Weekly Pirate Activity Update - 21 Oct

OCEANUSLive Weekly Pirate Activity Update 

New low from pirates after death of captive tourist; four pirates detained as mothership is freed. A Yemeni pirate is sentenced to life; fewer successful hijacks but record level of attacks in 9 months. Bangladeshis rescued after being thrown in the ocean. Swarm attack in the Red Sea and ship attacked at an oil platform. Russia and India offer resources to combat piracy; and piracy also occurs in Europe. Demand for private security increases with insurers said to be offering discounts if used. UN Secretary General speaks as countries seek UN intervention. South Africa couple held over a year, and Western journalist based in Eritrea claims pirates have immunity.

THE ransom pot is dwindling as ship security measures defy hijack attempts; however, the amount of attacks reaches a record level. Alarmingly; pirates sink to a new low by demanding a ransom for the body of the French tourist kidnapped from Kenya.

Four pirates aboard a Pakistani vessel, used as a mothership, are detained and are possibly connected to the attempted hijack of the Italian ship Montecristo, dramatically rescued by NATO forces.

A Yemeni pirate is sentenced to life imprisonment in court in Norfolk, USA for his involvement in the hijack and murder of the US yacht crew. The 11^th sentenced to date. Three Bangladeshis are rescued after 3 days having been thrown into the ocean by pirates.

Warning of a swarm attack occurring in the Red Sea has been issued. Between 18 and 20 skiffs carried out a series of approaches and attacks. PAGs have spread across the Horn of Africa and Indian Ocean regions now that the weather is once more conducive to small boat operations. Meanwhile, near Bonny in Nigeria, gunmen attack a ship supplying an oil platform.

Russian and India offer up resources to combat piracy. China demands swift action from three other Asia nations to prevent attacks on the Mekong River, but piracy is also seen in European waters.

The demand for private security on board ships continues to increase with insurers said to be offering a discount for their use in conjunction with kidnap and rescue policies and BMP measures.

The UN Secretary General States and regional organisations in the Gulf of Guinea to develop a comprehensive and integrated strategy to combat maritime piracy, which he said threatens to hinder economic development and undermine security in the region. Nations come together to demand UN intervention to end political instability in Somalia. But Egypt will not participate in any international alliances against maritime piracy unless they arise out of a UN resolution.

The South African couple held in South Somalia, have been kept in captivity for over a year. They were permitted a short phone call to their family, but it is more of a ransom demand tactic on the part of the pirates.

A western journalist based in Eritrea, “The last white man in Eritrea [he says]” claims pirates have immunity from being attacked by the international naval task forces patrolling the Indian Ocean.

SOMALI pirates’ success rate has tumbled despite an unprecedented level of attacks in the first nine months of 2011, a new report says in Tradewindsnews.

But a new hotbed is emerging off West Africa with a number of tankers hijacked during violent hits off Benin, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Its latest quarterly update counts 352 attacks on ships worldwide between 1 January and 30 September, of which 56% were launched by Somali pirates. Despite the Somali surge, with the 199 attacks for the period up from 126 a year ago, the number of successful hijackings fell from 35 to 24 year-on-year. This is a success rate of just 12%.

Captian Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, said: “Somali pirates are finding it harder to hijack ships and get the ransom they ask for.

“The navies deserve to be complimented on their excellent work: they are a vital force in deterring and disrupting pirate activity. “The number of anti-piracy naval units must be maintained or increased.”

Despite the positive developments the IMB notes eight hostages have been killed and 41 injured in the opening three quarters of this year.

A surge in activity off Benin has led to the hijacking of eight tankers in the period from only 19 attacks, the IMB says.

“A pattern has emerged where armed pirates board and hijack the ship – sometimes injuring crew – then force the masters to sail to an unknown location where they steal the ship’s properties and cargo, and let the vessel free,” the report said. The report can be requested from IMB here.

SAILORS and Royal Marines from HMS St Albans helped to save the lives of three Bangladeshis who were thrown into the ocean by pirates – Navy News.

One of the ill sailors is carefully lowered from the dhow into an Omani police boat. (Photo: LA(Phot) Simpson FRPU East)

The frigate offered medical assistance to the men, who were plucked from the water by a passing dhow after spending three days clinging to flotsam.

HMS St Albans responded to an SOS from the Al Mukhtar after the boat reported it had picked up three critically-ill men from the ocean.This is the moment sailors and Royal Marines clamber aboard a dhow in the Indian Ocean and help save the lives of three men who’d suffered a harrowing ordeal at the hands of pirates.

The Saint, which is in the later stages of a six-month deployment east of Suez throttling criminal activity and providing reassurance to law-abiding mariners, picked up the distress signal and sent her Merlin aloft to find the dhow.

The helicopter, from 829 Naval Air Squadron in Culdrose, quickly found the vessel roughly nine miles west of its reported location.

In spite of a significant language barrier, the Merlin fliers managed to establish communication with the Al Mukhtar, encouraging it to steer an intercept course with the fast-approaching frigate and receiving basic information on the state of the casualties and crew.

