Tag: maritime piracy

Said US state secretary deputy assistant International community appreciates considerable role of Russian Navy in counter-piracy campaign, said US state secretary's deputy assistant Tomas Kelly saying that"we very much value Russian participation in the coalition".According to official figures, in the last year Russian warships escorted over 30 convoys through the Gulf of Aden with 168 vessels flying flags of 27 countries including 62 Russian-crewed ships. Security of 448 Russian citizens was ensured. Currently, anti-piracy watch off Somalia is kept by Northern Fleet (NF) destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov.Experts say actions taken against Somali pirates bring certain results. According to French defense ministry, only 200 pirate attacks were registered in 2011 comparing to 700 ones in 2010. Pirates managed to hijack only 13 commercial ships while in 2010 they captured up to 30 vessels.Director of the Atlantic Council research center Peter Pham considers armed security on board merchant ships has played a large part in reducing pirate attacks. Goal-oriented steps taken by commercial shipping companies hinder piracy in the region, pointed out Pham.However, in spite of all countermeasures, there are still many cases of piracy in the Indian Ocean, and demanded ransoms are permanently growing. According to American organization Oceans Beyond Piracy, ...

Chinese researchers say they can predict if a particular vessel with a specific cargo on a given area of ocean is likely to be targeted by pirates.Researchers in Hong Kong analyzing the incidence of maritime piracy during the last decade said they can even predict what degree of violence might be involved in an act of piracy.Writing in the International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, researchers said data from the ICC International Maritime Bureau allowed them to assess the type of criminal action that takes place, whether hijacking for ransom or direct theft, and to report on the approach taken by the pirates in terms of arms and violence.Bulk carriers, general cargo ships, container ships, chemical tankers and tankers were the most-frequently targeted vessels, accounting for more than three-quarters of all ships attacked during the 2002-2009 period, they said."In general, merchant ships are not designed or equipped to fend off pirates' attacks and thus they are susceptible to pirate activities, including boarding, hostage-taking and stealing cargo," the researchers wrote.While valuable cargoes, including gas, oil, rice and fishing products, are commonly targeted, whole vessels might also be hijacked and held for ransom. Kidnapping by pirates is also on the rise, ...

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre posted a Special Report on fishing activities off the southwest coast of India. With pirate attacks occurring more frequently in the central portion of the western Indian Ocean, merchant vessels are increasingly transiting closer to the southwest coast of India.This has resulted in more encounters between merchant vessels and local fishing vessels. If a fishing vessel believes that a merchant vessel is transgressing its fishing gear, the fishing vessel may sail toward the merchant vessel and sound the alarm.If persons on the merchant vessel mistake the fishing vessel's approach as a pirate attack, unfortunate consequences may ensue. A better understanding of the local fishing practices and procedures may reduce the number and seriousness of these encounters.For more information, click here.Source: ReCAAP

Pirate attacks are more frequent, violent and lucrative than ever Pirate attacks on commercial ships sailing Africa's east coast are more frequent, violent and lucrative than ever.Pirates took in an estimated $160 million in ransoms last year, and one study predicts the number will climb to $400 million by 2015, as the high seas thieves continue their brazen reign on the Indian Ocean. Efforts by shipping companies to beef up security, and by the European Union, which has mounted airstrikes on pirate ships, have so far been met with stepped-up attacks. Chillingly, pirates are now chopping off the limbs of captives in extreme cases when the airdrop of cash isn't made quickly enough to suit them."It's an established, structured model, where you have Somalis who are leading and financing operations and then you have pirates who actually go out to sea and conduct the activity," Brian Green, chief of the counter-piracy branch of the Office of Naval Intelligence, told FoxNews.com of the piracy industry. "They are, more or less, foot soldiers. They find targets of opportunity, attack them with the goal of hijacking and bringing that vessel back to Somalia."Piracy worldwide reached an all-time high in 2011, as 544 attacks ...

