Somali pirates will attack when the southwest monsoon subsides in September
Please be advised that the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has issued an advisory assessing that Somali pirates will resume a high level of operations when the southwest monsoon subsides in September 2011 and corresponding seas become conducive for small boat operations.
Pirates will continue to evolve their tactics, techniques, and procedures in an attempt to circumvent defensive measures of commercial shipping and in response to patrolling naval forces. Pirates will attack targets of opportunity, regardless of their flag, vessel profile, crew composition, or cargo. Pirates will routinely operate in major shipping lanes, to include those off the Indian coast, in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, leading into/out of Kenya and Tanzania, and in the Arabian Sea.
Anchorage areas in the region are not exempt from the threat posed by pirates. Pirates will conduct attacks with skiffs and will operate from shore at great distances with the use of a variety of motherships - to include whalers, dhows, commercial fishing vessels, captured merchant ships, and potentially, the use of cattle transport vessels.
The Maritime Administrator would take this opportunity to again urge all vessels operating in the High Risk Area to actively implement recommended Best Management Practices for anti-piracy measures as follows:
- Prepare the crew (refer to Marshall Islands MG-2-11-12);
- Harden the ship before the ship enters the High Risk Area (HRA);
- When entering the HRA from the direction of either the Suez Canal, the Arabian Gulf at 26N, the south at 15S or from the east at 78E:
o Register the ship with the MSCHOA (http://www.mschoa.org /+44 (0) 1923 958545);
o Report to the UKMTO (ukmto@eim.ae / +971 505 523 215); and
- Continue to provide daily reports of ship's position, course, speed and estimated and actual arrival times to UKMTO while in the HRA.
- Remember, the ship must be registered with the MSCHOA and report to the UKMTO with every intended transit of the HRA;
- Consider participating in the SSRS service (http://ssrs.org);
- Utilize the IRTC in the GoA;
- For low and slow ships, join pre-scheduled military escorted convoys through the GoA; MSD 001 (11/01) 2 of 2 MSA No. 111-11
- Avoid navigating through the Mozambique Channel whenever possible;
- Continue to maintain a heightened state of awareness;
- Maintain strict 24 hour anti-piracy visual and radar watches at sea and in port anchorages; and
- Report all attacks and suspicious sightings to the UKMTO, MARLO (+973-3940-1395), COMUSNAVCENT (+973-1785-3879) or IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (imbsecurity@icc-ccs.org, +603-2031-0014).
The Maritime Administrator advises that the RMI flag State does not object to vessel owners, operators, and/or Masters taking appropriate measures in regard to the safety and security of their vessels, crew and cargo.
Whether to use an armed or unarmed security detail and how to facilitate that detail is a decision for the vessel operator to make after assessing the piracy related risks in the area where the vessel will be operating, the potential risks and benefits of available anti-piracy related countermeasures, and the logistics of implementing those measures.
This assessment could include discussions with labour representatives, port officials, charterers, counsel, and underwriters. Reference should be made to IMO MSC.1/Circ.1405 and Circ.1406 before engaging any PCASP.
Source: ONI
