Tag: maritime piracy

Slowly and subtly political policies sometimes change, and it is necessary to keep a very sharp antenna tuned to the vibrations that emanate from the political classes, lest one be caught unawares.It was earlier this year, at the conference hosted by the British Government in London to discuss the various problems of Somalia, that the matter of ransoms was first obliquely touched on. Perhaps this had been prefaced by various noises hostile to ransom payment coming from Washington, but the inference has clearly been that the payment of ransoms to pirates for the return of captured ships has been merely fuelling the continuance of the problem, in the view of some officials.The message from the London conference was largely seen to be one of disapproval of the payment of ransoms, one that caused a certain amount of dismay in the maritime world, not least in those countries whose nationals have formed the largest part of the hostage "community". There is now concern that a task force on ransoms recently formed may be undertaking its work with the aim of making the payment of ransoms, if not illegal, at least more difficult, and the welfare of hostages thus put at risk ...

Company sent them into pirate-infested waters without adequate security Two seamen claim in Federal Court that Somali pirates held them hostage for eight months after their employers sent them into pirate-infested waters without adequate security.Bahri Chirag and Dangwal Sandeep sued Marida Tankers, Heidmar Inc., MT Marida Marguerite Schifffahrts and XYZ Ship Owner / Ship Employer on six claims, including negligence, unseaworthiness, and emotional distress. The men were second assistant engineers on the Marida Marguerite tanker, which is owned and managed by Marida Tankers and Heidmar."On or about May 8, 2010, the subject vessel was in the Gulf of Arden en route from Kandla, Gujarat to Antwerp, Belgium when Somali pirates hijacked the subject vessel," the complaint states.Chirag and Sandeep say they endured eight months of physical, mental abuse and torture while the owners of the ship negotiated for their release. The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 requires owners and operators of "vessels and facilities that the Secretary believes may be involved in a transportation security incident" to prepare a security plan "for deterring a transportation incident to the maximum practicable," the complaint states.But Chirag and Sandeep say the defendants failed to submit a security plan for normal scenarios, and ...

Satellites show that environmental conditions have limited recent pirate activity Piracy may be a topic of schoolboy adventure stories, but it's still a dangerous and costly problem for merchant shipping and tourism in some parts of the world. In the pirate-ridden waters of the Indian Ocean, satellites show that environmental conditions have limited recent pirate activity.Attacks and hijackings of ships by Somali pirates in waters off the Horn of Africa have sharply increased in recent years, and show no sign of waning.Somali pirates account for over half of attacks worldwide. But while the number of attacks per year continues to increase, 2011 saw a 40% drop in 'successful' attacks - or hijackings - compared to the previous year.The drop in successful attacks could be due to a number of factors such as increased security - but satellites show that climate is also controlling piracy.In a study by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) using information from ESA's GlobWave project, climate factors were examined alongside piracy in the Indian Ocean.GlobWave compiles satellite data on ocean waves. Satellites can help to forecast winds and waves, and can therefore indicate favourable conditions for pirate attacks.Owing to security problems in the region, no in ...

After being kept as hostages for 20 months South African and Italian couple held hostage for 20 months after being kidnapped by Somali pirates have been freed, Somalia's defense minister said Thursday. The couple was among the longest-held by Somali pirates.South African Deborah Calitz and Italian Bruno Pelizzari smiled but appeared exhausted at a news conference at the presidential palace in Mogadishu."We are very happy to get our freedom again," Calitz said, speaking haltingly. "We are so happy today and to join our families again."The two were kidnapped in October 2010 from a yacht off the southeastern coast of Africa. Their pirate captors originally demanded a ransom of $10 million.The couple's 20-month captivity is among the longest periods hostages have been held by pirates. When Somali pirates first began attacking ships off East Africa in about 2005, they attacked large container ships. But as those vessels improved their on-board defenses, pirates began attacking more vulnerable private yachts. An international flotilla of warships patrols waters off Somalia, leading to a decrease in pirate attacks over the last year.Somali Defense Minister Hussein Arab Isse credited Somali security forces with helping with the couple's release, but he did not say that the pair ...

Man accused of being Somali pirate but claims that pirates were using him as a translator A man accused of being one of the Somali pirates involved in the 71-day siege of a Danish ship in the Gulf of Aden can claim that the actual pirates were using him as a translator, a federal judge ruled.Pirate took over the M/V CEC Future on Nov. 7, 2008, while the ship was transporting cargo for Texas-based McDermott International. After using AK-47s, a rocket-propelled grenade and handguns to seize the vessel, the pirates held the cargo and 13 crew members as hostage for 71 days, until the ship's Danish owner, the Clipper Group, delivered a $1.7 million ransom.Ali Mohamed Ali, who faces charges of conspiracy, aiding and abetting, piracy, and hostage related to the incident, claims that he was as much a prisoner as the CEC Future's crew.Though Ali says pirates ordered him to board the Karagol and translate demands from their pirates to the Clipper Group, prosecutors say Ali negotiated a ransom of $1.7 million for the pirates and $75,000 for himself. In a heavily redacted ruling, U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle agreed to let Ali present evidence that could reveal his ...

