Tag: Gulf of Aden

Combating piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia The Government on Friday announced a four-pronged strategy - including establishment of an inter-ministerial group, naval cooperation with friendly countries in the Gulf of Aden and intensifying diplomatic efforts - to counter the menace posed by pirates taking hostage of Indian ships and seafarers on the high seas.Making a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha immediately after the question hour, the Union External Affairs Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, said the Cabinet Committee on Security met earlier in the day and approved a series of measures to address the "legal, administrative and operational aspects of combating piracy" in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.Stating that a broad policy framework covering all these aspects was approved, he said this would entail actions in the medium and long term by the Ministries of Shipping, External Affairs and Defence.Mr Krishna said the Committee discussed the immediate situation arising out of Indians held hostage by pirates. It noted that currently 53 Indian seafarers are in captivity on five different ships, and expressed its sympathy for their families and resolved to take the necessary action to safeguard their ...

Weekly assessment of pirate activity Overall, piracy activity has increased over the past week compared to the week before. With the diminishing effects of the Monsoon pirates are expected to continue their activity over the coming week spreading into the central and southern Somali Basin.Gulf of Aden/Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC).In the past week one attack was noted on 03 March close to Yemeni TTW in the far east of the GoA. Pirate skiffs blending in the local traffic can be expected at any time without or little warning. The main piracy threat remains in the central and eastern part of the GoA/IRTC. Overall, reports of attacks remain below 2010 and 2009 levels.Arabian Sea/Greater Somali Basin.During the past week (25Feb-04Mar) piracy activities was again concentrated in the southern and eastern Arabian Sea and has started in the last few days in the southern Somali Basin. MV DOVER has been pirated near the Omani coast on 28 Feb and further 11 attacks as well as nine pirate related incidents were reported during the last week mainly in the Arabian Sea.Pirates are using dhow mother ships to launch their attack skiffs against any targets of opportunity. A significant number of pirated regional ...

4 million dollars in exchange for the 6 captured Indians For 201 days, six Indians have been facing the terror of Somali piracy at close quarters, yet there has been no move from the government to ease their plight.Somali pirates, who have hijacked MV Suez, a ship of Red Sea Navigation, in the Gulf of Aden spoke to TIMES NOW have insisted on the week long deadline. The pirates have also said that they will not accept anything short of 4 million dollars in exchange for the 6 captured Indians on board the ship. Speaking to TIMES NOW, one of the Somali pirates said, "Our demand is ransom money, you know ransom money. We want four million from the company which is working for this crew. Last time when we called the company, we demanded the ransom. He told us he did not want the ship or the crew." "We are also running short of time, last 8 months we have been going on like this. All we want is the ransom, if someone comes with the money tomorrow morning, one week is maximum. Now there is no reason and I will not say what we are going to do ...

Crew of 8 people On the 13 February, the Yemeni Fishing Vessel ALFARDOUS was believed to have been pirated close to Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden.The vessel has a reported crew of 8, nationalities presently not known. There is no further information on the condition of the crew.EUNAVFOR is monitoring the situation.There are now at least 31 vessels and 694 hostages being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia. A list of FV ALFARDOUS and other pirated vessels can be found here.Source: EU NAVFOR

Optimizes action and facilitates information sharing The meeting took place on board the Spanish Flagship CANARIAS, sailing in the Gulf of Aden. Rear Admiral Zhang was accompanied by his Chief of Staff and six more officers.During the next months, Chinese ships will remain in Indian Ocean with the main aim to escort merchant vessels transiting between Red Sea and Horn of Africa, thereby contributing to the safety of those mariners transiting the area.This was a good opportunity for EU NAVFOR to exchange information and maintain mutual understanding and knowledge with one of partners in the fight against piracy.Coordination between the different actors operating in the Horn of Africa is of paramount importance in order to optimize their action and facilitate information sharing. This is especially important given the size of the operational area and the coordination of a large number of ships from many different countries.Source: EU NAVFOR

