A week of high drama in the Red Sea and the shipping community coming together for World Maritime Day and launch of a support organisation for seafarers, MV Eagle and MV Dover are released. However, South African couple remain hostages. The piracy toll in Bangladesh comes to light. Private armed security debate and the sanction of them by governments continues, whilst Spain permits heavy guns on ships. West African nations call for greater support. U.S. anti-piracy efforts could spur closer cooperation with India and China. Danes hope to encourage Somali pirates to take up fishing.
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Global Piracy Overview - September
High spirits, high fives and high ideals over the last week. MVs Eagle and Dover were released following ransom payments but a demand of $8 million for the Malaysian ship Albedo is made. Sadly, the Red Sea region sees 5 attacks in 4 days. All during the week of the launch of the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) coinciding with the IMO official launch of the World Maritime Day.
The South African couple held captive for almost a year are threatened if a ransom of $4 million is not paid. The family have been forced to beg for public donations.
A German warship disrupts a pirate skiff but unfortunately the heavily criticised ‘capture and release’ policy saw the suspect pirates landed.
The Indian navy declared that attacks on two cargo ships were saved from hijack attempts in the Gulf of Aden. As the weather improves the first attack in the middle of the Arabian Sea is reported heralding the spread of piracy once more. The Spanish government has permitted the use of heavy calibre weapons on its tuna fishing vessels to combat pirate attacks. India-flagged ships are to be allowed to deploy armed guards. The Dutch government, however, has stated that the deployment of armed guards should only be hired by the government, and should only perform their security duties as soldiers under the full authority of the Ministry of Defence and not by shipowners.
Piracy, drug smuggling and political uncertainty in the Gulf of Guinea has raised concerns over security in the region. UNODC and IMO are setting up a mission to assess Benin capacity to combat piracy. Gambia and Tog call for greater international support.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency arrested 6 robbers after they had attempted to rob three ships in succession.
The US anti-piracy effort could spur three-way cooperation with India and China, insisting that it seeks stronger relations with both rising Asian powers.
Sri Lanka's navy is monitoring the movement of merchant ships to guard against the threat of attacks by Somali pirates who have been extending their raids further east into the Indian Ocean.
UNOSAT produced an internal UN report on Somali pirate attacks based on a detailed geospatial study of available data between 2005 and 2009. It goes on to explain ‘The Piracy Big Bang’.
The Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini says officials are working with the Somali government to free Italian sailors held by pirates.
The recovery of the sunken merchant vessel, SS Gairsoppa, with its hoard of silver, was compared to the present day concerns for merchant seamen held by pirates and classed as an ‘international treasure’.
Pirate Activity – East Africa
Somali pirates, who kidnapped Durban couple Bruno Pelizzari and Deborah Calitz almost a year ago have promised to kill them if the $4-million (about R33-million) ransom is not paid soon, writes Timeslive.
In a telephone call made to his sister, Vera, on September 5, Pelizzari said: "I know you are doing everything you can. If they do not get the ransom, they are going to kill us."
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| Durban couple Bruno Pelizzari and Deborah Calitz (Photo: Somalia Report) |
Vera said it was the first time she had spoken to her brother since the kidnapping. "I know he is alive. I heard his voice and I knew it was him." She said that a pirate named Ali had been calling her weekly. "He wants the money. He has called me every week demanding the ransom. I have explained to him that we are not rich. We are normal South Africans. I told him that it is going to take time to get the money," she said.
Desperate to raise the ransom, Pelizzari's family has registered the SOS Bru and Deb Trust. "We have been forced to beg for public donations. We had to get the NGO certificate and then the stamp of approval of the government so the trust has only been active since Thursday. We have also opened an SMS donation facility. The SMS costs R10 and so far we have received about 200 text messages," Vera said.
Vera had negotiated with Ali on the phone to drop the ransom to $500,000 but it was put back up to $4-million. "I have negotiated the ransom once before and I hope I can get the figure knocked down," she said.
Department of International Relations spokesman Clayson Monyela yesterday said that it was South African government policy not to pay ransoms and therefore the couple's families were dealing with the kidnapping.
"There is no real latest [news] on the issue. The people who have taken the couple are speaking to the family because we do not pay ransoms," he said. The Pelizzari family is hoping that the couple will be home by Christmas.
Suspicious boats were located by the EU warship, FGS Köln 70 nautical miles South West off Mogadishu, Somalia, 30 miles off the coast. A helicopter was sent to inspect the group of boats and 12 people with equipment usually associated with piracy were seen on board. The boats refused to stop when hailed. Köln’s helicopter fired warning shots ahead of the skiff which caused the boat to stop.
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| German Navy Disrupt Pirate Activity (Photo: EUNAVFOR) |
Before the boats could be boarded by teams from FGS Köln, the crew of the boats started to throw weapons and other items overboard. The skiff, whaler and their engines were destroyed to prevent any potential future use for piracy and the men released close to the shore. A video of German Navy Gunship opening fire on Somali pirate skiff available at Forbes.com.
Somali pirates have demanded eight million dollars for the release of a Malaysian ship [MV Albedo] and its 21-member crew, which includes seven Pakistani nationals, Express Tribune reported on Wednesday.
Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) chief Ahmed Chinoy said that the hijacked ship was travelling from Karachi to Kenya when it was hijacked by the pirates.
