Sunday, April 24, 2011

Ships Held by Somali Pirates

As Reported By Reuters
Here are details of ships still held by Somali pirates after pirates said on Sunday they had released the Greek-owned MV Eagle.


The Eagle was seized last January en route to India from Jordan. It had a crew of 24 Filipinos.
* SOCOTRA 1: Seized on December 25, 2009 in the Gulf of Aden. Yemeni-owned ship had six Yemeni crew.
* ICEBERG 1: Seized on March 29, 2010. Roll-on roll-off vessel captured 10 miles from Aden. Crew of 24.
* JIH-CHUN TSAI 68: Taiwanese fishing vessel seized on March 30. Crew of 14: Taiwanese captain, two Chinese and 11 Indonesians.
* Three Thai fishing vessels -- PRANTALAY 11, 12 and 14 -- hijacked on April 17-18. Total of 77 crew.
* SUEZ: Seized on August 2. Panama-flagged cargo ship hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. Carrying cement. Crew of 23 all from Egypt, 1akistan, Sri Lanka and India.
* OLIB G: Seized on September 8. Maltese-flagged merchant vessel with 18 crew -- 15 Georgians, three Turks.
* CHOIZIL: Seized on October 26. South-African-owned yacht was hijacked after leaving Dar es Salaam. European Union anti-piracy task force rescued one South African but two other crew members were taken ashore and held as hostages.
* POLAR: Seized on Oct 30: Liberian-owned Panama-flagged 72,825-tonne tanker seized 580 miles east of Socotra. Crew of 24 -- one Romanian, three Greeks, four Montenegrins, 16 Filipinos.
* YUAN XIANG: Seized on November 12. Chinese-owned cargo ship captured off Oman. Crew of 29 Chinese.
* ALBEDO: Seized on November 26. Malaysian-owned cargo vessel was taken 900 miles off Somalia as it headed for Mombasa from UAE. Crew of 23 from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Iran.
* PANAMA: Seized on December 10: Liberian-flagged container ship en route from Tanzania to Beira. Crew of 23 from Myanmar.
* RENUAR: Seized on December 11: Liberian-owned bulk cargo vessel, 70,156 dwt, captured en route to Fujairah from Port Louis. Crew of 24 Filipinos.
* ORNA: Seized on December 20: The Panama-flagged bulk cargo vessel, 27,915 dwt, owned by the United Arab Emirates, was seized 400 miles northeast of the Seychelles.
* SHIUH FU NO 1: Seized December 25: Somali pirates appeared to have seized the Taiwanese-owned fishing vessel near the northeast tip of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The vessel had a crew of 26 Taiwanese, Chinese and Vietnamese nationals.
* VEGA 5: Seized before December 31: Somali pirates hijacked the 140 dwt Mozambican-flagged fishing vessel about 200 miles southwest of the Comoros. There were two Spaniards, three Indonesians and 19 Mozambicans on board.
* BLIDA: Seized on January 1, 2011: The 20,586-tonne Algerian-flagged bulk carrier was seized about 150 miles southeast of Salalah, Oman. The ship, with 27 crew from Algeria, Ukraine and the Philippines, was heading to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from Salalah with a cargo of clinker.
* HOANG SON SUN: Seized on January 19: The 22,835-tonne bulk carrier, which is Mongolian flagged and Vietnamese-owned and had a crew of 24 Vietnamese nationals, was seized about 520 nautical miles southeast of the port of Muscat.
* SAVINA CAYLYN: Seized on February 8: The 104,255-dwt tanker, Italian-flagged and owned, was on passage to Malaysia from Sudan when it was attacked 670 miles east of Socotra Island. It had five Italians and 17 Indians on board.
* SININ: Seized on February 12: The Maltese owned and registered bulk carrier was seized with a crew of 13 Iranian and 10 Indian nationals in the North Arabian Sea. The 53,000 dwt vessel was on route to Singapore from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
* ALFARDOUS: Seized on February 13: The Yemeni fishing vessel was believed to have been pirated close to Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden and has a crew of eight.
* DOVER: Seized on February 28: It was taken about 260 nautical miles north east of Salalah in Oman. The Panamanian flagged, Greek owned vessel was on its way to Saleef (Yemen) from Port Quasim (Pakistan) when it was attacked. The crew consists of three Romanians, one Russian and 19 Filipinos.
* SINAR KINDUS: Seized on March 16: The Indonesian flagged and owned bulk cargo carrier was pirated approximately 320 miles North East of Socotra in the Somali Basin. The ship, which carried a crew of 20, was quickly used to launch further attacks.
* ZIRKU: Seized on March 28: The UAE-flagged and Kuwaiti-owned oil tanker, bound for Singapore from Sudan, was pirated approximately 250 nautical miles South East of Salalah in the eastern part of the Gulf of Aden. The 105,846 dwt tanker carried a 29-strong crew including one Croatian, 17 Pakistanis, one Iraqi, one Filipino, one Indian, three Jordanians, three Egyptians and two Ukrainians.
* SUSAN K: Seized on April 8: The German-owned, Antigua and Barbuda-flagged vessel was traveling to Port Sudan from Mumbai in India when it was pirated 200 nautical miles northeast of Salalah, Oman. The 4,450 dwt vessel carried a crew of 10 from Ukraine and the Philippines.
* ROSALIA D'AMATO: Seized on April 21: The Italian-owned bulk carrier was captured 350 miles off the coast of Oman. The 74,500 tone bulk carrier was on its way to Bandar Imam Khomeini in Iran from Brazil with a cargo of soya. The crew consisted of six Italians and 15 Filipinos.
Sources: Reuters/Ecoterra International/International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Center/Lloyds List/Inquirer.net/www.eunavfor.eu/ here