With the dhow in sight, the Saint put her sea boats in the water with Royal Marines Commandos and RN personnel, plus one Army interpreter aboard.

It was their task to secure the cargo dhow so that the ship’s medical officer could embark and assess the casualties.

A maritime security alert has been issued for the southern Red Sea after a vessel reportedly came under attack by three groups of five to ten skiffs on three separate occasions in quick succession at 0600 local time on 20 October – HandyShipping Guide.

The vessel was transiting around 20NM north east of Assab, Eritrea when it was approached by successive groups of five, ten and seven skiffs within 35 minutes of each other. The attacks were deterred by the presence of onboard security and evasive manoeuvres.

The same groups are likely to remain in the vicinity and further similar attempts should be expected. See ‘Piracy Incidents’ below.

Just when you think new lows could not be reached in the kidnap industry that Somali pirates and militia indulge in, the criminal groups’ limbo even further under the pole of human decency. It was no real surprise when Marie Dedieu, the 66-year-old French woman taken from Kenya’s coastal Lamu district on October 1, died in captivity. She was tetraplegic, had suffered from cancer, had heart problems and was on anti-depressants. Yet the pirates took her without her wheelchair, and failed to give her the wide-ranging list of drugs she needed daily to keep her alive "The contacts through which the French government sought the release of Marie Dedieu, held in Somalia since October 1, have announced her death, but we cannot specify the date or the circumstances," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, writes Somalia Report.

"The health of Dedieu, uncertainty over the conditions of her detention and the fact that the kidnappers may have refused to hand over the medicines we sent, lead us to fear that this tragic outcome is unfortunately the most likely."

One of Dedieu's friends told Somalia Report that the medicines she needed were left in two locations for the pirates to collect. It seems they didn’t bother picking them up, or did not give them to the hostage.

If the kidnappers had even a scrap of decency, they would have given up the poor woman’s body for burial, but instead they say they are going to demand money to release her, thus ransoming a corpse and bringing even more misery and grief to her family and friends.

First, a gunman claiming to be from the group holding her called Somalia Report to say they would ask for an as-yet unspecified payment, and then the French authorities confirmed it, the statement made dripping with disgust."You have to know that the hostage takers are even looking to sell her body. It is completely disgusting," Defense Minister Gerard Longuet told a French TV station. "Letting her get blood poisoning, which is what she probably died of, and then trying to sell her body these people deserve only contempt."

THE Royal Navy saved the crew of a ship after it was hijacked by ­pirates – the second rescue in a week, writes OCEANUSLive.

Somerset Merlin Helo Fires A Warning (Photo: Daily Mail)

HMS Somerset’s Merlin helicopter tracked the ­fishing boat off Somalia before Royal Marines were ordered to board.

The pirates, armed with machine guns, surrendered without firing a shot and were observed throwing items overboard. The four pirates were held while the Pakistani crew of 20 was freed. They pirates are alleged to have been involved in the capture of the Italian cargo ship, Montecristo.

Earlier in the week another Royal Navy team freed the crew of the Italian bulk carrier, Montecristo, after finding a message in a bottle SOS.

GUNMEN attacked a ship supplying an Exxon Mobil oil platform off the Nigerian coast, the company said on Tuesday, less than three weeks after someone was kidnapped from a vessel at one of its facilities in the same waters - Reuters.

Kidnappings are relatively common in the onshore oil-producing Niger Delta but since an amnesty was agreed with militants in 2009 and the military have cracked down on gangs in the creeks, more attacks have spread offshore.

CHINA has demanded swift action by three Southeast Asian countries to prevent attacks on Chinese nationals on the Mekong River after 12 sailors died near the Thai-Myanmar border last week, writes the People’s Daily.

"The Chinese government values the life and safety of every Chinese citizen and demands a thorough investigation into what happened and that the murderers be brought to justice," Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao told envoys from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar yesterday.

He told them their countries should "step up their investigation, get to the bottom of the matter as soon as possible, report their findings to China in a timely manner and severely punish the assailants."

The safety of Chinese sailors on the river must be assured and China will assist in making that happen, Song said.

On October 5, 12 Chinese sailors were confirmed killed and one missing after two cargo ships, the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, were attacked and hijacked by an unknown group of armed men on the Mekong River.

The ships were in the "Golden Triangle," where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet, a region notorious for drug smuggling.

The Chinese government was shocked and deeply saddened by the incident and strongly condemned the atrocities committed by the criminals, Song said.

WHILE Somali pirates dominate the international piracy news, the practice is also taking place in Europe, says Suite101.com.

The issue of piracy has made global headlines in recent years with events off the Somali coast, but instances of piracy are also occurring along the waterways of mainland Europe, according to a report in Croatian daily, Jutarnji List, on October 12.

According to the paper, transportation company Dunavski Lloyd has suffered three attacks this year alone on the internationally vital transport route of the Danube River, which runs from Rotterdam to the Black Sea, and is an important trade route for many European businesses.

