Monsoon Season Over - Ship Hijacked

As Reported HERE


(CNN) -- A Panamanian flagged ship sailing off the Somali coast was pirated early Saturday, the European Union's anti-piracy task force said.
The MV Lugela was carrying steel bars and wires and had sailed through the Gulf of Aden heading to Mauritius.
It was about 900 miles east of Eyl, Somalia when it sent out a distress alert to its Greek operator Saturday, said the European Union Naval Force Somalia.
A short while later, the ship altered its course and was sailing towards the Somali coast. There has been no contact with the ship.
On Thursday, seven Somali men were convicted in a Kenyan court and sentenced to five years in prison for hijacking a Spanish ship last year.
The waters around the Horn of Africa, especially off the coast of lawless Somalia, have become a hub for piracy, making the busy shipping routes among the most dangerous in the world.

The anti-piracy task force, which is made up of vessels and forces from several European countries, protects vulnerable ships in the region.

Another Ship Hijacked out of IRTC

As Reported Here
NAIROBI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Pirates have hijacked a Maltese-flagged merchant vessel off the coast of Somalia, the European Union's anti-piracy taskforce said on Wednesday.
The MV OLIB G was seized while it was sailing west in the internationally recommended transit corridor through the Gulf of Aden, EU NAVFOR said.
The vessel has 18 crew members, 15 Georgians and 3 Turks.
"The USS Princeton warship of Task Force 151 launched its helicopter. The helicopter was able to identify two pirates on board MV OLIB G," EU NAVFOR said in a statement.
Heavy seas in the last few months have seen a sharp decline in the number of piracy attacks off the Horn of Africa nation. (Reporting by Richard Lough)

Use Armed Guards Against Pirates

As Reported HERE

After all the hoopla about resolving the piracy problems - the ultimatums by the seafarers’ unions, serious concern shown by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) besides Intertanko, BIMCO, International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and other maritime organizations being in hot in pursuit of the Somali pirates - the issue remains largely unsolved and the sea brigands continue to rule the waters. This unfortunate situation seems to have triggered a kind of a metamorphosis among some who command ships in pirate infested waters.  

A year back when the issue of piracy took center stage at one of the seminars of the Company of Master Mariners of India (CMMI) captains and nautical officers who attended the program felt it was best to wait and watch the situation, as it appeared that some lasting solution was finally underway. It seemed at that time that the world organizations had taken the beast by the horns and some decisive action would be forthcoming. At the same time experts talked about imminent solutions being put forth that would make ships invincible to pirate attacks.

But during the last week CMMI again focused on the piracy issues at their quarterly seminar. This time however Garry Stevens, Associate Director of London Steamship who addressed the participants about the measures that needed to be taken for transiting safely through the Gulf of Aden and Somalian coastal waters got some astonishing responses when he sought the views of the participants.

“Pirates are after the cargo and the ransom but not the crew,” Garry had informed. According to him it was the pirates’ intention to do everything possible to secure the ransom at the earliest by using the media to their advantage and they also try and project the difficulty imposed on the crew and their families during the detention of the vessel.

“P & I Club is concerned about piracy,” he said. “Ultimately it is involved in ransom payment.” He dwelt at length on the various safety practices incorporated in the Best Management Practices (BMP) and which could ensure safety of the ship’s crew. He highlighted the use of razor wires, maintaining speed above 15 knots, sailing only in day light hours, use of ‘the Citadel’ and also moving in a convoy escorted by a naval vessel.

“Unfortunately countries did not want to get involved in legal issues and in prosecuting pirates as it was serving as a deterrent,” he said. “There is no death sentence and only a prison sentence. Besides, countries did not want to get after the pirates as they did not have room in their prisons and may have to offer them citizenship after they complete their sentence.” 

At the end of his presentation he posed this question to the participants: “How many present here feel that use of armed guards is a solution to overcome piracy attacks?” More than half the number of nearly 300 master mariners present affirmed that it was the only solution including those captains who have had a close call with the pirates while navigating through Somalian waters. It was worth taking the risk they felt, knowing well that if their vessel was to be captured after a gun battle, with the pirates suffering casualties it could turn out to be dangerous for the ship’s crew.

I would like to point out, there has never been a ship taken when armed guards were protecting the vessel.