An official from Google recently announced at a defense technology conference that his firm would soon roll out a feature that would allow any Internet user to track all ships at sea, including U.S. Navy warships, in real time. The Google official was angry that the navy itself did not have this capability. This shocked many in the audience and later embarrassed the Google official. Turns out that the navy has had this tracking capability since the 1980s, when it began equipping its ships with AIS (Automatic Identification System) transmitters that all large ships are required to carry in order to qualify for insurance.For more than a decade satellites have been used to more rapidly collect and distribute the AIS transmissions, making it easier for these large ships to be tracked. Shipping companies are the main users of this information. The U.S. Navy has used the AIS monitoring system since the 1980s.The navy, however, can turn off certain AIS information as needed. For example, the warships can only transmit location but not name of the ship. This tells mariners and others (like Google users and Somali pirates) with access to AIS information that a large ship is at a certain ...

n attempt by pirates to hijack an Iranian cargo vessel in waters South of India was foiled Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Moussavi said that the Iranian vessel came under attack by 8 pirate speedboats 90 miles South of India's Southern port city of Cochin.Moussavi stated that the Iranian naval forces' swift and timely action and heavy firepower forced the pirates to flee the scene.The Iranian Navy dispatched several fleets of warships to the Gulf of Aden and North of the Indian Ocean to protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against pirates.The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.According to UN Security Council resolutions, different countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia against the pirates and even with prior notice to Somali government enter the territorial waters of that country in pursuit of Somali sea pirates.The Gulf of Aden - which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea - is an important energy corridor, particularly because Persian ...

Based on Crime, Trafficking and Networks book recently published The EU special envoy for Somalia is looking into a fresh report that pirates are in business with Italian gangsters on toxic waste.The Paris-based criminologist, Michel Koutouzis, who carries out investigations for the UN and for EU institutions, described the problem in a new book - Crime, Trafficking and Networks - published in May.He said organised crime groups in south Italy - the Camorra, 'Ndranghetta and La Sacra Corona Unita - supply Somalian warlords with black market small arms from the Western Balkans in return for permission to dump waste."Tonnes of waste are discharged every year off the coasts of Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea under the noses of countless warships which control sea freight in the Read Sea and the Gulf of Aden," he explained.He noted that part of the income - worth "hundreds of millions of euros a year" - is laundered via the tourist industry in Kenya and Tanzania.He added the practice has been going on for years: a UN report in 2005 said the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami broke up deposits of lead, cadmium and mercury as well as hospital and chemical waste, which washed up on the ...

IMB says Pirates armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades shot a liquefied natural gas tanker off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, the International Maritime Bureau's anti-crime arm said."Pirates in a dhow armed with guns and RPG fired upon a LNG tanker under way. The dhow closed to 50 meters from the ship and fire shots of which three hit the vessel," according to the IMB piracy report.It said the ship was not boarded by the pirates but did not say whether it was hit by any grenades.Although relatively low-lying crude oil tankers have been targets of piracy and at least one has been hijacked, so far no high-sided LNG tankers are known to have been pirated.The report does not say which tanker was involved but the incident took place on a route mainly sailed by Qatari LNG tankers taking fuel to Europe.Source: Reuters

EU commander states The number of successful Somali pirate attacks has fallen but international navies must not drop their guard and keep up the pressure, the commander of the EU mission said Tuesday.British Rear Admiral Duncan Potts warned that the gains made against pirates off the Horn of Africa were reversible and that the fight against piracy would only succeed once governance and security improve in Somalia."Yes we have increased the pressure on the pirates but I think now that we are enjoying tactical success, the importance is increasing that pressure evermore," Potts told a news conference in Brussels.The European Union handed the admiral new powers this year to destroy pirate equipment stashed on beaches, a tactic he used only once so far last month when a helicopter gunship struck a stockpile of skiffs in central Galmudug region.The number of successful pirate actions began to fall last year.Pirates hijacked 28 vessels in the first half of 2011 and only three in the second half. They have successfully attacked five ships so far this year.Seven commercial ships and 213 sailors are in pirate hands compared to 20 vessels and 550 hostages a year ago.Meanwhile, 1,009 pirates are facing prosecution in 20 ...