Shipping Equipment Stolen - In the last attack, on the company' ship Sloga, approximately 60,000 euro of equipment was stolen from the vessel in the Serbian port of Smederevo, a theft which delayed Sloga's onward journey to the Black Sea, due to lack of equipment. The theft left the ship, among other things, without key navigation equipment and the ability to raise the anchor. The paper notes that the pirates are not targeting crews, merely equipment.

Intervention of Croatian Embassy - In order to combat the piracy, the owner of Dunavski Lloyd, Davor Ivancan, appealed to the Croatian embassy in Belgrade for assistance. As a result of the embassy's efforts, Serbian police looked into the three cases, and have made four arrests, according a report in the Croatian Times on October 15.

Far from being an isolated incident, or a problem particular Serbia, there have been numerous instances of piracy on the Danube in recent years in neighbouring countries. Apart from Serbia, the Danube also flows through Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, Ukraine and Bulgaria.

Numerous Incidents of Danube Piracy - A Bulgarian ship was boarded in July in the Romanian stretch of the river and a ton of cargo stolen overnight, while another report highlights the most dangerous sections of the river, the Cernavoda Canal in Romania, where ships are often tricked by a friendly fisherman offering his catch, while he is actually working in tandem with the pirates.

There are several other documented cases of piracy in recent years, including an incident in 1994 when a tanker with 6,000 tons of diesel oil on a Bulgarian tanker was hijacked in the port of Somovit and moored up at the Serbian port of Prahovo; this despite Bulgarian authorities and international organisations being in place to enforce sanctions against Serbia, which were then in place.

While the piracy business along the Danube does not have the lucrative potential of its Somali cousin, due to its proximity to land, its very existence is a concern to transport companies, who will be hoping that the prompt Serbian action is the start of a campaign to tackle the issue.

A YEMENI FISHERMAN who was taken hostage by Somali pirates and who then joined in the hijacking of an American yacht was sentenced today to life in prison for his role in the attack, reports Pilotonline.com.

Mounir Ali apologized and said he participated in the attack only to try to get his own fishing boats returned. He said if he had known there would be violence he never would have participated.

“I’m very sorry, very, very sorry,” Ali told U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.

In November 2010, Ali and a group of Yemenis were fishing in several boats near the island of Socotra in the Gulf of Aden when they were taken hostage by the Somalis and brought to Somalia. Ali was held hostage for three months until he was forced to embark on a piracy mission in February.

While at sea, the Somalis captured the yacht Quest and took its owners and crew hostage. At that point, Ali agreed to join the pirates with the promise of getting a share of the ransom and his fishing boats back.

The hijacking turned deadly when the U.S. Navy approached and tried to negotiate the release of the hostages. The Somalis refused and several of them shot and killed the Americans, yacht owners Scott Underwood Adam and Jean Savage Adam of Los Angeles and their friends and crew Phyllis Patricia Macay and Robert Campbell Riggle of Seattle.

The Navy stormed the yacht and captured the pirates, bringing them to Norfolk for prosecution.

LLOYD’s List has reported that a number of kidnap and ransom (K&R) insurers are demanding the presence of armed guards on vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean before they will provide cover, and others are offering discounts of up to 35% to shipowners employing private security firms for voyages in high-risk areas, reports Shiptalk. For an average vessel valued at $20m, the starting price for a policy is in the region of $35,000 for a seven-day transit of the Gulf of Aden. With armed guards on board and a K&R policy in place, a discount of 35% would represent a saving of $12,250.

While no insurer was prepared to confirm they were offering such discounts or requiring the use of armed guards when underwriting policies, some told Lloyd’s List they offered some form of discount on the war rate for vessels transiting pirate hotspots.

Reductions in premiums are made for the use of private security, as well as for vessels that have a K&R policy and those that have implemented Best Management Practice 3 or 4.

ABOUT 1,000 former Royal Marines will be deployed by a British company next year to protect oil tankers and other vessels transiting the world’s most dangerous shipping lanes off East Africa - Bloomberg.

Protection Vessels International Ltd. will add about 250 guards to its existing force of 750, said Managing Director Dom Mee. PVI is providing security for about 180 ships and has a 50 percent market share. An estimated 17 percent of ships in the Indian Ocean will have armed ex-marines next year, compared with 15 percent now, Mee said.

Maritime piracy costs the global economy an estimated $7 billion to $12 billion annually, and attacks rose to a record in the first half of the year, according to the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization. About 23,000 ships carrying $1 trillion of trade pass through the Gulf of Aden between Yemen and Somalia every year, the U.K. government estimates.

“What was shunned at first is now being seen as an effective solution,” Mee said by phone from Caddington, England. “The pirates will back off and wait to find a vessel that isn’t armed. For the vessels that are unable to protect themselves, the violence will be quite intense.”

PVI guards in September repelled a pirate attack on a vessel owned by Torm A/S, Europe’s largest ship owner specializing in refined oil products, Mee said. A.P. Moller- Maersk A/S, the largest owner of vessels that carry manufactured goods, said this month it would start using armed security on some of its oil and gas tankers.