Business is booming for Somalia's pirates Pirates took in an estimated $160 million in ransoms last year, and one study predicts the number will climb to $400 million by 2015, as the high seas thieves continue their brazen reign on the Indian Ocean.Efforts by shipping companies to beef up security, and by the European Union, which has mounted airstrikes on pirate ships, have so far been met with stepped-up attacks."It's an established, structured model, where you have Somalis who are leading and financing operations and then you have pirates who actually go out to sea and conduct the activity," Brian Green, chief of the counter-piracy branch of the Office of Naval Intelligence, told FOXNews.com of the piracy industry.Piracy worldwide reached an all-time high in 2011, as 544 attacks against ships were reported to the International Maritime Organization, an increase of 11 percent from 2010.Nearly half occurred off East Africa, where Somali crews in small boats range hundreds of miles out into the Indian Ocean, boarding container ships sailing south toward the Mozambique Channel.Of the 17 hijackings reported to the International Maritime Bureau so far in 2012, a dozen have been off Somalia's coast.Typically, pirates board a ship, overpower the crew ...

As attacks intensify off Somali coast While much of the world's economy is in the doldrums, business is booming for Somalia's pirates, whose attacks on commercial ships sailing Africa's east coast are more frequent, violent and lucrative than ever.Pirates took in an estimated $160 million in ransoms last year, and one study predicts the number will climb to $400 million by 2015, as the high seas thieves continue their brazen reign on the Indian Ocean. Efforts by shipping companies to beef up security, and by the European Union, which has mounted airstrikes on pirate ships, have so far been met with stepped-up attacks. Chillingly, pirates are now chopping off the limbs of captives in extreme cases when the airdrop of cash isn't made quickly enough to suit them."It's an established, structured model, where you have Somalis who are leading and financing operations and then you have pirates who actually go out to sea and conduct the activity," Brian Green, chief of the counter-piracy branch of the Office of Naval Intelligence, told FoxNews.com of the piracy industry. "They are, more or less, foot soldiers. They find targets of opportunity, attack them with the goal of hijacking and bringing that vessel back ...

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Pirates on trial Pirates accused of kidnapping a British couple off Somalia could be hauled to the UK to stand trial.Paul and Rachel Chandler were seized from their yacht and held in Africa for a year before being freed after a ransom of up to 620,000 was reportedly paid.Now Government lawyers here are working with Interpol to arrest and extradite the Somali gang, who are in custody in neighbouring Kenya.It would be highly unusual for suspects to be extradited back to the UK for a crime committed overseas.But both the Home and Foreign Office are keen to take a firm stance on pirates running amok off east Africa.A source close to Paul, 61, and Rachel, 57, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: "The family have been told that officials are keen the kidnappers do not go unpunished."Paul and Rachel have doubts about whether the gang would ever be brought to justice if a trial went ahead in Africa."The men accused of being the armed bandits who boarded the Chandlers' boat near the Seychelles in 2009 are being tried in Kenya for an attack on a French ship.Paul has told MPs: "I'd like to see them prosecuted by the UK authorities."A Parliamentary ...

'Wave of piracy' could raise shipping costs by 150% over the coming years! A report by management consultancy AT Kearney and the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association has warned that a renewed 'wave of piracy' could raise shipping costs by 150% over the coming years.This potentially disastrous scenario could come to be if the current situation is allowed to continue. The report suggests that "piracy containment" could be achieved by a greater use of naval forces and an increase in the engagement of private security teams. This form of escalation would, however, cost the shipping industry up to twice what it is currently spending on private security.The report also hints at a 'permanent solution', ergo the stabilisation of the Somali economy. Said solution envisages an end to overfishing off the coast of Somalia and alternatives to piracy. Neither of these goals would cost the shipping community.The scenario in which piracy would be entirely eliminated from the Horn would require an international effort that drew on a number of players and would be dependent on the active involvement of countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Indeed the report cautioned that the role of GCC states would be critical.The report's ...

International community must help Somalia build its own security International forces cannot solve Somalia's security problems in the long term and the fragile country needs its own strong force to do the job, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday.Ban spoke spoke at a conference in Istanbul that aims to support Somalia in a transition process calling for a new constitution and parliament, and the election of a president, by Aug. 20. The Horn of Africa nation dissolved into anarchy in 1991 and has endured conflict and deprivation ever since. African Union troops have helped Somalia's transitional government in itsAyhan Arfat/Associated Press - In this Thursday, May 31, 2012 photo photo provided by Turkish Presidency Press Service, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul, right, and Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, second left, are seen during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. Ali said Thursday that his country has more to offer than pirates, militants and images of the hungry, and that Somalis can even teach the world a thing or twoWhile significant gains have been made in that fight, Ban said the international community must help Somalia build its own security apparatus, establish the rule of law and shed a pervasive culture of ...