Friday, April 22, 2011

Navy chief: Piracy syndicates feeding off ransom payments

As Reported HERE

Piracy syndicates are selling shares in planned attacks, fueled by a surge of ransom payments that help attract investors, the U.S. chief of naval operations said.
Piracy syndicates in villages, mainly in largely ungoverned Somalia, solicit investors who buy shares in the attack missions and gain a corresponding share of ransoms paid by the shipping industry, Adm. Gary Roughead said.
"The ransoms fuel the business, the business invests in more capability, either in a bigger boat, more weapons, better electronic-detection means to determine where the ships are," Roughead said Thursday. "So it's a business."
The average ransom payment has mushroomed over five years — from $150,000 in 2005 to $5.4 million last year — according to the Louisville-based One Earth Future Foundation. The payments are fueling increased raids, adding at least $2.4 billion to transport costs because vessels are being diverted onto longer routes to avoid attacks off east Africa, the nonprofit group said earlier this year.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Two Ships Hijacked Today

As Reported HERE


 
Piracy REPORT:Piracy
Breaking News
Two Ships Attacked, Believed Hijacked
Italian and South Korean Vessels Targeted by Somali Pirates
By ANDREW MWANGURA Posted 1 hr. 5 min. ago
The South Korean-owned Hanjin Tianjin and Italian-owned Rosalia D'Amato have been attacked by Somali pirates, with both ships believed to have been successfully hijacked, officials and maritime sources said Thursday. The news of the attacks came as the European Union's anti-piracy force said it had on Thursday morning been forced to release 18 suspected pirates after attempts to prosecute them failed.
Seoul-based Hanjin Shipping said its container vessel, with 14 South Koreans and six Indonesians on board, was attacked in the Indian Ocean, 460 nautical miles east of the Somali coast, on Wednesday evening. Contact with the ship, which last called into port in Gibraltar and was heading for Singapore, was lost. Maritime sources told Somalia Report the vessel was believed to now be in the hands of a pirate group.
The South Korean warship Choi Young was reportedly en-route to the vessel's last-known position – a move which could spell bad news for the pirates. On January 21, forces from the Choi Young killed eight pirates and rescued 21 crew members from a South Korean chemical tanker a mere six days after it was taken.
The Rosalia D'Amato, on its way to Iran from Brazil, was taken in the Arabian sea off the coast of Oman on Wednesday night, maritime sources said. According to Italian media, the vessel has a crew of 22, including six Italians.
Meanwhile, EU NAVFOR said the Finnish warship FNS POHJANMAA returned 18 suspected pirates to Somalia after requests to several states believed to have an interest in conducting a prosecution were unsuccessful. The suspects were captured on April 5 after allegedly attempting to seize the Singapore-flagged MV Pacific Opal.
Despite the presence of dozens of international warships off the coast of Somalia, piracy has continued to blossom, and the last few weeks has seen frenetic activity. According to the International Maritime Bureau, there were 97 attacks off Somalia in the first three months of 2010, more than double last year's figure over the same period. Some fifteen vessels were successfully seized. Since then, at least another three ships have been taken – including the above attacks – and three ships have been released for an estimated total of $23.5 million in ransom money.
The developments come two days after a counter-piracy conference in Dubai, where governments and private business pledged $4.5 million to strengthen prosecutions, jails and coastguard capability in Somalia and regional states.