THE Somaliland Press had a few words to express concerning the President of Puntland as he embarked on a round of appearance at conferences and meetings outside of Somalia. The article says - On arrival in Nairobi the capital of Kenya, the so-called president of Puntland and the alleged godfather of Somalia’s sea piracy cartel did not shy away from the TV cameras, he did not order his henchmen to chase the TV journalists away and did not use invective language, but he proudly looked straight at the cameras like any other statesman and declared that he was going to London, UK “I am invited to deliver a key-note speech on piracy in an international conference in London” He arrogantly declared. This was a terrible event for the victims of sea piracy, human trafficking and terrorism.

I would guess that a notorious drug cartel boss from Colombia or Mexico would not dare to accept an invitation from USA law enforcement agencies as “a key note speaker” in an international conference on the war on drugs in Washington D.C., where he would undoutfully [sic] be apprehended and put to rot in jail. Why is Mr. Faroole getting this treatment in London? Is this because the UK government does not care about human-trafficking, sea piracy and human rights abuses overseas and especially in the Horn of Africa?

Just a little over a year ago, Mr. Abdurrahman Faroole indiscriminately purged entire villages inhabited by the Warsangeli clan with heavy artillery-shelling and purportedly murdered civilian men, women and children in cold blood. Last month, he again indiscriminately massacred scores of the rival Laylkase clan in Galkayo town on the unverified context of fighting terrorists.

TANZANIA, Kenya and Seychelles have called for United Nations’ intervention to end political instability in Somalia, saying the situation affected tourism by undermining safety of tourists and security in the Eastern Africa Region – ippmedia.com.

In a joint declaration, the three countries said political chaos in Somalia had resulted into prevalence of piracy along the Eastern Coast of the Indian Ocean which was inhibiting growth of cruise tourism and also affecting other maritime activities including transportation of goods along the Indian Ocean waters thus increasing the costs of insurance significantly.

The joint declaration was signed by Tanzania's Minister for Tourism and Natural Resources, Ezekiel Maige, Kenya's Minister for Tourism, Najib Balala and Chief Executive Officer of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Alain St.Ange after meeting on the sidelines of the 19th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in Gyeongju, South Korea.

They stressed that a lasting solution to the region's security problem related to the political instability in Somalia and that it required concerted efforts and intervention by the international community.

In the declaration, the three countries underlined the importance of the General Assembly of the UNWTO to recognize the importance of tourism in the socio-economic sector of their three countries and its contribution towards their GDPs, foreign exchange earnings, employment and poverty alleviation.

They said that Cruise Tourism was one of the niche tourism market segments with huge potential for contributing to the region's economic growth while ensuring environmental sustainability.

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL Ban Ki-moon today (Oct 20) urged States and regional organizations in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea to develop a comprehensive and integrated strategy to combat maritime piracy, which he said threatens to hinder economic development and undermine security in the region, says UN.org.

“The threat is compounded because most Gulf [of Guinea] States have limited capacity to ensure safe maritime trade, freedom of navigation, the protection of marine resources and the safety and security of lives and property,” Mr. Ban told the Security Council during an open debate on piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

He said he was aware of plans by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convene a summit on the issue and the intention of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) to hold an international conference.

“I also encourage them to build on the existing Memorandum of Understanding on maritime law enforcement developed by the Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa and the [United Nations] International Maritime Organization [IMO) with the support of the UN agencies.”

The Secretary-General recalled that he had in August made a decision to send a UN assessment mission to the Gulf of Guinea region next month to examine the scope of the threat, as well as the capacity of Benin and of the West African sub-region to ensure maritime safety and security.

The mission is expected to make recommendations on an anti-piracy strategy, including in the broader context of organized crime and drug trafficking. It will comprise representatives of the UN Departments of Political Affairs and Peacekeeping Operations, the UN Offices for West Africa and Central Africa, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and IMO.

It will work in close consultation with national authorities, the European Union and other international partners.

“Piracy transcends national boundaries and economic interests,” said Mr. Ban. “It has a negative impact on West Africa’s trade with the rest of the world, especially with its principal trading partners in the Americas, Asia and Europe.”

He noted that the recent deployment of naval vessels to support anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Guinea was a pointer to the readiness of the region’s States and their partners to tackle the problem and urged other UN Member States to join the efforts.

“As we have learned from our experience in Somalia, we must approach the issue in a holistic manner, focusing simultaneously on security, the rule of law and development. Responses that fall short of these requirements will only exacerbate the problem.”

INDIA has pledged to contribute to international efforts to tackle the threat of piracy and armed robbery at sea and for the safety and release of hostages taken by pirates - Economic Times of India.

"India stands ready to contribute to international efforts aimed at increasing effective cooperation among States to tackle the threat of piracy," Indian delegate Dushyant Singh said during a UN Security Council debate Wednesday on the emerging threat in the Gulf of Guinea.

"India has been at the forefront of highlighting the menace of piracy off the coast of Somalia and stressing the urgent need for the international community to work towards a comprehensive counter-piracy strategy," Singh said.

