Tag: anti piracy measures

Off the pirate-infested waters of Somalia, a new force is taking shape The private company Typhon is preparing to operate alongside the world's navies, offering protection to cargo vessels sailing around the Horn of Africa.But unlike other private security firms which put guards on board other people's ships, it will offer vessels of its own.The chief executive of Typhon, Anthony Sharpe, says the plan is to rendezvous with cargo ships which sign up for their protection and form them into a convoy.The company says it will establish what it is describing as an exclusion zone of one kilometre around the ships.The company is buying three boats, which are currently being fitted out in Singapore.Each of its craft will have up to 40 security officers, drawn from former British Royal Marines, as well as a crew of 20.The ships will be fitted with machine guns and the staff will have rifles.But Mr Sharpe told the BBC it is not a question of out-gunning the pirates."It's not about lethal force matching lethal force," he said."It's more like applying a burglar alarm to the problem and the thief will be deterred - so will be looking elsewhere."Drones and radarThe direction these convoys travel ...

Italy worries that this incident could slow the anti-piracy operation Italy said Wednesday that India's detention of two Italian marines charged with killing two fishermen is damaging the international campaign against Somali pirates.Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said UN leader Ban Ki-moon shared his "concerns" during talks late Tuesday about fallout from the diplomatic row between Italy and India over the case.An Indian court on Saturday denied bail to the marines.The February 15 incident took place in international waters and the Italians say they mistook the fishermen for pirates.Italy has withdrawn its ambassador to New Delhi for consultations on the case as the two sides battle over the charges and who should have jurisdiction over the marines.Terzi told reporters that with daily attacks on international shipping, "this episode is already having a very, very negative effect on the anti-piracy effort of the international community.""Speaking to other international colleagues, I sense a major concern that this incident could slow the anti-piracy operations."Italy is part of a multinational force that has ships in the Indian Ocean and troops and guards on tankers and other vessels to head off attacks by Somali pirates. The campaign has the backing of the UN Security Council ...

On 27-28 June : A Regional Response to Maritime Piracy The UAE's second anti-piracy conference to be held in Dubai on 27 -28 June has generated overwhelming interest globally and regionally with scores of high-ranking government ministers, industry leaders, security experts, the United Nations , the International Maritime Organisation, and other stakeholders from around the world expected to attend the event.The International Conference, to be held under the title 'A Regional Response to Maritime Piracy: Enhancing Public-Private Partnerships and Strengthening Global Engagement, will build on current global efforts to address the challenges of pirate attacks on ships, including its devastating human cost in terms of seamen taken hostage, and ways to enhance efforts to mitigate the root causes that have led to piracy in Somalia and other places.UAE initiative jointly convened by Foreign Ministry and DP World will aim to enhance public-private partnerships to better address the threats posed by maritime piracy to regional peace, security and prosperity.A conference website - www.counterpiracy.ae - has been updated and opened to provide all necessary information for invitees and other participants to register online for the conference. The website will also carry bespoke research articles and working papers that have been commissioned from ...

Fishermen said that their boats had also been destroyed after the EU Naval Force Somali fisherman pleaded Friday for international navies protecting shipping to halt air strikes on coastal villages, after the EU Naval Force struck a pirate base for the first time.An attack helicopter staged a nighttime raid on the Somali coastline Tuesday, the first since the European Union authorised such strikes, destroying several small boats that the force said were part of pirate operations.But fishermen on the impoverished coast said that their boats had also been destroyed, and that they feared being caught up in further attacks aimed to damage pirate operations."The pirates cannot be easily identified, as they mingle with the fishermen - the boats are the same and the people look alike unless they are armed," said Mohamed Hassan, a local fisherman in the Harardhere region."The fishermen are also victims - some of the boats destroyed by the international forces belonged to local fishermen, and we are very much worried that fishermen will die in such operations," he added.NATO and European Union warships have battled pirates at sea since 2008, but the EU decided to step up the fight in March by authorising strikes on assets ...