15 Fishermen Killed by Pirates Since March, 2010

As Reported Here
15 fishermen have been killed by pirates since March, 2010

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—Zamboanga del Sur fishermen are urging the authorities to solve the problem of pirate attacks in Illana Bay.
The fishermen are also asking the Fishery Law Enforcement Team of the Illana Bay Alliance in Western Mindanao to reactivate a Navy sub-station in Pagadian City.
Ramon Abella, a representative of the fishermen, told reporters Thursday the pirate attacks had increased to an alarming rate lately and that the fishermen had formally asked the authorities, particularly the Fishery law Enforcement Team, to take action.
Abella said since March, 15 fishermen had died from pirate attacks on Illana Bay, particularly in the areas near Dinas town.
Illana is a major fishing area off Pagadian City and the towns of Tukuran, Tabina, Labangan, Dumalinao, San Pablo, Dinas and Diamataling.
The Philippine Coast Guard has confirmed the fatality figure.
Lt. Cmdr. Arman Balilo, PCG spokesperson, said eight of the victims since March were killed in the high seas off Pitogo, near Pagadian City.
Balilo said that aside from killing fishermen and taking away their valuables, pirates also occasionally stage kidnap-for-ransom activities.
Abella said some armed groups also extort money from fishermen.
He said the demand could range from P250 to P1,500 per month.
“Should this problem persist, we have only three options left: refuse to pay and stop fishing, pay the protection money and live through it, or for the government to solve the problem,” Abella said.
Zamboanga del Sur police director Senior Supt. Elmer Escosia said there was an urgent need to reactivate the Bantay Dagat in the affected towns.
Escosia agreed that the re-establishment of the Navy sub-station in Pagadian was also important in the campaign against piracy.
In 2008, a Naval Task Group was established in Pagadian.
During its first week of operation alongside Maritime police operatives, the NTG netted 21 suspected pirates.
The NTG was later dissolved for still unknown reasons.

Gulf of Aden Hijackings Continue

AS Reported HERE

Nairobi - Somali pirates seized a Panama-flagged freighter in the Gulf of Aden early Monday, the European Union's anti-piracy mission.The cement carrier MV Suez was hijacked in an international corridor patrolled by warships from the EU and other nations, EU NAVFOR said.The mission dispatched a helicopter to the scene after the freighter sent an SOS, but attempts to make contact with the pirates failed.The MV Suez has a crew of 23 from Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India.Piracy is rife off the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia, which has not had an effective central government since 1991.Somali pirates are currently holding at least 22 ships and around 400 crew members, according to non-governmental organizations.Heavily-armed gangs take to the seas in search of multimillion- dollar ransoms despite the presence international warships, which were sent to region following a spike in pirate attacks in late 2008.

Somali Piracy RE-Located

Somali Piracy has not gone away. There have been many articles that have praised the Naval Forces for the reduction of piracy lately. The fact is, yes the naval forces have had a significant impact on piracy, but even more, is the weather this time of year. This is the Monsoon Season and operations are difficult, if not almost impossible for the pirates to operate in the Indian Ocean and in the areas of the actual IRTC.

As you can see, the wind in the Gulf of Aden as of this writing, is up to 30 knots.

The wave heights in the Indian Ocean are actually up to 8 meters at their highest and an average of 4 meters.

This has caused a push into the Red Sea with 5the furthest attacks yet to the North and the first hijacking inside the Red Sea to date. It is nice to give a bunch of credit to the naval forces in the reduction of piracy, but with the actual reality of the full story, it must be understood that the weather is the most contributory factor in the current reduction of piracy, and also the adaptation of pirates to go further North into the Red Sea than ever before. Attacks have actually taken place North of Al-Hudayda, Yemen, near the Saudi Arabian border.

Tanker Hijacked in Red Sea

As reported HERE



NAIROBI, Kenya — The EU's anti-piracy task force says Somali pirates have hijacked a chemical tanker carrying lubricating oil in the Red Sea.
The force says pirates attacked the Marshall Islands-flagged MT Motivator on Sunday in the northern Strait of Bab al Mandeb. The seizure was only confirmed early Monday after communication with ship was lost, the force says in a statement.
The EU Naval Force says the 13,065 ton-ship has a crew of 18 Filipinos on board.
The Horn of Africa nation's 19 years of lawlessness have allowed piracy to flourish. The waters surrounding Somalia, including the Gulf of Aden that connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, are known to be among the world's most dangerous.