"India is also concerned about new surge in piracy and maritime robbery in "While the two situations are different in proportion at this stage, it is quite possible that the failure of the international community to act decisively against piracy off the coast of Somalia could have spawned a new surge in piracy in the Gulf of Guinea," he said.

INDIA WILL base a Dornier maritime patrol aircraft in the Maldives from Wednesday [Oct 19] to carry out surveillance of the Indian Ocean island nation's exclusive economic zone and also maintain an anti-piracy vigil in its waters. The Indian Navy plane will operate from Male and will stay there for three weeks, a navy spokesperson said here Tuesday, reports the Hindustan Times.

India has been sending a warship or a naval plane to perform security roles for Maldives in the last two years, with Somali pirates becoming active close to island nation.

It has also gifted a fast attack craft to the Maldivian maritime forces. India serviced the craft and returned it to the Maldives.

An Indian Navy ship also carries out hydrograph surveys in Maldivian waters to aid navigation. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has also set up a chain of coastal radars for the island nation, apart from training its personnel in operating the equipment.

The assistance is provided by India as a goodwill gesture towards its neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and is in consonance with what Defence Minister AK Antony told naval commanders during their conference last week.

"The Indian Navy has been mandated to be a net security provider to the island nations in the Indian Ocean Region. We would like to assure our maritime neighbours about our unstinted support for their security and economic prosperity," Antony had said.

Similar assistance is provided by India to Mauritius too, with a speedboat being gifted to the Mauritian maritime force by the Indian Navy. A coastal radar chain and automated identification system too have been set up by India in Mauritius for maritime surveillance of the island nation.

BENIN's President Thomas Boni Yayi met Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan for talks Sunday on how to combat pirates operating off the west coast of Africa - AFP.

Yayi told reporters in Abuja he was there to brief Jonathan on the progress of the new programme set up by the neighbours' last month to mount naval patrols off their coasts.

The force is based in the port of Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin.

Accompanying Yayi was Benin's chief of defence staff General Mathieu Boni who said the joint operation had been successful.

"There have has been no more attacks apart from some little, little cases here and there," he added.

Nevertheless pirates captured an oil ship and its 20-strong crew off the coast of Nigeria on October 8. The announcement Friday that they had been freed had no details of how this had been negotiated.

Benin has recently had to contend with a surge of attacks in its waters and fears the effects that will have on its economy, which is heavily dependent on its port activities.

The International Maritime Bureau has registered 20 acts of piracy there since the beginning of the year, where none were recorded in 20120.

For Nigeria however, piracy has been a longstanding problem.

One of Africa's top oil producing countries, its coastal waters are swarming with oil tankers.

While east Africa's pirates make their money by ransoming the crew, those off the west coast of Africa seem more interested in the cargos, particularly when the ships are carrying oil.

RUSSIA is ready to join international efforts to curb sea piracy in the Gulf of Guinea where about 30 attacks on commercial ships have been registered since the beginning of 2011, Russia's envoy to the UN Vitaly Churkin said.

Russian UN Envoy, Vitaly Churkin (Photo: RIAN)

Speaking at the Security Council meeting on Growing Piracy Problem in Gulf of Guinea on Wednesday, Churkin expressed serious concern at the upsurge of crime at sea off the west coast of Africa, some of which directly affected Russian citizens - OCEANUSLive.

THE India Prime Minister, who has gone to Pretoria to attend the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summit, is expected to bring up the issue of Somali pirates - and ask for more help from South Africa to try and tackle the menace that hits several Indian ships and sailors.

MEA spokesman Vishnu Prakash said, "Piracy is a menace the world is facing. The international community has come together to tackle this menace. and as IBSA is dealing with all kinds of issues, we will discuss piracy too."

It is reported that Manmohan Singh will also push for a common position on terrorism and AAF-PAK policies.

Indian diplomats have not confirmed if a common position has already evolved at the official level deliberations in the last few days but have hinted that it would figure in the joint declaration.

The three leaders of India, Brazil and South Africa are also expected to review their strategy on reform of the UN Security Council and the global economic crisis.

THE COMMANDER of the Egyptian Navy has said that his country will not participate in any international alliances against maritime piracy unless they arise out of a UN resolution, reports the Middle East Monitor. Mohab Mamish is also a member of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. He told a press conference on Thursday's Navy Day that if the UN issues such a resolution, Egypt will take part gladly. "We depend on ourselves to secure our territorial waters and the Suez Canal," he said, "and by using the strength at our disposal and being vigilant, Egypt will not allow its territorial waters to be compromised. However, we would join an anti-piracy alliance under the UN flag."

Commander Mamish pointed out that it is very difficult for acts of piracy to take place in the Red Sea due to the geography, the lack of ports for pirates to use, and a series of observation posts along the coastline. His navy, he told the journalists, "can secure the Suez Canal and all 21 Egyptian ports." This, he stressed, helps to achieve economic security; around 95 percent of Egypt's exports leave the country by sea.

Mamish acknowledged that his submarine fleet needs to be upgraded if it is to counter any hostile moves around Egypt's coast. "Nevertheless, there is good news in this regard, as we always seek to keep up-to-date."