He said the 21-member crew included seven Pakistanis, seven Sri Lankans, five Bengalis and two Iranians. The captain of the ship is also Pakistani and has been identified as Javed Saleem.
The saga surrounding the on-off release of MV Dover continues to cause confusion and consternation. Captured by pirates February 28 260nm northeast of Salalah, the Greek-owned bulk carrier with a crew of 23, later became a prison for the now free Danish family and crew, released following a ransom payment, and was moved around the coast of Somalia. During that time a series of shoot-outs confined pirates to the ship in the Bargal area, but in August a deal was reported to have been reached after a protracted time of negotiations where the pirates expected a higher ransom than that considered to be 'the norm'.
It was expected that the Dover would be released shortly after the Danish hostages were freed; however, this has been delayed and delayed. A ransom of $3.8 million has been reported to have been dropped by air (claims that a helicopter had done so) on Wednesday, according to pirates, and that the money has been counted with some of the pirates leaving the vessel to go ashore whilst the last of the group awaits permission from their investors to leave writes Somalia Report. Since then, reports of pirates fighting amongst themselves, both on land and on the Dover, over the ransom payment has further delayed the release, which was finally completed. Although it is reported that the Dover hostages are safe, the mental anguish to the crew must have been very traumatic.
Attacks by Somali pirates on two cargo ships in the Gulf of Aden were thwarted by an Indian Navy warship last week, navy officers said here Monday, reports the Economic Times.
INS Sukanya, an offshore patrol vessel on anti-piracy duty off the Somali coast, had deployed its marine commandos and a helicopter to ward off the sea brigands, who were approaching the two merchant ships, in separate incidents on Sep 20 and 24.
The pirates were on high-speed skiffs and made threatening approaches towards the merchant ships that were being escorted by INS Sukanya in the Gulf of Aden.Though it was dark, the Sukanya crew detected the approaching skiffs and following laid-down operating procedure, warned the speed boats on radio to stay clear.
"When the boats did not heed the warnings, Sukanya launched her own high-speed boat with marine commandos to investigate the skiffs.
After some time, an armed helicopter was also airborne to protect the vessel in the escort group," the officers said.
The skiffs were stopped and boarded by the marine commandos, who carried out a search and confirmed the presence of pirates on board.
The commandos also recovered arms and ammunition in the skiffs, apart from implements to mount an attack on unarmed cargo vessels such as modern communication equipment, ropes, ladders and grapnels.
"The skiffs were rendered ineffective for carrying out any further piracy action. Due to the bold and alert actions of Sukanya crew, two merchant vessels -- MV Fairchem Bronco and MV Conqueror -- were saved from being hijacked," the officers said.
The Indian Navy has been continuously deploying warships in the Gulf of Aden in anti-piracy role since late October 2008 and has so far prevented hijacking of 39 cargo vessels, apart from escorting 1,700 merchant ships of different nationalities to safe ports.
Most Somalis will tell you they are disgusted by the cruelty of the pirates who are holding Judith Tebbutt.
The 56-year-old from Hertfordshire saw her husband David shot in front of her at a remote beach resort on the north Kenyan coast.
One respected elder was so angered he spoke out on a local radio station to condemn the kidnap and to call for the British woman's swift release.
"This action would definitely spoil the image of the millions of good Somalis across the globe," said Imam Omar Moalin Abshir in an interview with the BBC that was translated from Mogadishu.
"What hurt me is the fact that they have killed her husband as well as denying her, her freedom.
"I feel the worst thing you can do to someone is to deny them their freedom. That itself is a big crime."
Release by Pirates
Following payment of a ransom, MV Eagle, with a crew of 24 Filipino sailors, which was pirated on January17, 2011 approximately 490nm South of Salalah, Oman has been released from pirate control off the coast of Somalia. The ship is now on her way to a safe port after a ransom of reportedly $6 million - OCEANUSLive.
MV Dover has finally been released by Somali pirates, officials who spoke to Somalia Report have confirmed - OCEANUSLive.
“MV Dover was released today, and the vessel has left Bargaal with warships,” Ahmed Gurey, Governor of Bargaal District told Somalia Report on Friday morning.
This follows a $3.8M ransom payment dropped by air (some witnesses claim it was a helicopter which would be unusual) on Wednesday, according to pirates who spoke to Somalia Report.
Pirate Activity – West Africa
Gambian Vice President, Ms. Isatou Njie-Saidy, on Monday called for greater UN and international support to prevent the West African coasts from becoming a haven for pirates. She also solicited support for the fight against growing drug and arms trafficking, says Afrique en Ligue.
“The evils of drug trafficking, piracy, trafficking of illicit goods and arms trafficking have reared their ugly heads across the sub-region,” Njie-Saidy told the 66th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
She said: “The nature and extent of these crimes call for swift international action to nip them in the bud before it is too late”. “As these crimes feed on each other and sow the seeds of terror, economic sabotage and the collapse of social order, we must pool our resources together in the areas of detection, surveillance, law enforcement and prosecution in order to deny the culprits safe havens”.
“In order to do this, we must come together and agree on a framework for cooperation with the support of the international community. We look forward to greater United Nations engagement with regional and sub-regional leaders and organizations in stamping out these menaces,” she stated.
The Gambian VP also called on ECOWAS member countries to join hands to tackle the growing incidents of piracy and other crimes in the region.
