The Office of Naval Intelligence has issued its Piracy Analysis and Warning Weekly (PAWW) Report for 3 – 9 March 2016. According to the report, pirate and maritime crime activity in East African waters is at a low level. There was one reported smuggling event during this one week period; and late reporting concerning an attack from the previous month.
Details
- Vessels Hijacked: No incidents to report.
- Vessels Boarded: No incidents to report.
- Vessels Fired Upon/Attempted Boardings: No incidents to report.
- Other Activity:
OMAN: On 27 February, crew from HMAS DARWIN conducted an inspection boarding of a fishing boat in an area approximately 195 nautical miles off the coast of Oman. The search revealed that the ship was carrying 1,989 AK-47 assault rifles, 100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 49 PKM machine guns, 39 PKM spare barrels and 20 mortar tubes, according to a statement from the Australian Navy. The Australian ship that found the hoard was part of Combined Task Force 150 – an anti-terror, counter-piracy, and counter-smuggling operation whose membership include the US, Canada, the UK, and several other nations.
YEMEN: On 4 February, the UK-flagged sailing yacht MILASHKA while crossing the Red Sea in a southerly direction was caught in a storm. Having suffered damaged sails and rigging, and running low on fuel, the crew tried to find shelter at Hanish al Kubra Island, Hanish Archipelago, in position 13:43 N – 042:42 E. Yachtsmen saw on the beach what seemed to be an empty village. At some point during the evening, the yacht was fired upon from the shore. A large number of bullets hit the yacht, but no injuries were reported and no vital equipment was damaged. The yacht sailed away and made its way to Djibouti for further assistance.
Further details may be found by reading ONI PAWW Report:
Also read ONI Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) report which rovides info on piracy threats to, and criminal action against, merchant vessels worldwide in the last 30 days (period 9 February – 9 March 2016)
- DR CONGO: On 9 March, a cargo ship at anchor was boarded in Boma port.
- VIETNAM: On 6 March, a Vietnamese fishing boat was boarded, reportedly by a Chinese-crewed boat, in the Paracel Islands.
- NIGERIA: On 5 March, ten armed pirates in a black speed boat boarded tanker MADONNA I and kidnapped crew members approximately 32 nm southwest of Bonny Island.
- ARUBA: On 5 March, general cargo vessel OCEANIC I was intercepted by Dutch Coast Guard forces in the Caribbean soon after vessel left Aruba. A search revealed the ship was carrying 1200 kilograms of cocaine.
- SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES: On 4 March, several gunmen boarded a yacht anchored at Wallilabou in southwestern St. Vincent.
- MEXICO: On 4 March, authorities in the port of Manzanillo found a half-ton of cocaine in a shipping container aboard MV COYHAIQUE.
- BANGLADESH: On 4 March, pirates abducted 25 fishermen along with three fishing boats in an area approximately 100 kilometers south of Patharghata under Barguna
- ARUBA: On 3 March, the Royal Netherlands Navy ship ZR. MS. THE SEVEN PROVINCES interdicted two Venezuelan fishing boats smuggling cocaine in an area off the coast of Venezuela.
- KENYA: On 3 March, a robber armed with a knife boarded a berthed product tanker at Mbaraki Wharf North, Mombasa.
Further details may be found by reading ONI WTS Report:
Source: ONI