Egypt has 2,376 kilometres of coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. Maritime security is of vital strategic importance, not least to protect the country's offshore natural gas and oil platforms.

The road to a permanent constitutional government for "Somali" that has been mapped out by Western "donor"-powers and is to be implemented by the United Nations, presented its first speed bump in October and the map suffered its first tear, when the country's Transitional Federal Parliament (T.F.P.) voted 335-0 with no abstentions to approve a six-point resolution including the provision (#2) stipulating that "All transitional constitutional institutions of the country, i.e., presidency, parliament, and government, have no power to change, alter or discuss Somali water, airspace, and land territory borders." – allAfrica.com.

The T.F.P.'s decision, reached on October 8, was followed on October 11 by its approval by the cabinet of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (T.F.G.), which declared that it would no longer negotiate the issue of the country's territorial waters within the framework of the Roadmap, which calls for a resolution of that issue by December 19, 2011.

The Clash of Interests - The Roadmap represents the effort of an international coalition, under the aegis of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (U.N.P.O.S.), composed of the Western "donor"-powers (United States, European Union, and Western European states), which provide the bulk of military, economic, and humanitarian aid to "Somalia;" regional African organizations and states; and to a lesser extent Middle Eastern organizations and states, to create a Somali state that can satisfy Western interests (primarily) and regional interests in place of the current political fragmentation in the territories of post-independence Somalia. For the Western "donor"- powers, which lead the effort, the major interest is to draw back from expensive involvement in Somalia, and to leave it, by August 2012, with a government that will cooperate with Western anti- terrorism and anti-piracy campaigns, and that will provide a legal framework for natural-resource investment/exploitation.

It appears that the Council is now close to reaching agreement on a resolution calling for additional measures to strengthen prosecution of suspected pirates operating off the coast of Somalia. Council members have had several rounds of negotiations on a draft resolution that was circulated by Russia in September, with the latest meeting taking place this morning. While no action has been scheduled yet, it seems possible that the Council could adopt the resolution later this month after the briefing by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe, scheduled for 27 October on the Secretary-General’s report on piracy which is due on 23 October before – What’s in Blue.

It seems that the draft resolution reinforces some of the messages of previous Council resolutions on the issue including demanding that Somalia adopt counter-piracy laws as soon as possible in order to ensure prosecution and imprisonment of pirates, urging states that have not already done so to criminalise piracy under their domestic laws and calling on all states to report to the Secretary-General on measures taken to ensure prosecution and imprisonment of pirates. It appears that it also emphasises the importance of international cooperation and information sharing.

In addition, it seems that in terms of follow-up action, the Council is likely to express its intention to continue its consideration of the establishment of specialised anti-piracy courts in Somalia and other states in the region and request the Secretary-General to report to the Council, after consulting with these states, on practical arrangements for the establishment of such courts.

While the UK is the lead country on Somalia in the Council, Russia has taken the lead on legal issues related to Somali piracy. It first took up the issue in April 2010 when it proposed a resolution (S/RES/1918) that asked the Secretary-General to prepare a report within three months on possible options (such as special domestic chambers, a regional tribunal or an international tribunal) for ensuring prosecution and incarceration of pirates captured off the coast of Somalia. Following the issuance of this report (S/2010/394) in July 2010, Russia has continued to push for further consideration of ways to strengthen prosecution of pirates.

The Council last discussed the issue on 21 June, when it considered a report from the Secretary-General (S/2011/360) on the modalities of establishing specialised Somali anti-piracy courts. (This was first recommended by Jack Lang, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on legal issues related to piracy off the coast of Somalia, in his January 2011 report to the Secretary-General.) At the June meeting Council members had different views on the way forward. While France and Russia seemed to favour the creation of specialised Somali piracy courts, the UK and the US expressed reservations about such an option.

The Somali pirates holding Durban couple Bruno Pelizzari and Debbie Calitz hostage, allowed them to make a call home so that the conversation could be recorded and sent to CNN and the BBC, says iol.co.za.

Durban sailors Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend Deborah, pictured here in August 2010, sailing off the coast of Tanzania. (Photo: iol.co.za)

The Tuesday night call to Pelizzari’s sister, Vera Hecht, was an attempt to accelerate the fundraising appeal for the ransom, Hecht said.

She said “Ali”, the man she has been receiving calls from since her brother was abducted, called her and told her that he wanted her to record a conversation with Bruno, 52, and Calitz, 49, to help raise funds for their release.

The pirates are asking for $4 million (R32m) for the couple’s release.

Next week Wednesday will mark exactly one year since the couple from the Bluff, who were working on board the SY Choizil, were taken hostage by Somali pirates as they were about to enter the Madagascar/Mozambique Channel.

Peter Eldridge, who refused to leave the yacht, was rescued by EU naval forces off the coast of Somalia on November 6.

Hecht said she was only allowed to speak to each of them for about three minutes. “Bruno said they were hungry but okay. He said they were given soup in the mornings and pasta or rice at night.”