Schedule March 2011 In March 2011 the Government of Japan (GOJ) will provide escort operations by Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) for vessels in accordance with the schedule below. Please note that due to an increase in piracy activity, the easternmost rendezvous point "C" has been moved further eastwards.Westbound convoys, rendezvous point "C": 14 55 N - 054 38 E: 09 March, 1500Z 14 March, 1500Z 23 March, 0500Z 31 March, 0500ZEastbound convoys, rendezvous point "A": 11 50 N - 045 00 E: 04 March, 1500Z 12 March, 0500Z 20 March, 1500Z 28 March, 1500ZConvoy speed The base speed is 12 knots.Joining instructions Application for JMSDF escort operation must be made directly to the GOJ, which is a separate procedure from the application to MSCHOA. Merchant vessels that wish to apply for JMSDF escort operation should visit http://www.mlit.go.jp/en/maritime/maritime_fr2_000000.html and follow the application procedure.Source: EU NAVFOR

32 people onboard The Iranian Navy foils attempts by pirates to hijack a Hong Kong ship in the Gulf of Aden.The merchant vessel, with 32 people on board, which was sailing en route from Italy to Australia, was attacked by Somali pirates during the course of Friday night, but they were swiftly encountered by ships of the 12th Fleet of the Navy. The Iranian Navy has so far dispatched a number of military warships to the Gulf of Aden to guard Iranian and foreign vessels sailing in international waters. Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have expanded the reach of their hijacking attacks on merchant vessels and oil tankers in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden over the past 2 years, making tens of millions of dollars in ransom, despite the fact that dozens of foreign naval vessels are patrolling the area.Source: Tehran Times

Extended by 6 days Malaysian authorities have extended by six days a detention order against seven Somali pirates captured by Malaysian forces last month in a raid to free a hijacked oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden.A police spokesman told AFP that investigators need more time to complete their probe into the case, a historic bid by an Asian country to prosecute bandits operating off the coast of lawless Somalia."The extended detention is to enable police to complete their investigations," a spokesman from police headquarters in the capital Kuala Lumpur told AFP.The seven have been held on remand in Malaysia since January 31 when they arrived on board the tanker MT Bunga Laurel, which was seized by pirates along with its crew of 23 on January 20.The tanker was headed to Singapore with a cargo of lubricating oil worth more than $10 million when high-seas bandits armed with AK-47 assault rifles boarded and took control of the ship.Malaysian naval commandos from a vessel protecting shipping in the Gulf of Aden, along with a navy attack helicopter, responded to a distress call and captured the pirates after a brief firefight.A day later, South Korean forces captured another five pirates in ...

The vessel escaped unhurt An Iranian vessel carrying two million barrels of oil has successfully managed to escape unhurt after being attacked by Somali pirates in the waters of the Gulf of Aden.The Iranian oil tanker dubbed "Haraaz" was sailing in the water of the Gulf of Aden on Monday at 22:45 p.m. local time (1905 GMT) when it was waylaid by pirates in their first night time attack against an Iranian vessel cruising in the Gulf of Aden, Mehr news agency reported on Thursday.The vessel got away unscathed after a series of chase and escape attempts, which lasted for nearly two hours, and all the crew on board of the Iranian ship are reported to be in complete health, the report said.It was the 31st reported attack on an Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Aden and the first such attempt in 2011.According to Jamal Mayahi, the technical Director of National Iranian Tanker Company, the ship is now on its way to Egypt, where it is expected to make a port call and to unload its cargo.In July, Somali pirates failed in their previous attempt to hijack an Iranian vessel carrying crude oil to Spain en route the Bab ...

NATO Shipping Center launches a Piracy Alert Map NATO Shipping Center has launched a new initiative on the NSC webpage. The so-called "Alert Map" will make the work of Masters and Company Security Officers (CSO) easier when they have to choose routes through the pirate infested waters. The "Alert Map" can be foundon the Operation Ocean Shield subpage, and on there will be posted the latest piracy relatedalerts, in co-operation with MSCHOA.This geographical presentation of the alerts makes it easier for shipowners, operators and charterers to get an overview of the situation in the Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin and NW Indian Ocean, asit will contain the latest week to 10 days of piracy activity, making it easier to see the hotspots on the map.The map reflects all piracy events dating back to and including 2008, and will be updated on normal work days; To see the latest updated version click here.Source: NATO Shipping Center