Also speaking, Togolese Prime Minister Gilbert Fossoun-Houngbo, referred to recent acts of piracy off the coasts of Togo and Benin, as a source of concern and a threat to security in both countries.
As more oil discoveries are being made in the West African sub-region, activities of pirates are said to be springing up in the region from its usual area, the Red Sea of the coast of Somalia.
The coastlines of West Africa have for some time now been seeing attacks from pirates on ships and vessels carrying oil as well as goods.
In August this year, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) listed five African countries’ sea-shore as piracy prone areas in its latest Piracy Prone Areas and Warnings report. The countries are Nigeria, Benin, Guinea, Cameroon and Somalia.
The IMB said the areas are risky for the movement of vessels and ships including oil and chemical tankers due to attacks from pirates who are using weapons and rocket propelled grenade launchers.
“Piracy, drug smuggling and political uncertainty have made the Gulf of Guinea a challenging environment for investors seeking to benefit from natural resources.”
However, the US government has pledged its full support in helping to fight piracy along the coast lines in the region.
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, US Department of State, Ambassador Johnnie Carson told ghanabusinessnews.com that the Obama administration is working with ECOWAS to fight these pirates.
Amid rising concerns that pirates are taking control of the waters off West Africa, Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of UNODC, met Nassirou Bakou Arifari, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Benin, during the annual session of the General Assembly in New York.
"These are worrying developments that we should take seriously", Mr. Fedotov told Mr. Arifari. Benin, in particular, is seeing an increase in piracy off its coastline that may have implications for its national development and stability.
Holding massive reserves of oil, cocoa and metals needed to supply hungry world markets, the Gulf of Guinea - a stretch of West Africa's coast spanning more than a dozen countries - is witnessing early signs that pirates may be keen to pounce on new and lucrative opportunities. Piracy, drug smuggling and political uncertainty have made the Gulf of Guinea a challenging environment for investors seeking to benefit from natural resources.
UNODC, the United Nations Office for West Africa and the International Maritime Organization are therefore setting up a mission to assess the capacity of Benin to combat piracy. They will lend international support within the framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional action plan to combat drug trafficking and organized crime in West Africa and the UNODC Regional Programme for West Africa for the period 2010-2014. Read more UNODC.
Other Piracy
Pirates kidnapped around 100 fishermen along with 11 fishing trawlers, plundered cash, fishes, fishing nets and other valuable items following attack on 95 fishing trawlers in the waters off Bagerhat [Bangaldesh] coasts in the last couple of weeks – The Daily Star.
They mercilessly beat up and injured 35 fishermen during raids on the trawlers. Victims and other fishermen estimated that goods worth Tk 1 crore were looted from the 95 fishing trawlers.
Fishermen who managed to escape from captivity said, three gangs of pirates coming by motorised boats attacked 95 trawlers from September 10-23 when the fishermen were fishing in different areas of the Bay off Sundarbans coast near Passur estuary, Vedakhali Canal and Fareway buoy areas of Shoronkhola and Mongla upazilas.
After looting the trawlers, the pirates demanded heavy amounts as ransom from the families of abductees and threatened to kill the captives if their demands were not met soon.
The incidents have frightened the fishermen and their families across the villages in the two coastal upazilas. Panicked fishermen have almost stopped going to catch fish in deep sea in fear of fresh raids.
Private Security
Carriers with Indian flags will now be allowed to deploy armed guards against pirates, the Shipping Ministry has decreed, following repeated appeals by the Indian National Shipowners' Association, reports the Hindu Business Line.
The Ministry has taken the decision after noting that about 35 per cent of merchant ships transiting through pirate-infested waters deploy armed security guards and that the pirates generally do not attack ships with guards on board.
Private armed guards on ships are increasingly seen as an effective deterrent to pirates and as a complement to overstretched navies, many of which face budget cuts. (The International Chamber of Shipping has described the recent military responses to piracy as “sticking plaster on a gaping wound”.) Mr Peter Cook, the founding member of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, an industry group with 58 members, has been quoted as saying that private firms would play an increasing role as navies face spending reviews, citing prospects of a 30 per cent decline in the size of Western navies in the next 20 years.
PRIVATE NAVY - Some shipping companies have already responded by arming guards on board their vessels. There are even plans mooted by shippers to create a private navy to protect shipping convoys and engage the pirates. Ship insurers, too, are backing the use of private armed guards on merchant vessels at sea as pirate attacks and the resulting costs in terms of payouts are set to soar.
The large-scale deployment of armed guards on board merchant vessels is being considered amid growing concern that piracy, already spinning out of control, may escalate with the end of the monsoon. The rains and rough seas in the past few months had made it harder for pirates to mount attacks from their small skiffs.
Attacks by Somali pirates could rise to 250 in 2011 from about 200 in each of the two previous years, it is feared. There are also other causes for concern. Ship-owners and insurers until recently were reluctant to allow armed private contractors on board. They hesitated partly due to legal liabilities and risks, including the problem of bringing weapons into some territorial waters, and due to fear of escalating violence.
The use of private security would likely lead pirates to change tactics and be more violent. Seamen have been murdered and there are disturbing reports that those taken as hostage have been subject to torture reminiscent of an age when ships with sails had captains who were a law unto themselves. Contracting out the protection of vessels to mercenaries takes shipping companies into legally and morally complex territory that should rather be patrolled by states. Private guards should comply with the legislation of the flag state, it is argued.
