Tag: maritime piracy

Somali pirate negotiator receives 12 life sentences in U.S. court

Captain Describes Time as Somali Pirate Hostage

Amid Rise in Piracy When the United Nations advocates the protection of the world's oceans, its political agenda transcends the battle against marine pollution, global warming, overfishing, greenhouse gases and sea-level rise."We are also talking of high seas piracy and growing conflicts over maritime boundaries," says one U.N. official.And as piracy continues to be on the rise, the United Nations is now pushing for a summit meeting of West African leaders aimed at thwarting high seas crimes in the Gulf of Guinea.Supported by the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the meeting is to take place before the end of this year.A U.N. assessment mission on piracy, whose members visited Benin, Nigeria, Gabon and Angola late last year, recommended that a summit meeting on maritime security be convened "as soon as possible to develop a comprehensive strategy" against high seas crimes.According to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), incidents of piracy rose from 45 in 2010 to 64 last year.The concern over maritime security comes amid a growing dispute between China and its neighbours over claims in the South China Sea involving the Paracel and Spratly Islands.Abdel Fatau Musah, director of political affairs at ECOWAS, points out that the ...

Australia helps tackle piracy in the Indian Ocean Australia is to provide another $2 million to help tackle piracy in the Indian Ocean. Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Australia would also extend the secondment of an Australian Federal Police officer to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).Senator Carr said Somali piracy in the Indian Ocean was a serious international threat.As of late May this year, 13 vessels and about 280 crew members were being held hostage by Somali pirates who had demanded ransoms of millions of dollars."Pirate groups move regularly and use hostages and locals as human shields to protect themselves and extract ransom payments," he said in a statement."This puts Australians at risk, including seafarers crewing foreign-owned ships or Australian tourists on pleasure craft or cruise ships. It impacts on international trade and tourism and undermines regional development efforts."Senator Carr said since 2009 Australia had been supporting the UNODC with funding from AusAID to build the capacity of states in the Indian Ocean region to detain and prosecute piracy suspects.This work has so far delivered 18 trials and 14 cases involving about 260 suspects.He said the additional $2 million would further strengthen the rule of law ...

Second Officer Bokhari During a hijacking that lasted 51 days, life on board ship for Second Officer Bokhari was "like a hell." Because of the conditions in which he was forced to live, he lost all his hair. Many victims of piracy continue to experience physical and mental effects long after attacks.

Captain Itma was Managing Director of Global West Vessel Specialist Limited Captain Romeo Itima has been killed by suspected sea pirates on Tuesday. Captain Itma was Managing Director of Global West Vessel Specialist Limited, an oil bunkering surveillance company owned by ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo.The company was contracted by the Federal Government to provide security and monitor the nation's coastal waters against oil thieves.It was gathered that master mariner, Itima, who was in pursuit of oil thieves in Escravos , area of Warri Pilotage District, was killed by suspected sea pirates on Tuesday.A source told Vanguard, "The team from Global West Vessel Specialist did not know that they were sea pirates in the ship and were approaching the vessel in the course of their duty, when the pirates opened fire on them."Itima did not die immediately, as the company's boat was bullet proof, but the pirates shattered the windscreen of the boat, which forced them to make a detour and crashed into stone breaker. Unfortunately, there was rough tide at that time, which swept away the boat and caused his death," the source said.The family in a statement by Captain Winifred Itima, said, "His death occurred during an ...

Any armed attack on a U.S. vessel can be considered piracy After a federal appeals court ruled that an armed attack on a U.S. vessel can be considered piracy even if no one boards or robs the ship, five Somali men are again facing piracy charges.The men originally had the piracy charges dismissed by a federal judge because they never boarded or robbed the USS Ashland.The men previously pleaded innocent, arguing they were ferrying refugees when they came upon the ship in the Gulf of Aden in 2010.A federal grand jury returned an indictment with the new charges Wednesday. The U.S. Attorney's Office says the new indictment adds allegations that three of the defendants also went to sea to capture another vessel but were intercepted by the Royal Navy.If convicted, they face a mandatory life sentence.Source: Washington Post

There has been no successful hijack since June 19 Pirate attacks off Somalia dropped to zero for the first full month since the menace emerged more than five years ago, new figures show.There has been no successful hijack since June 19, when a fishing dhow was seized, and no ship has been fired upon or a boarding attempted since June 26, when a Maltese-flagged cargo ship was attacked, according to data from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).It marks the longest unbroken stretch of peaceful transit through the waters offSomalia, and was attributed to the increased use of armed guards on ships, international naval patrols, and bad weather."This is traditionally a quiet time for pirate attacks, but there has always been at least a handful of incidences even during the monsoon months of July and August," said Cyrus Mody at the IMB's London office."However since June 26 this year, we have seen no activity whatsoever in the southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Arabia or the Somali Basin."It's the first time we've had a full month where nothing's happened since before Somali piracy really grew into a major problem in 2007."The pirates' temporary disappearance comes on the ...

Each in prison for hijacking Sri-Lanka fishing trawler almost three years ago A Kenyan court on Wednesday sentenced seven Somali pirates to 20 years each in prison for hijacking Sri-Lanka fishing trawler almost three years ago.The suspects - Barre Ali Farah, Abdi Mohammed, Ali Hussein Hassan, Abdulkarim Nur Shire, Bashir Mohammed Ehmi, Abdulrazak Abdullahi Ali and Abdulfaruk Hussein Ali - sat pensively in a Mombasa court as the interpreter read them their sentence.Mombasa's Senior Resident Magistrate Joyce Gandani who made the ruling noted that piracy was on the rise and that the punishment would serve as a deterrent to others intending to commit similar offenses."I have considered the mitigation by your lawyer on Monday. However the court takes note that piracy has been on the increase in the international seas," said Gandani."The act of piracy has adversely affected the security and the trade of not only our country but the entire region," the magistrate ruled.The magistrate in her ruling also considered the four years the pirates had been remanded at Shimo la Tewa prison in Mombasa.The pirates were arrested in October 2009 off the Gulf of Aden by Danish Naval Forces after they attempted to hijack a Sri-Lankan fishing trawler ...

Captain Sellathurai Mahalingam speaks As Captain, Sellathurai walked a fine line when protecting his crew during a pirate attack and subsequent hostage situation. Despite months of torture and mistreatment, he remains a ship captain to this day but navigates as far from the Somali coast as he can.