Hecht said Calitz asked in desperation: “Vera is there any chance we are going to get out of here?” Calitz told Vera that their hair was falling out and asked Vera to tell her children she loved them, before Ali, who was listening in on the conversation, interrupted them.

“Before Debbie left, I quickly managed to slip in that Peter (Eldridge) was alive.”

Hecht said when the couple were taken off the yacht, they were taken to the beach while the pirates returned to the yacht to get Eldridge. “The pirates shot the inside of the cabin and when Debbie and Bruno heard the gunfire, they thought Eldridge was killed.”

In August the families of the couple set up a trust fund to raise the $4m ransom for their release. Hecht said fundraising was going slowly.

For details, go to the website www.sosbrunodebbie.co.za or the Facebook page – sosbrunodebbie.

In the Sri Lanka Guardian, an invective viewpoint article by Thomas C Mountain raises collective eyebrows.

As US drone launched cruise missiles once again rain down on ordinary Somali’s the Somali pirates carrying out most of the piracy in the Horn of Africa remain immune from attack.

The Kenyan Army maybe invading southern Somalia allegedly chasing “Somali pirates” yet the fact remains that zero cruise missiles, zero smart bombs and zero snatch and grab commando operations have been carried out against Somali pirates.

To this day not one Somali pirate has been killed on the ground in Somalia by the international naval flotillas in the Indian Ocean after receiving the ransoms they extract for the ships and crews they have captured.

With hundreds of ships seized, thousands of crewmen held in captivity and by some estimates, over half a billion dollars in ransoms paid the Somali pirates so feared by seamen travelling through the Horn of Africa clearly have immunity from the international naval task forces patrolling the Indian Ocean.

This immunity also seems to extend to the western media for no one, not Jay Bahadur in the NY Times or the venerable USA magazine The Nation’s Jeremy Scahill whose CIA vetted junket to Mogadishu was heralded by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! as an “expose” have raised the obvious question, why do the Somali pirates have immunity from attack?

Maybe all the reporters covering the Horn of Africa have been inoculated with a vaccine to provide them with immunity from asking such a simple question, why hasn’t there been any retaliation against the Somali pirates?

As they say, “it doesn't take a rocket scientist” to notice this so maybe something is slipped into their inoculations immunizing them before they fly off to the Horn of Africa?

To those of us who actually follow the media based in the Horn of Africa the answer has been obvious for some time.

First, the Somali pirates are mainly based in the warlord controlled “autonomous” region calling itself Puntland, which occupies the very tip of the Horn of Africa. The warlord “President” of Puntland is well known for his alliance with and support from the Meles Zenawi regime ruling Ethiopia. Ethiopia has substantial military bases in Puntland and the leaders of Puntland are regularly reported to be welcome guests in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia [The article goes on to say...] With drones flying overhead sending live video feed via satellites to military attack controllers in the USA it is known exactly where these pirates go after receiving their ransom payments so ignorance is not an explanation for the immunity these pirates have.

Suitcases stuffed with millions of dollars buys immunity for the half a billion dollar piracy business in the Horn of Africa and is all too typical of how much of what passes for business is carried out in Africa as a whole.

This has been common knowledge amongst well informed observers in the Horn of Africa for years now and is the only reality based explanation for the absolute on the ground immunity that has protected the Somali pirates based in Puntland for over a decade now.

You pay, you play though those few poverty stricken Somali desperadoes caught in the act of piracy on the high sea’s remain sacrificial lambs, held up for the world to see that there really is a war against piracy in the Horn of Africa.

As I have said many times, truth is stranger than fiction when it comes to the Horn of Africa. That the Somali pirates have absolute immunity on the ground after receiving their ransoms is beyond dispute. The only important question remaining is why this immunity extends to the international media?

Thomas C. Mountain [claims he] is the only independent western journalist in the Horn of Africa, living and reporting from Eritrea since 2006.

Hijack:

• None.

14 Unsuccessful Attacks (All Regions, including 1 late report):

• South China Sea - October 12 (late report via ReCAAP) at 1944 LT in position 01:14.30N - 104:00.27E, North of Pulau Batam, Singapore-flagged Tug, Britoil 58, towing the barge Yew Choon Marine 12 which was boarded by two robbers boarded. The robbers stole some ropes from the store room before escaping.

• North Arabian Sea – October 14 (via IMB) at 1450 UTC: in position 22:02.9N - 064:28.3E, around 285nm west of Porbandar, India. (Off Somalia). Pirates in three speed boats approached a bulk carrier underway from different directions. Two boats approached at a speed of 14 knots and one boat about 22 knots. Master altered course away from the boats which followed the ship. When the closest boat was around within 0.5nm from the ship, Master raised alarm, sent distress message and contacted UKMTO for assistance. The pirates attempted to board the ship. All crew except the bridge team retreated into the citadel and the Master took evasive manoeuvres to avoid the boarding. After about two hours the pirates aborted the attempt. Upon inspection the razor wire around the vessel was found to have been ripped off by the pirates on port side.

• South Somali Basin - October 15 (late report) at 0324 UTC in position 00:54N - 050:13E, approx 29nm southeast of Mogadishu, Somalia. Fishing vessel, Bernica, underway was fired upon by pirates. One mothership and two skiffs were reported to be involved in the attack.