 

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Hanjin Container Ship Hijacked

Fr ISSG Int - Hanjin Tianjin confirmed as being hijacked by Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The vessel is reported as being a 75000 DWT container ship capable of 27 knots. The attack is reported to have taken place 250 nm East of Socotra Island at approximately 2000 UTC. The company is reported as having received the SOS at this time and has indicated no further communications with the vessel since that time.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Where are the UKMTO reports?

A quick email report from one of our security teams: 
 
 
"An incident occurred this evening at 1730 hrs local time 20 miles from
pointA.
A dhow was picked up on radar at eight miles and we altered course to
avoid,the dhow altered to intercept I informed ukmto and we managed to
avoid,30 minutes later a second dhow was picked up coming from the same
general direction as the first(southerly)we altered course and again the
dhow altered to intercept.
At this stage I called a nearby combined forces warship and informed him of
the situation,about ten minutes later another target appeared directly on
our new courseat 8 miles,we altered course again to pass between and both
altered course to intercept,I reappraised the military asset of the
situation, whilst doing so the second target ,now at six miles launched two
skiffs at us it was just getting dark and we could not yet see the skiffs,I
was just about to put the crew into standby position when a navy helicopter
came up on channel 16.
I informed him of our situation and he told me he was ten minutes from our
location.within two minutes the two skiffs and the two dhows turned away and
switched on their nav lights and headed out of the irtc.
The helicopter investigated but could not see any weapons we spoke again and
he said he would remain with me for the next hour to ensure they did not
follow and to clear the way ahead.when he left I gave him our appreciation."
 
There has been no reporting by the UKMTO for about a week now, and with active teams on the water, we know for a fact that piracy incidents are still going on daily.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Indian Navy Warship Parked off of Somaila

As reported HERE

New Delhi, April 17
As Somalian pirates continue to hold seven Indian merchant sailors hostage, the Indian Navy, in what is a possible retaliatory posture, today diverted a warship from anti-piracy patrolling duties to station it off the coast of Somalia in North-eastern Africa.

On Friday pirates released eight of the 15 Indian sailors held hostage since September last year. Seven other Indians, which includes six officers, have been held back despite the pirates having got an undisclosed sum as ransom from the owners of the merchant ship MV Asphalt Venture. The ship was hijacked in September last year when it was on its way to Durban from Mombassa, Kenya.
The pirates have been quoted in the international media as wanting to trade the seven Indian sailors in a “swap deal” with Indian authorities to seek the release of more than 100 of their brethren captured by the Indian Navy. Sources confirmed that representatives of the external affairs, home affairs, defence and shipping ministries, respectively, met today to take stock of the situation.
The Navy was tasked to send its warship. A Talwar class frigate a 4000-tonne vessel has been diverted from the its anti-piracy duties off the gulf of Aden to be stationed off the coast of Somalia, sources said while refusing to give further details on the operations the ship will carry out. Additional ships will take some five days to reach, hence the Indian Navy can seek the aid of other Navies in the areas. A flotilla of European and US-led Navies is on patrol close by and the international Navies usually cooperate with each other at high seas.
Authorities are tight-lipped about the possible options that the government will exercise to free the remaining seven hostages. A “swap deal” is not one of the options on the table. The last time India was involved in the hostage “swap deal” was in Kandahar 1999 when three terrorists were released to free 150 passengers of the Indian Airlines flight IC-814 taken hostage by pro-Taliban militants.
Meanwhile, this morning the MV Asphalt Venture owners appealed to Somali pirates to keep their word and release the vessels remaining seven Indian sailors. The owners have expressed deep disappointment over the pirates reneging on their word. This is despite meeting all demands of the negotiated settlement and paying the mutually agreed ransom, an official statement issued by the company said.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Dolphins Protect Against Pirates (Again?)

