all access to the ship. All crew except Master and Ch/Engr entered into E/Room. When pirates boarded the vessel the Master and Ch/Engr retreated into the E/Room. A Russian navy helicopter responded to the distress and arrived on location. A boarding team arrived and searched the vesel before releasing the crew. Later ships’ crew took control of the tanker and continued passage.
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Indian Ocean – September 10 at 1413 UTC, in position 04:07.05S – 042:3E, MV NS Africa was approached by two skiffs with armed pirates on board. The embarked security team fired warning shots which deterred the pirates attempted boarding.
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South China Sea – September 11 (via ReCAAP) at (or about) 0300 LT in position 01:04.80N - 103:33.7E, approx 8.4nm NE of Tanjung Rambut, Pulau Karimun Besar, Indonesia. Singapore-flagged Tug boat, GM Shine, underway boarded by unknown number of robbers from a small craft. They took crew personal belongings, removed the GPS and disconnected all ships' communication system before escaping. Master reported incident to the company using his mobile phone. No crew were injured.
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Gulf of Guinea - September 14 at 0121 UTC: Around 62nm SW of Cotonou, Benin. Armed pirates boarded a Norway-flagged product tanker, Northern Bell, during STS operations. Master sent SSAS alert, crew locked in engine room and contacted CSO. Later pirates left the vessel. The crew came out of the engine room and conducted a search for the pirates and found the vessel safe. The crew regained control of the vessel.
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Gulf of Guinea – September 14 (via IMB) at 0355 UTC: in position 06:00.7N – 001:19.6E, Lome Anchorage, Togo. Six suspected robbers in a boat approached an anchored product tanker and attempted to climb onboard. Master raised the alarm, mustered all crew and contacted local authorities on VHF Ch 16. Seeing crew alertness the robbers aborted the attempt. Later, a naval patrol boat arrived on the scene, and after a search, apprehended the suspect robbers.
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Gulf of Guinea – September 14 (via IMB) at 0415 UTC: in position 06:01.39N – 001:18.30E, around 7nm south of Lome break water, Togo. Around 26 robbers in two boats came alongside and attempted to board an anchored Singapore-flagged chemical tanker, Abu Dhabi Star. Portable ladder and ropes were noticed in the boats. Master raised the alarm, mustered all crew, contacted local authorities on VHF Ch 16 and heaved up anchor. Seeing crew alertness the robbers aborted the attempt. Later a naval patrol boat arrived on location. Master reported that the same robbers had attempted to board another vessel eight cables from his vessels position prior to attacking his vessel. Togo navy was informed.
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Red Sea – September 15 at 1505 UTC: in position 12:35.5N – 043:25.5E, around 2.6nm south of Mayyun island, Bab El Mandeb. Armed pirates in four skiffs approached a bulk carrier underway, two from the port side and two from the stbd side. Master raised the alarm, took evasive manoeuvres and the onboard security team fired warning shots, which resulted in the pirates aborting the attack. The crew and vessel are safe.
Worldwide, incidence of piracy saw 335 attacks with 35 hijacks to date. Of the incidents reported off Somalia, 188 attacks, 24 hijacks have occurred. 400 seafarers have been held hostage with 8 killed - IMB.
At least 16 ships and an estimated 301 seafarers remain captives of the Somali pirates. Somalia Report's Weekly Piracy Report provides a roundup of vessel held and additional insight into pirate activity in the region.
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.
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.
West Africa Piracy Activity
Horn of Africa Piracy Activity
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Any suspicious activity should be reported to UKMTO in Dubai in the first instance (Email 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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