Attacks drop to 16, but sheltered locations could be targeted in June
Pirate attacks dropped for the second consecutive month in May off the coasts of Africa.
Activity in May dropped to 25 attacks, with 16 in the waters surrounding Africa. One vessel was hijacked, a Liberia-flagged tanker, and no vessels were released last month. Attacks increased in the northern Gulf of Oman, where swarm tactics were reported for the first time.
GAC attributes much of the decrease to the onset of the monsoon season.
“Weather conditions in the Somali basin, Indian Ocean and southern Arabian Sea gradually worsened over the course of May, explaining the drop in attacks in those areas,” GAC said. “More attacks are therefore likely in sheltered chokepoints such as the northern Gulf of Oman and Bab al-Mandab straits in the coming weeks.”
May saw the first land-based operation by the European Union’s anti-piracy force. A helicopter destroyed a Somalian pirate base.
In other anti-piracy efforts, Ghana has begun training staff for its new vessel traffic management and information system to provide electronic monitoring of its coast in an effort to counter piracy and armed robbery at sea. The system is being installed by Eltel Networks of Finland.
The VTMIS consists of eight Remote Sensor Sites to be sited along the coast from Keta to Half Assini; three Remote Base Stations along the Volta Lake for inland waterway monitoring, three manned area control centers in the west, central and east regions, along with a national control center at Accra.
Further, the U.K. has signed a deal with Mauritius allowing suspected pirates caught by the Royal Navy to be transferred to the Indian Ocean Island for prosecution, marking the third such agreement that the U.K. has signed in its anti-piracy efforts, following the Seychelles and Tanzania.
Source: Break Bulk