Captain Van der Linde will do everything he can to help Somalis rebuild their nation "They destroyed our equipment - reduced it to ashes. This was one of our key supply centres," admits self-confessed pirate commander Bile Hussein. He was speaking to an AP reporter about last week's EU bombing raid on targets along the coast of Somalia."The fuel fed the flames and added to the destruction. Nothing was spared." The pirates' speed boats, fuel and arms depots were all destroyed in the attack. There were no reports of any casualties.First attackIt was the first time EU forces made use of their new expanded mandate to attack pirate supply bases on the coast. The operation went precisely as planned. Captain Ad van der Linde, director of the new EU anti-piracy operations centre, told RNW that this was how the EU's new mandate should work. He believes attacking targets along the coast can make a big difference in the fight against piracy. Captain van der Linde:"We can only go after the pirates after they put to sea in their boats and enter the huge expanse of ocean. Our policy is to keep them as close to the beach as possible. So ...

Battling the country's pirates and feeding its people The war against Somali piracy must be fought on two fronts: battling the country's pirates, and feeding its people.That was the view of envoys from seven countries whose citizens have been held by Somali pirates.The diplomats from Italy, the Seychelles, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania and Thailand were in Abu Dhabi yesterday to discuss ways to end piracy.They broadly agreed the keys were military action, restoring law and order, and increasing aid."Yes, we must get rid of the bases of pirates to avoid attacks but the international community cannot rely only on a military option," said Giorgio Starace, the Italian Ambassador to the UAE."There must be economic and social change linked to Somalia's recovery. Aid is not only for times of emergency. We need more engagement."Somali pirates cost governments and the shipping industry up to US$6.9 billion (Dh25.35bn) last year, the advocacy group One Earth Future Foundation says.The diplomats mapped out a range of measures to cooperate against piracy.Pirate attacks and ransom demands are common off Somalia's coast because of its proximity to the Gulf of Aden, a shipping route through which 20 per cent of world trade passes.This week, the European ...

Naval patrols still crucial for anti-piracy fight Armed guards employed on merchant ships to repel attacks by pirates should be subject to new standards to ensure they abide by international law while on the high seas, a United Nations agency said on Thursday.The International Maritime Organization, whose role is to improve the safety of global shipping, said it wanted a new set of global guidelines to be drawn up to help countries and shipping countries decide whether and how to deploy armed guards."International standards or regimes should be established," IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu told reporters."That regime should not be made compulsory, but provide an international framework on which the flag state and the (shipping) companies may decide to employ arms on board."This is not a permanent solution and arms on board will not be institutionalised. These are exceptional circumstances and we hope these are temporary measures," he said after an anti-piracy conference at the IMO's headquarters overlooking the River Thames in London.Shipping companies are increasingly reliant on private guards to deter pirates armed with machine guns and rocket launchers who are prepared to take hostages and demand ransoms worth millions of dollars each year, particularly in the Arabian Sea and ...

NATO's mission

EU forces conducted an operation to destroy pirate equipment Earlier today, following the decision taken on 23 March 2012 by the Council of the European Union to allow the EU Naval Force to take disruption action against known pirate supplies on the shore, EU forces conducted an operation to destroy pirate equipment on the Somali coastline.The operation was conducted in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1851 and has the full support of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. The focused, precise and proportionate action was conducted from the air and all forces returned safely to EU warships on completion. Whilst assessment is on-going, surveillance of the area during the action indicates that no Somalis were injured ashore as a result of EU action.Speaking about the operation, the Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Duncan Potts said "We believe this action by the EU Naval Force will further increase the pressure on, and disrupt pirates' efforts to get out to sea to attack merchant shipping and dhows. The local Somali people and fishermen - many of whom have suffered so much because of piracy in the region, can be reassured that our focus was on ...

Insurance firm agreed to provide financial support for armed guards Privately armed patrol boats aimed at deterring Somali pirates could be up and running by as early as next month, after a prominent insurance firm agreed to provide financial support.Following the successful introduction of armed guards aboard several merchant ships plying the waters of the Gulf of Eden and the East African coast, Martin Reith, the founder and former chief executive of the Lloyd's of London insurer Ascot Underwriting, has taken the protection business one stage further with his plans for a Convoy Escort Programme, which will complement the overstretched naval forces in the region.According to the London Times newspaper, "Financial backing estimated at around $30 million, could be up and running as early as this summer." as $12 billion. As such, the measure could be a good gamble as piracy off the Somalia coast is estimated to have cost the international shipping industry as muchThe investors are hoping that once the funding is in place, they will buy around seven second-hand naval patrol vessels; the money will also help to finance the armed security guards that will be on board."As well as four crew and eight armed security personnel, ...