Next, the ransom amounts demanded are increasing. Recently a record $7-million ransom was paid for releasing the 1,743-TEU MSC Panama with a crew of 23 on board. The vessel was seized last December. According to one estimate, pirates' profits have already outstripped last year's $80 million, touching some $120 million in the year to September.
Jan Kromhout a partner at AKD’s Rotterdam law offices has recently analysed a Dutch government commissioned a report assessing the desirability and possibility of deploying private sector armed security to help protect Dutch ships.
The report recommends that the Dutch government moves towards a higher level of protection of its merchant fleet including, “if necessary”, the use of armed private security guards.
It does not end there, and cautions that security guards should only be hired by the government, and should only perform their security duties as soldiers under the full authority of the Ministry of Defence.
The report does not find it desirable that shipowners should privately hire armed private security guards.
While naval patrols are favoured by the report, it goes on to add that where guards are needed the required capacity could be created — with financial aid from shipowners. They state that reservists should be used or by hiring personnel from “high-quality private companies”. The term “high quality” is an interesting one, and further points towards the use of formal accreditation and recognition of maritime security providers.
Shipowners hiring private security guards (an approach endorsed by the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners) — entails “several problems”, according to the committee.
The recommendations of the committee do not exclude the hiring of private armed security guards as a matter of principle. The government’s monopoly on the use of force does not mean that only the government is allowed to use force, but rather that the government decides who is authorised to do so and under what conditions.
Smoothing the way from a legislative perspective to allow owners to contract armed security could take a number of years, and so it seems the route of using the government as a facilitator is a means of streamlining the process.
After some criticism of their silence on the matters surrounding piracy, it seems the International Group of P&I Club’s is waking to the problem - Shiptalk.
The Clubs have revised its frequently asked questions document in response to changes resulting from the increase in piracy, and the increasing use of armed security and issues relating to the terms of security provider contracts.
With shipowners needing more guidance the revised document is now available on the International Group website.
There have been growing calls for P&I clubs to clarify their positions on piracy, and for many it has been surprising that given the P&I liabilities arising out of piracy incidents that there has not been a clearer lead. The liabilities covered by P&I clubs predominantly involve claims for loss of life, personal injury and stress and trauma following attacks and hijackings, while the issue of clubs contributing towards ransom had been more contentious. The International Group has been quick to stress that ransom is viewed as an expense not a liability and P&I clubs are liability insurers.
Under the title ‘Guarded about Guards’, Shiptalk states that tensions over armed guards appear to be on the rise amongst the insurance industry.
The recent claims at the IUMI conference that the organisation actively stands in favour of armed guards, has ruffled a few feathers.
The Lloyd’s Market Association has seemingly taken exception to this bold view, and has been speaking out about a neutral position – with LMA senior executive Neil Roberts claiming that the decision to hire and pay for armed guards was one for the shipowner, and as such was not something of which the LMA could approve or disapprove.
In two years of operations, a Virginia-based maritime security company has escorted commercial vessels through pirate-infested East African waters 300 times without incident. Nexus Consulting Group of Alexandria’s impressive record is the latest evidence of a surprising turn in the five-year-old international war on Somali pirates. More and more, for-profit security guards are taking over from the world’s navies on the maritime front lines, opines Wired.com.
But as it grows its protection business, Nexus — “the world’s leading provider of private maritime security solutions,” according to a company press release — might want to heed the hard lessons learned by one of its rivals. As it turns out, the ship-protection biz is rife with risk, of the diplomatic and AK-47-wielding variety. Carrying guns aboard commercial ships has the potential to cause all kinds of legal problems.
Nexus boasts of its “former military members and elite special forces personnel armed with highly-specialized weaponry,” which the firm says “ensures shipping companies that their crew and cargo will not be harmed by pirate attacks — even the threat of RPGs.”
But it can take more than firepower to navigate the perilous western Indian Ocean. British sea-merc company Protection Vessels International — an older company than Nexus, and with 1,000 successful escorts under its belt — found this out the hard way in December, when four of its guards stopped for fuel in Eritrea while sailing to a scheduled ship-protection gig off Somalia. Eritrean officials detained all four men and accused them of plotting “acts of terrorism and sabotage” against the impoverished nation.
As evidence, the Eritreans cited the PVI crew’s weapons and military equipment — the same type of stuff that Nexus boasts about in its press release. It took six months for PVI and the British Foreign Office to secure the guards’ release. “A series of unfortunate events,” is how PVI spokesman Paul Gibbins described the incident.
But naval officers and shipping company officials have been worrying about diplomatic snafus for years. And there are other examples of foul-ups besides PVI’s. Only last week police in Mozambique arrested five employees of Greyside, another U.S. maritime security company, on charges of carrying unauthorised weapons.
“Each state and each nation has its own legal restrictions on the purchase, possession and storage of firearms,” one Florida-based security organization warned. “Many of these laws are very stringent with severe penalties for infractions.”
It just goes to show: You can scare off Somali pirates hundreds of times and still get into big trouble in the world’s most dangerous waters.
Economics of Piracy
Risks for vessels are growing rapidly along Africa’s East and West coast and costs could equal 60% of the value of cargo if a ship is pirated. With piracy up 17% along the East African coast, and rising fast in West Africa, managing the risk has become a challenge for shipping companies, says Business Day.
What has happened is cargo owners are forced to sign an open-ended guarantee note with most companies. When ships are seized by pirates, it can take more than three months to get the vessel back and in some cases, this can drag on for years.