• South Somali Basin - October 15 at 1050 UTC in position 00:39N – 050:32E, approx 326nm southeast of Mogadishu, Somalia. Fishing vessel, Via Mistral, attacked by pirates, while underway. On board security team repelled the attack. Vessel is safe.

• South Somali Basin – October 15 approx 300nm South of Mogadishu, Somali, a fishing vessel, Glenan, was attacked by pirates in 2 skiffs. A mothership was also in the vicinity. The on board armed security team anti-piracy actions saw the attack aborted.

• Indian Ocean – October 16 at 10:57 UTC while underway in position 05:01S – 040:03E, approximately 64nm northeast of Zanzibar Island, Tanzania. One skiff closed on the ship, Gas Bali, and the onboard security team fired a warning shot. Personnel in the skiff returned fire with an RPG, which did not hit the ship. Crew mustered in the citadel with exception of the bridge team. Skiff reportedly aborted attack at this point.

• South China Sea – October 15 (via ReCAAP) at 2000 LT in position 01:12.30N - 103:37E, approx 4nm Northwest of Pulau Nipa, Robbers armed with long knives boarded Tuvalu-flagged tug, Rovorsky Dolphin towing the barge Orion 1205 underway. The robbers stole some cargo before escaping.

• Arabian Sea – October 16 at 1508 UTC, in position 14:26N – 052:49E, approximately 170nm southwest of Salalah, Oman. Cargo vessel, Burak A, fired upon with a RPG by pirates in two skiffs while underway. Vessel did not have security onboard or a citadel.

• Gulf of Guinea - October 17 Offshore tug/supply vessel Wilbert Tide boarded by pirates while underway near the offshore Oso oilfield, near Bonny. The Bangladeshi master was kidnapped as 20 armed men from two speedboats boarded the vessel.

• South Somali Basin – October 17 (via NSC) at 2115 UTC, in position 06:27S - 040:08E, around 35nm East of Zanzibar Island, Tanzania. About six pirates armed with guns and RPG in a skiff chased and fired upon a Liberia-flagged container ship, Emirates Zambezi, underway. Master raised alarm, increased speed, took evasive manoeuvres and all crew except the bridge team mustered at citadel. Onboard armed security team switched on deck lights, activated fire hoses and returned fire resulting in the pirates moving away

• Gulf of Aden - October 18 (via NSC) at 0451 UTC, in position 13:47N - 049:01E, approximately 47nm SxW of Mukalla, Yemen. MV came under attack by 1 skiff with 10-12 POB fired on vessel with RPG. Master reported pirates broke off the attack and moved 1nm away. Vessel is SAFE.

• South China Sea - October 18 (via IMB) at 2030 UTC: in position: 05:49.13N - 118:07.04E, Sandakan Anchorage, Malaysia. Three robbers in a fast boat boarded a tug boat and tow at anchor. Robbers stole ship's stores and escaped. All crew safe.

• Red Sea - October 20 (via EvSec) at 0600 in position 13:16.42N - 043:03.18E, merchant vessel was approached by 5 skiffs with 4-5 Persons on board each skiff from the port side. Metal ladder was observed on one skiff. On confirmation of possible attack, the master sounded the alarm and the crew retreated to the citadel. On board security team fired a flare as a first warning and sounded ship's horn. The two warnings were ignored with all five skiffs approaching the ship at high speed. At 200m, a warning shot was fired by the on board armed security detail. The PAG continued to advance towards the vessel. Upon firing of the second warning shot, the five skiffs halted the attack and turned their attention to a vessel about 1 nm to port at high speed. Approx 8 mins later, another 8-10 skiffs, awaiting the MV passing and followed the same pattern as the first PAG. This included a fast approach with suspicious movement and regrouping after the failed attack. During the attacks, the master had established communications with UKMTO, coalition warships and others in the area. Approximately 27 mins after the second attack (35 mins after the first), another group of 6-7 skiffs approached the vessel. Same pattern repeated, but all skiffs are believed to be grouping together for another attack on the MV. After 20 mins of observation, the PAG called off the attack and the vessel carried on course. As of the time of this report, received message over VHF stating another vessel on the same convoy came under attack within the same vicinity. In total, the PAG in area consisted of 18-20 skiffs with an average of 4-5 persons per skiff.

• Indian Ocean - October 20 at 1439 UTC in position 01:12S - 058:32E, approximately 270nm Northeast of Seychelles, heavy load carrier came under attack by armed pirates in two skiffs. Underway vessel was chased and fired upon with intent to hijack. Master raised the alarm, increased speed, took evasive manoeuvres, contacted CSO and all the crew were mustered at the citadel. The on board armed security team returned fire. Later the pirates aborted the attack and moved away.

The Gulf of Aden Convoy Schedules are available here.

At least 15 ships and an estimated 302 hostages remain captives of the Somali pirates. See the Somalia Report Weekly Piracy Report for details of ships held.

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 Pirate 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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