Tag: anti piracy measures

French Navy frigate ACONIT disrupted pirate action On the morning of April 7, French Navy frigate ACONIT was heading towards a position in the north of the Horn of Africa to join with Spanish frigate INFANTA ELENA, and take over the escort of a World Food Programme ship.Meanwhile, in Djibouti, Spain was about to hand over command of Task Force 465 to France. FS ACONIT spotted a whaler towing a skiff. The high distance to the shore, nearly 600 km, and the absence of fishing activity raised the suspicion of ACONIT's sailors. The commanding officer quickly gave the order to intercept the whaler.After the boarding team had been deployed, due to the short distance between ACONIT and the whaler, it required only a few minutes for the boarding team to intercept the whaler, with 8 suspected pirates on board and piracy-related equipment, although some of it had likely been thrown overboard before the interception.Under the supervision of new Force Commander Rear Admiral Jean-Baptiste Dupuis and his staff, embarked on board FS Marne, the suspected pirates were transferred on board ACONIT. The whaler and the piracy-related equipments were destroyed and the skiff was embarked on board the French frigate. After one ...

Warships From Spain And The Netherlands EUNAVFOR - the counter piracy task force sent by the European Union to patrol the waters off the Horn of Africa, has been joined by two additional warships. The Dutch multi-role frigate HNLMS VAN AMSTEL has arrived in the area, as well as Spanish frigate ESPS REINA SOFIA.Both ships have helicopters embarked that are capable of searching large areas of sea to look for suspect pirates. These warships bring the total EUNAVFOR strength up to 10 vessels in preparation for any increase in pirate activity following the end of the monsoon season.Source: EUNAVFOR

China and Russia have conducted several joint military exercises since 2005 Russian support vessels, warplanes, helicopters, naval infantry and four warships will team up with Chinese naval forces in a joint exercise in April, a source in Russia's Pacific Fleet said yesterday.The Russian Navy will be represented by the guided missile cruiser Varyag, and three large antisubmarine ships in an exercise that is to take place between April 22 and 29 in the Yellow Sea.In all, more than 20 Russian and Chinese warships and support vessels will participate.Since 2005, China and Russia have conducted several joint military exercises within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.The group also includes the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and aims to promote regional cooperation and check U.S. influence.Source: Maritime Connector

Anti-piracy military force will become more proactive against pirates The European Union's anti-piracy military force will become more proactive in the fight against pirates, the departing force commander said Tuesday, in an effort to seize the initiative in an evolving battle that is moving closer to land.The EU Naval Force announced last month that it will expand its mission to include Somalia's coast and waterways inside the country for the first time. Rear Adm. Jorge Manso, whose tenure as force commander ends Saturday, said the EU force's mission is evolving."To date our approach has been primarily defensive, but from now on we have to become more flexible in our priorities and practices and seize the initiative from pirates," Manso told The Associated Press by telephone from the Spanish military ship Patino. "Doing that we will improve our capabilities against this problem."Manso said the EU Naval Force is looking for "different missions," though he did not elaborate about any missions that could take place on Somali land or on its waterways."It's a way to be more proactive," he said. "The European Union right now is on the right path. This measure is one more tool to create the security that Somalia ...

AtoBviaC Plc announces its BP Shipping Marine Distance Tables AtoBviaC Plc announces a new anti-piracy routing tool in its popular subscription 'BP Shipping Marine Distance Tables'.The AtoBviaC tool enables the ship operator to select routes based on the most current intelligence, and accurately calculate the time and fuel implications of the voyage. "In many cases this can work out to be considerably more accurate than the other available options and provides a level of self-determination that is missing from other solutions," said Captain Trevor Hall, Director of AtoBviaC.Anti-Piracy Routing from AtoBviaC within the BP Shipping Marine Distance Tables is based upon information on piracy activity obtained on a regular basis from the Joint War Committee bulletins, and from specific routings requested by ship operators. All routes calculated are navigable, taking account of the need to keep suitable distances off shoals, wrecks, coasts and obstructions and also avoid oil field development areas. The routes are reviewed weekly and updates are issued at 2 monthly intervals or more frequently if significant changes need to be made.The BP Shipping Marine Distance Tables are widely used within the marine industry and contains all ports, offshore terminals and transhipment areas needed by its many users, ...