An Aon Risk Solution report says the number of ships being pirated is rising rapidly.
According to the report, cargo vessels are the most attacked type of vessels on the African coast. But even more concerning for some companies are attacks inside the Gulf of Aden through to the Arabian Sea, which experienced a 267% increase in attacks.
The report highlights the need for those operating in the marine industry to manage the risk of piracy by ensuring robust preparation and preventative measures are in place to reduce the potential exposure to liability, says Jeffry Butt, head of marine at Aon SA.
He says that in some ransom cases the average guarantee or bond that is submitted to each cargo owner for signature and return is open-ended which does not stipulate the proportionate amount to be guaranteed. The cargo owner’s liability at the time of signing is therefore an unknown.
"Should a vessel be pirated, costs are incurred almost immediately. Prior to finalisation of ransom settlement, investigators, legal counsel and average adjusters are brought in to assist with ransom negotiations, determining the value of the vessel and the cargo she carries as well as potential consequential risk to lives and the environment.”
A group of Danes are hoping they can persuade Somali pirates to abandon their hijacking of ships off the Horn of Africa by making them take up fishing instead – Fishupdate.com.
Many fishing vessels from European countries have abandoned operations in that region because of constant raids by pirates which have seen a number of fishermen taken hostage. Some countries like Spain and France have put armed guards on their trawlers, but even that has not deterred the pirates.
By a strange twist the reduction in fishing has led to an increase in some fish stocks in that region which the Danish authorities believe can be exploited for everyone's mutual benefit.
Development Consultant Knud Vilby, one of the people behind the project, told the journal Politiken: “We know there’s money in it.
Over the past decade, Tanzania has built up a veritable export boom in good edible fish from Lake Victoria. These are caught in the traditional manner from small dugouts and passed on to a filleting factory on land. Then flown to Europe in large Russian transport aircraft and sold as popular – and expensive – edible fish.”
The project organisers are due to investigate possible financing for the scheme after recently meeting representatives from Denmark’s Somalia Diaspora Organisation, the Refugee Council, the Foreign Ministry and the Shipowners’ Association, as well as the Defence Ministry.
Piracy Statistics
In 2010, UNOSAT produced an internal UN report on Somali pirate attacks based on a detailed geospatial study of available data between 2005 and 2009. This limited distribution report was conducted in support of on-going humanitarian operations in the Horn of Africa. As part of UNOSATs expanding geospatial research on human security challenges, this report produced in 2010 has now been released for public distribution; available in PDF here.
Main Analysis Findings:
1) ´The Piracy Big Bang´ : Somali piracy underwent a qualitative transformation between 2007 and 2008 following strategic changes in their rules of engagement and the early development of an operational blue water naval capacity in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean;
2) The standard indicators commonly cited as evidence of growing international naval pressure on piracy (1. falling hijacking rates and 2. the growth of piracy in the Indian Ocean) are more complex than originally thought and less convincing as primary barometers for measuring the success of international counter-piracy efforts.
3) The observed drop in hijacking success rates must be qualified by a potential statistical bias resulting from changes in attack reporting over time, and may reflect a naturally occurring decline resulting from more aggressive pirate rules of engagement and a large influx of untrained pirate recruits. Further, a detailed spatial and temporal analysis of piracy in the Indian Ocean strongly suggests that pirate militias originally viewed their move into deep ocean waters as part of a larger expansion strategy, predating major naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden.
The Cypriot-flagged general cargo ship MV Pacific Express has arrived in the port city of Mombasa. She docked into the Mombasa port on Friday at 1500hrs local time (1200GMT).
She was on tow limping very slowly, maritime sources said. The vessel was loaded with steel wire and coils and a fleet of burnt buses destined to Dar Es Salaam port. At least 17 buses aboard the ship were heavily damaged by fire when the ill-fated vessel was attacked by Somali pirates on September 20. At the time of the attack, the ship was underway heading to Mombasa from Mumbai en-route Dar es Salaam, before sailing southwards to her final destination Durban, South Africa.
She was boarded by six pirates from two skiffs armed with guns and an RPG on September 20 at 0734 UTC while underway in position 04:47S – 044:35E, carrying a cargo of steel wire and coils and buses approximately 298nm south east of Mombasa.
Call to Arms & Action
In order to combat pirates’ action in the Indian Ocean, the Ministry of Defence of Spain authorized the use of large calibre weapons -- 12.70 mm -- in tuna vessels fishing in these waters, reports FIS.com.
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| Minister of Defense Carme Chacón in a meeting with fisheries shipowners. (Photo: MDE.es) |
So far, the boats have been able to carry weapons of 7.62 millimetres, but the current ones are much more powerful and they are usually anchored using some kind of support.
The measure was announced by Defence Minister, Carme Chacón, after meeting with representatives of tuna vessels and of shipowners of the Spanish fleet in the Indian Ocean. Thus, Spain is the only country with permission to carry heavy weapons on board to fight Somali pirates, Diario Montañes reported.
The initiative will be implemented as soon as the Government of Seychelles comes to approve the protocol submitted by the Spanish government with details of the agreement.
According to Chacón, it is "almost imminent" to carry such weapons in the Spanish vessels.
When asked about the possibility of managing an operation similar to Atalanta in the Gulf of Guinea, following the increase of crime in these waters, Chacón dismissed it.