Unlikely allies...brought to you by the imagination of the Chinese. The thousands of dolphins that recently halted an attack against a Chinese vessel are consistent like clockwork. They managed to rescue a Chinese ship every year for the past three years...all on the 14th or 15th of April. The most recent article HERE 

Thousands of dolphins block Somali pirates
News Date: 15th April 2011
 
This  happened to strike a memory, so a little research and as reported HERE
Thousands of dolphins block Somali pirates


www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-14 11:18:17

These Dolphins seem to do this quite often

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Rowing Through Pirate Waters?

As Reported HERE 

(Keeping her route a secret?)

British woman sets off on solo Indian Ocean row 

A British woman who last year become the first to row solo across the Pacific Ocean has set off on an attempt to cross the Indian Ocean. 

Roz Savage, from London, left Fremantle on the coast of Western Australia on Wednesday and will not reach land again for four months.

She aims to row across 4,000 miles of open ocean without stopping in her tiny 23-foot craft with just two satellite phones connecting her to the outside world.
This is the third leg of a round-the-world journey that the 43-year-old has embarked on to raise awareness of the damage humans are doing to the environment when they pollute the oceans.
So far she had had to be rescued by a coastguard, and almost drowned in the pacific when she became separated from her raft.
However, the Indian Ocean has the threat of pirates. In an attempt to avoid an encounter with anyone who would want to steal her high-tech boat or take her hostage, Miss Savage changed her original plan to row to Mumbai, which would have taken her through a pirate-riddled region off the Somali coast, and is keeping her route and destination a secret.

Friday, April 8, 2011

MV SUSAN K pirated only 35 nautical miles from the Omani coastline

As Reported by EUNAVFOR
In the early morning of 8 April, the General Cargo ship MV SUSAN K was pirated approximately 200 nautical miles North-East of Salalah, Oman; a location only 35 nautical miles from the Omani coastline.
The vessel was attacked and boarded by at least 10 pirates although exact details of the attack are not known at this time.
The Antigua & Barbuda flagged and German owned vessel was on its way to Port Sudan (Sudan) from Mumbai (India) when it was attacked.  The MV SUSAN K has a crew of 10 (4 Ukraine and 6 Filipino). There is no further information about the crew at present.
The MV SUSAN K was registered with MSC(HOA) and was reporting to UKMTO.  EUNAVFOR are continuing to monitor the situation.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

ASF airs outrage at rising attacks on ships

As Reported HERE
SINGAPORE -- The Safe Navigation and Environment Committee (SNEC) of the Asian Shipowners’ Forum (ASF) has expressed outrage at the increasing number of attacks on their ships and the brutality shown by Somali pirates.
“The current situation, where a handful of pirates can hold the world’s economy hostage, is completely unacceptable as responsible owners and managers, we must take all necessary steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our seafarers,” said Mr. S. S. Teo, SNEC Chairman in a recent meeting of the Asian shipowners’ associations held in Singapore.
“Not only are seafarers being tortured and murdered civilians and children are being targeted as well. The situation is increasingly untenable.”
It was noted that pirates had attacked 445 ships, hijacked 53 of them and taken 1,181 seafarers hostage worldwide in 2010. Today, about 700 seafarers remain hostages in deplorable conditions off Somalia.
The committee expressed serious concern at the threat posed by pirates to international shipping, particularly in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean and in the waters off Somalia.
The committee demands that all governments must act decisively and expeditiously to eradicate piracy and attacks on ships.
While appreciating the assistance and protection provided by the naval forces stationed in the Gulf of Aden presently, the committee does not consider it sustainable in the longer term.
The committee is of the unanimous view that the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) must exercise strong political will to bring the situation under control.
The meeting strongly supports the call by international shipping organizations worldwide to neutralize the threat of the captured, hostage-crewed mother ships that are allowing pirates to roam the Indian Ocean unimpeded.
The committee acknowledges that in addition to complying fully with all the measures put forward in the latest version of Best Management Practices to deter piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Coast of Somalia, which has been developed by the industry, the committee notes and appreciates that individual ASF members may adopt additional safety measures such as the use of armed guards to protect the lives and wellbeing of their seafarers. (EHL)