Hijack success rate for Somali pirates has dropped sharply The hijack success rate for Somali pirates has dropped sharply in recent months, a NATO official said on Monday, due in part to more merchant ships turning to armed security guards, razor wire and water pumps to protect themselves.Improved international cooperation on combating piracy on land and at sea - covering an area four times the size of the Arabian peninsula - has been the cornerstone of efforts to tackle a problem costing the world economy up to $12 billion a year, a spokesman for NATO's counter-piracy force in the Indian Ocean said."Only six vessels have been pirated for ransom in the last eight months, compared to 36 in the preceding eight," Lieutenant Commander Mehmet Elyurek told reporters on board the TCG Giresun, the Turkish flagship of the force that operates off the Horn of Africa.The rate of successful hijack attempts had "almost returned to pre-crisis (2007) levels."John Steed, a former head of the United Nations counter-piracy unit, has said a major reason for the drop in the number of vessels hijacked is that the pirates got so rich last year.But increased use of armed private security guards, and other defences ...

West Africa: ECCAS, ECOWAS More than 250 representatives from more than 20 African nations attended the official opening ceremony of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Maritime Safety and Security Conference held on March 28, 2012.Top military officials, distinguished diplomats, and civilian ministers of agencies with maritime security authorities from ECCAS and ECOWAS attended the opening ceremony, which began with the host nation of Benin's military band playing their national anthem. Other guests representing the United Nations, the African Union, Europe and the United States were also in attendance. The event concluded with ECOWAS and ECCAS signing a communiqué agreeing on the submission of the draft Memorandum of Understanding and Operational Agreement to the respective Regional Economic Community Secretariats.The U.S. Africa Command and Africa Center for Strategic Studies organized and facilitated the seminar.The seminar was held to charter a way for cooperation between both African communities to provide regional maritime security in the central and western African regions and among member states to combat piracy, robbery at sea, and other illicit activities at sea in the Gulf of Guinea."This is a meeting of technical experts from West and Central Africa ...

EUNAVFOR ships and aircraft can attack pirate targets on land The EU (European Union) agreed, on March 23rd, to allow its anti-piracy force off Somalia (EUNAVFOR) to attack coastal targets and coordinate military operations with the Somali TNG (Transitional National Government). This means that EUNAVFOR ships and aircraft can attack pirate targets on land. Most of the pirate bases (coastal towns and villages) are in Puntland, a self-declared state in northern Somalia. While less violent and chaotic than southern Somalia, Puntland officials are bribed and intimidated (by the superior firepower of the pirate gangs) into inaction. Technically, Puntland is opposed to the pirates, so the EU is hoping that Puntland won't make a stink when EU forces begin shooting at pirates on the coast.The EU plan apparently involves going after pirate logistics and fuel supplies in their coastal havens. This could be tricky, as the pirates are well aware of how the Western media works and could easily put many of these targets in residential neighborhoods. The EU could respond by blockading the pirate bases and attacking pirate attempts to truck in fuel and other supplies. Pirates could put civilians on trucks or even captured sailors from ships held for ...

NATO-Russia Council (NRC) Work Programme for 2012 NATO and Russia agree that countering piracy is a common security challenge and have agreed to explore ways to strengthen cooperation in this area under the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) Work Programme for 2012. Building on limited military tactical cooperation off the Horn of Africa, they are seeking to strengthen information exchange and coordination and considering possible mutual support, such as refuelling and medical assistance, for ships involved in counter-piracy operations."We are all actors in the same area and good cooperation between our forces will enhance the effectiveness in keeping the shipping lanes safe as well as mutual understanding of the NATO and Russian units," says Rear Admiral (LH) Sinan Azmi Tosun, the current Commander of Ocean Shield, NATO's counter-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden.NATO and Russian ships work as convoy escorts in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), which was established in early 2009 to help provide protection and security to merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Red Sea, a busy shipping area that is particularly prone to attacks by pirates operating from Somalia. Russian assets are occasionally invited to participate tactically with the ships of Allied countries ...

The Monsoon winds is the first counter-piracy asset Harsh conditions at sea have led to a drop in the frequency of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia.According to one senior Commander with the EUNAVFOR"The Monsoon winds is the first counter-piracy asset we have at our disposal".Somali piracy lull linked to harsh sea windsMombasa, Kenya - Somali pirates have been unable to step into the sea to prey on merchant shipping lines in the Gulf of Aden due to the harsh conditions at sea, leading to a drop in the frequency of attacks, naval sources have revealed.In readiness for an upsurge in the number of attacks, the European Union (EU) Naval Taskforce (EUNAVFOR) deployed in the region at the peak of the pirate attacks, is planning to double the number of warships by May to deal with the extra-threat."The Monsoon winds is the first counter-piracy asset we have at our disposal," a senior Commander with the EUNAVFOR, who wished to remain unnamed, said. "In April, when there is no Monsoon, the sea would be like a swimming pool," he added.The swimming pool-like conditions at sea enable the pirates to flock back to sea, relying on an array of tools, including ...