A few weeks ago, pirates seized the tanker Mattheos I for 11 days while the vessel was sailing in the Gulf of Guinea waters.
Anyway, the minister clarified that the intention is to help the nations in the area to "reform and improve their ability to prosecute crime."
With respect to Atalanta, Chacón emphasized the "good results" being obtained.
The United States said Wednesday that anti-piracy effort could spur three-way cooperation with India and China, insisting that it seeks stronger relations with both rising Asian powers, says AFP.
In a speech on US regional strategy, a senior official hailed democratic India as a positive force in Asia but insisted that Washington also sought to work with China, whose ties with the United States are often uneasy.
Robert Blake, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, noted that naval power by Britain in the 19th century and the United States in the 20th century had helped ensure global commerce.
"Perhaps it will be the cooperation of the American, Indian and Chinese navies that ensure global commercial routes are protected and enhanced in the 21st century," Blake said.
"It is for this very reason that eliminating the scourge of piracy could be a natural way for the United States, India and China to begin to cooperate at sea," Blake said at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.
India and China -- along with developed nations such as Japan -- have been stepping up their response to piracy emanating from lawless Somalia which in recent years severely hampered global shipping in the strategic waters.
China has deployed warships off Somalia's coast, the first time in modern history that its navy has carried out a mission well outside Chinese waters. India next year plans to chair a meeting of the UN-backed Working Group on Somali piracy.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a speech in Chennai in July, encouraged India to play a more assertive role in Asia, saying that it "has the potential to positively shape the future" of the region.
Blake echoed her remarks, calling India a "pillar of stability" that can "help ensure that the Asia of the 21st century is one defined by open markets, open societies and open governance."
Hinting at a terror group's backing to Somali pirates, Defence Minister A.K. Antony Tuesday said the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) will soon finalise a policy on formulating a law under which pirates caught by the navy on the high seas can be prosecuted – Twocircles.net.
He also said that "some other powerful forces sitting somewhere else" were behind the pirates and a joint coordinated effort was needed under the United Nations to fight the menace on the high seas.
"The CCS will soon take a decision on finalising a new policy on fighting piracy," Antony said in reply to a query on the lack of legislative provisions to prosecute pirates.
"There are some other powerful forces behind the piracy and they are sitting somewhere else. Only a joint, coordinated effort under the United Nations can be an ultimate solution to the piracy problem," he added.
He also noted that Indian Navy was not alone in the Gulf of Aden and navies of the US, Britain, France, China and other countries were also operating in the region against Somali pirates.
"Despite the presence of such a large naval force there, piracy is continuing. When they (other navies) apply pressure on the pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the pirates move to the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands region," he said.
Antony also called upon the Indian Coast Guard commanders, whom he addressed earlier in the day, to achieve synergy with other stake-holders in tackling piracy.
"The increasing incidences of piracy off the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands call for a heightened security consciousness. The Coast Guard in coordination with the navy has aptly responded to such situations," Antony noted.
"However, there is a need to build upon and further strengthen the synergy between navy, Coast Guard and all other organisations in charge of coastal security," he added.
Australia's status as a stable, industrialised nation means it will remain an attractive destination for asylum seekers and people smugglers, Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor says in the Sydney Morning Herald.
"Australia, along with other industrialised stable countries, will remain an attractive destination for asylum seekers and we can expect that organised crime in the form of people smuggling will remain a feature of the future border environment," he says.
In a copy of the speech he will deliver to the 8th Port and Maritime Security Conference in Melbourne, Mr O'Connor also points out the security threats associated with piracy.
"Piracy ... will remain a threat in various parts of the world, affecting key sea lines of communication," he says.
"This raises a range of regulatory challenges for our government agencies and for our port and maritime operators should such vessels seek to enter Australian waters and ports."
Piracy has long been an issue off Somalia and other north African nations and pirate boats have been known to travel east out into the Indian Ocean.
Sri Lanka's navy is monitoring the movement of merchant ships to guard against the threat of attacks by Somali pirates who have been extending their raids further east into the Indian Ocean – DailyMirror.lk.
Sri Lanka Ports Authority chairman Priyath Wickrama said the government was concerned about the threat posed by pirates as the island's ports and shipping sector had been affected by terrorism during the ethnic war.
The increased number of piracy-related incidents has affected the tranquillity of the region, he said in a speech at the International Port Security 2011 Conference in the Netherlands on September 28.
"Although piracy is not a common feature within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka, the country has developed its national maritime policy to minimize such incidents with the strengthening of the coast guard service and other maritime related security arrangements."
Incidents of sea piracy are not reported in and around Sri Lanka frequently as in the case of the Malacca Straits, Gulf region and in African waters such as near Somalia.
"However, as any sea piracy attack could be extended to a ship plying on any other sea route the Sri Lankan coast guard service and Sri Lanka Navy are closely monitoring ship movements in and out of the country's territorial waters to arrest any incidents of sea piracy,” Wickrama said.
"The authorities are concerned about all threats of piracy and are taking all possible steps within the country and in co-operation within the region and internationally to ensure free movements of vessels within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka," he said.
Video of US vessel under attack by Somali pirates:
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US Merchant Vessel Under Attack (YouTube/AP) |
Seafarers’ Plight
On the same day as the World Maritime Day (IMO Press Release), themed ‘Piracy: Orchestrating the Response’ , it was stated that sea piracy is costing billions of pounds and ruining lives, with captors increasingly turning to torture and death threats, seafaring charities have said.
There are around 300 ships' crew members being held hostage by Somali pirates, the charities added, reports the Press Association
Over the last eight years, an estimated 4,000 seafarers have been attacked by pirates or been victims of armed robbers while at work abroad.
The figures came as a new programme was set up in London to help seafarers and families cope with the physical and mental trauma caused by torture and abuse at the hands of pirates.
The new Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) is intended to help those seafarers and their families cope with the resulting pain and anguish.
It is being funded by the International Transport Workers' Federation's Seafarers' Trust charity and philanthropic group the TK Foundation.
The establishment of the programme comes as investigations continue into the kidnapping in Kenya of British woman Judith Tebbutt, 56, in an incident in which her husband, David, 58, was killed.
The two charities also released testimony from piracy victims. This included a ship's captain held for 71 days by 12 hijackers who was "threatened with a gun to my head" by pirates who were "constantly using drugs", and a ship's engineer who was hijacked for about six months by a pirate group who "sometimes used to torture us".
Another engineer had plastic cables tied to his genitals after being attacked by Somali pirates who also stripped naked and tied up the ship's master and chief engineer and put them in the low-temperature meat-storage room.
MPHRP manager Roy Paul said: "Most people still don't understand that the face of piracy today is very different to the romance of the Pirates Of The Caribbean. Today seafarers are meeting pirates who are really sea terrorists: hard, desperate and violent criminals."
BBC News stated: A worldwide campaign to help the victims of piracy at sea has been launched in London's Docklands.
The organisers of the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) say the campaign is in reaction to rising levels of violence and cruelty committed by Somali pirates against captured sailors.
Chairman Peter Swift said piracy was reaching "an all-time high".
The campaign launch also coincides with World Maritime Day.
Mr Swift said piracy was increasing "in the number of incidents, in the vast ransoms demanded and, most of all, in the extreme violence used.
"The treatment meted out to victims now frequently crosses the line from savagery into torture."
Somali pirates, frustrated when their ransom demands are not met fast enough, can inflict punishments on ordinary seafarers which include being locked in a ship's freezer, dragged below the hull, or tied up on deck with a gun to their heads and subjected to mock executions, sometimes during a forced phone call to their families.
'Save yourselves' - The MPHRP campaign is focusing on helping the victims of maritime piracy and their families, many of whom suffer lifelong trauma.
It aims to support seafarers through what is termed the three phases of a piracy incident - pre-departure, during the crisis and post-release.
Organisers say the level of aftercare given by employers varies enormously, from being flown home and given counselling to being told: "We can't pay you for the last few months while you were hijacked because you weren't doing any work."
Support declared by The Handy Shipping Guide.
Reality of Piracy firsthand account. Seafarer Dipendra Singh Rathore lays bare the reality of being hijacked and held hostage by Somali pirates. His story reinforces the seriousness of the crime of piracy and reminds us of the need to provide support for seafarers before, during and after pirate attacks. A video, by kind permission of the Seamen’s Church Institute.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini says officials are working with the Somali government to free Italian sailors held by pirates - UPI.
Frattani, speaking on Italian TV, said new measures against the Somali pirates were agreed upon at the United Nations summit in New York last week, ANSA reported. Frattani told the father of one of the captives the government and intelligence groups are taking action along the Somali coast where 11 crew members from two Italian ships are being held.
Frattini said he and Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali have had long discussions and agreed to a joint action. An international agreement reached earlier this year forbids governments from paying ransom to the pirates.
"In the past we have succeeded in freeing other ships with patience and undercover work. Intelligence services have been mobilized," Frattini said.
And finally...
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Stern compass SS Gairsoppa (Photo: Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc/PA)
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In the Guardian, the recent discovery and debate on the recovery of the sunken merchant vessel, SS Gairsoppa, with its hoard of silver, was compared to the present day concerns for merchant seamen held by pirates and classed as an ‘international treasure’. Rose George, a renowned writer and journalist, brings together the comparison of fate of the Gairsoppa, and the salvage company, Odyssey, being called pirates in direct comparison with today’s pirates. An extract:
I don't much care if Odyssey makes money from the Gairsoppa. I find it odd that the Department of Transport has the rights to a ship lying in international waters (apparently it's to do with the 1952 War Risks Insurance Act), but I don't care, because there is more to protest about above sea level. If Odyssey are pirates, they're not the ones we should be worried about. What is interesting about the Gairsoppa, lying 4,700 metres under the water, is what it says about what's happening above.
Gairsoppa was a ship in the merchant navy. In reality, there is no such thing. The merchant navy is a disparate collection of commercial interests. It doesn't have a uniform uniform. But it is crucial in wartime, and it underpins everything in peacetime too. And the international waters where most wrecks lie are peculiar too: nominally governed by the United Nations convention of the law of the sea, but actually hardly governed at all. There are many reasons why 296 merchant seamen – most of them working on ships bringing us our oil, gas and iPhones – are being held hostage by pirates in or off Somalia. But one of the biggest is that hardly any country is willing to prosecute pirates that are captured. EU-NAVFOR, one of three coalition forces working in the Indian Ocean, releases 80% of suspected pirates.
Piracy events
Hijack:
12 Unsuccessful Attacks (All Regions, including 2 late reports):
- South China Sea - September 11 (Late report via ReCAAP) at 1830 LT in posn 05:06.11N - 098:02.87E, approximately 14nm NNE of Kuala Beukah Oil Terminal, Singapore-flagged Tug, GM Gallant, boarded by pirates from a boat armed with guns and grenades. The pirates destroyed the ship's radio communication and held the Chief Engineer as hostage. The pirates stole crew’s personal belongings but were arrested by the Police before escaping.
- South China Sea – September 19 (late report via ReCAAP) at 00:40 LT in position 01:15.80N - 103:28.60E, approximately 2.4NM West of Tanjung Piai, Johor, Six robbers armed with knives attempted to board three ships: MV KANDARIAH, (Libyan) MV AL-AGAILA and MV SKY JUPITER while at anchor. Masters raised alarms and the robbers were arrested by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
- Gulf of Guinea – September 24 (via IMB) at 0130 UTC: in position 06:01N - 001:15E, Lome Anchorage, Togo. Two small boats closed onto the shipside of an anchored HongKong chemical tanker, Torm Esbjerg. The duty officer told the boats to move away but this was ignored. Later, two more boats were seem approaching the vessel from the stern and securing themselves to the ships rudder. Master informed Togo Navy which responded and detained all four boats. Nothing stolen.
- Gulf of Guinea – September 22 (late report via IMB) at 0530 UTC: in position 06:01N - 001:15E, Lome Anchorage, Togo Duty officer onboard an anchored Hong Kong-flagged chemical tanker Torm Esbjerg, noticed a fishing boat slowly approaching. As the boat closed to the ship the duty officer informed the boat to move away. This was ignored by the fishing boat and later two more boats were seen to join the first boat. Master informed Togo Navy which responded to the call and detain two boats while the third escaped.
- South China Sea – September 24 (via ReCAAP) at 1145 LT, in position 01:10.07N – 103:42.40E, approximately 2.2nm West of Raffles Lighthouse, Malaysian tug, Glory 1, (towing barge Glory 2) boarded by robbers in 9 boats. The robbers stole scrap metals before escapting.
- Gulf of Aden - September 24 (via IMB) at 2050 UTC: in position 12:25.8N - 043:38.2E.Pirates in a dark coloured rubber boat chased and fired upon a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, Panforce, underway. Master, duty watchman and a duty armed guard noticed a small boat at a distance of 20 metres from the ship. Master raised the alarm; all crew retreated to a safe area except the Master and the bridge crew. Other guards came to the bridge, took their positions and one of the guards fired a warning shot resulting in the pirates aborting the attempted attack and moving away.
- Red Sea – September 25 at 1342 UTC in position 14:14N - 042:50E, a merchant vessel, CS Cihan, came under attack by skiffs. The crew were secured in the citadel and the pirates abandoned the attack. The vessel managed to evade hijack and is SAFE. The Pirate action group remains operational in the area.
- Red Sea - September 28 at 0847 LT: in position 14:04.18N - 041:52.24E. Marshall Islands Container ship, Manolis P, underway noticed a skiff at a distance of 2nm. Skiff was seen to increase speed and approach vessel at 16 knots. At distance of 1nm, the Master raised the alarm, alerted the armed team and all crew retreated into the citadel. At a distance of 0.5nm, skiff was seen to have 7 people armed with guns. When the skiff closed to 0.2nm, armed team fired warning shots resulting in skiff moving away. Manolis P evaded an attack in the Red Sea August 23.
- Red Sea - September 28 at 1140 UTC in position 14:03.5N - 042:48E, four pirates in a white coloured skiff chased, fired upon and attempted to board a Hong Kong-flagged chemical tanker, Lime Galaxy, underway. The Master raised the alarm, took evasive manoeuvres and contacted the authorities for assistance. The pirates aborted the attempted attack due to the evasive measures taken by the Master.
- Red Sea - September 28 at 1230 UTC: in position 14:06N – 042:59E. Pirates in 3 skiffs chased a Japanese chemical tanker, Ginga Bobcat underway. One skiff fired RPG, which left a 10 cm hole in the bridge, and attempted to board the tanker. The Master took evasive manoeuvres and contacted the authorities for assistance. The pirates chased the tanker for 15 minutes and aborted the attempted attack due to the hardening measures employed by the tanker. The 24 Bangladeshi crew were uninjured WSJ.
- Atlantic Ocean - September 29 (via IMB) at 0505 UTC: Conakry Anchorage, Guinea. 10 to 12 robbers armed with guns and knives boarded a UK (Isle of Man) general cargo vessel, Thor Light, at anchor. The robbers assaulted and injured the crew members during the 45 minute incident. Crew and ship cash and property were stolen. Port authorities were contacted but no response.
- Arabian Sea - September 29 at 1215 UTC, in position 11:40.8N - 063:05E, approximately 512nm ESE of Socotra Island, Yemen. Six armed pirates in a skiff approached Danish tanker, Torm Republican, and the Indian Master sounded the alarm, the 21 crew Indian were alerted and took evasive manoeuvres. The British armed security team of four, at first, showed their weapons, but as the skiffs continued to approach the armed team fired warning shots. The pirates fired back before aborting the attack. The vessel is safe. The PAG remains active in the area.
At least 15 ships and an estimated 300 seafarers remain captives of the 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. 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.
Horn of Africa Piracy Activity (Arabian Sea attack in insert)
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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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