Tag: maritime piracy

A Dhow was suspected of being used as a Pirate Action Group mothership During the afternoon of the 13 May, the EU NAVFOR French warship FS NIVÔSE disrupted a Dhow that was suspected of being used as a Pirate Action Group (PAG) mothership since it was pirated over a year ago.The Dhow, which is suspected of having carried out several recent attacks in the Arabian Sea and which still has her original crew on board as hostages, was spotted by an EU NAVFOR German Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) earlier the same day. Once identified, the Dhow was tracked by the MPRA which guided the FS NIVOSE into position.In the morning of 13 May, the French warship and her helicopter approached the suspected pirate dhow and ordered her to stop. During the approach, several weapons and two attack skiffs were seen on board the Dhow.As she was considered to pose a very real threat to merchant shipping in the area and after several verbal warnings, the FS NIVOSE was forced to fire warning shots at the Dhow in an attempt to get her to comply. The warning shots were also ignored but the Dhow changed course back toward Somalia.Concerns for ...

Unarmed measures such as safe rooms and security training On the day a South Korean ship was attacked by pirates, the Security Threats to Korean Business Operating Overseas conference, run by Assist Card Korea, heard evidence in support of intelligence-led protection and unarmed solutions to piracy from UK-based risk consultancy AKE Group.During the gathering of the biggest names in onshore business and shipping in Korea on 21 April 2011 the 75,000-ton Hanjin-owned Tianjin signalled an SOS to its owners in Seoul and the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs: it was under attack by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.The incident reflects an increase in piracy against South Korean vessels and highlights growing public support for armed solutions--as well as demonstrating the practical non-lethal methods that actually defused this attack.AKE Groups Andrew Kain, Richard Filon, Brittany Damora and Richard Mitchelson presented compelling evidence against armed guards, drawing on AKEs extensive operational experience with the shipping industry and analysis of piracy trends.Non-lethal techniques use intelligence to understand the modus operandi of pirates and their capabilities. Vessel hardening with wire and improvised tools, safe rooms to protect crew, security training and contingency plans come at minimal cost and promote risk-awareness. The ...

5-12 May 2011 During the reporting period (5-12 May 2011) there have been five attacks, three approaches and one suspicious incident in total. None of these events resulted in the seizure of a vessel.The location of the suspicious activity near to the coast of Iran could be assessed as an act of maritime crime committed by local copy cats. All activities in this period occurred in the Arabian Sea between 10 and 25N, 55 and 70E.Actions by coalition warships along the Somali coast focused on identified staging areas used by the pirates resulted in the disruption of three Pirate Attack Groups (PAG). FV JIH CHUN TSAI 68, and JELBUT 24 have been retaken from the pirates. FV PRANTALY 12, although still in pirate possession, is no longer in a seaworthy state and, according to a pirate statement, will be returned without ransom payment in due course.Despite coalition force activities, there are clear indications that the pirates are preparing to increase their activity and trying to penetrate the warship barrier. One vessel, Jelbut 33, although repeatedly relocated by patrol aircraft, managed to pass the warships undetected and is now operating in the area 20 to 25N and 60 to 65E.Based on ...

The boats are designed to combat criminal activities in the sea To combat piracy on Nigerian waters, the Nigerian Navy yesterday in Lagos launched three newly acquired Manta boats."The combat vessels have high speed and adequate firepower to address the challenges in the maritime sector."The boats are designed to combat criminal activities in the sea, especially criminals who attack ships, waylay fishing trawlers and make the waterways unsafe,' said Commodore Jonathan Ango.Ango, who is the Commanding Officer, Nigerian Nay Ship Beecroft, Apapa, said the combat boats would complement the existing ones.According to him, the combat boats will replace the over 30-year-old boats that had been deployed to fight piracy, illegal bunkering, and vandalism of oil platforms.He stated any attack on the waterways was an attack on the maritime interest of the nation.Ango said the three vessels would be deployed in Lagos, South-East and the Niger Delta.Source: Nigerian Observer News

In response to piracy attacks In response to piracy attacks that have occurred outside the previously defined pirate activity area, the Liberian Administration has revised the setting of MANDATORY SECURITY LEVEL II for all Liberian flagged vessels when transiting the Gulf of Aden and the High Risk Area (HRA) for piracy in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, effective immediately.For more detail in the original document click hereSource : LISCR

Discussion on counter piracy missions On 4 May, the United Kingdom Minister of Armed Forces (Min AF),Nick Harvey MP visited the Operational Headquarters in Northwood, London.Accompanying Minister Harvey were Henry Bellingham MP, Minister of Africa in the Foreign Office and Mike Penning MP, Minister of Shipping in the Department of Transport.The party received an Intelligence update, covering Piracy Threat and Evolution before going onto a round table discussion on Counter Piracy Missions, Military/Industri Activity and Co-operation.On completion of the discussions, the party received a tour of the Joint Operations Centre (JOC) and the Maritime Security Centre, Horn of Africa (MSCHOA).Throughout the visit the ministers were hosted by the Operation Commander, Major General Buster Howes, his Chief of Staff Colonel Richard Spencer and Policy Adviser Mrs Joanne Hamer.Source: EU NAVFOR

It avoided highly probable attacks on merchant and vulnerable vessels On 22 April, the EU NAVFOR French warship FS GUÉPRATTE was tasked to patrol the East coast of Somalia as part of her counter-piracy duties on Operation ATALANTA.During this patrol her helicopter spotted a boat heading east. The photographs revealed the vessel to be a fishing dhow that had been pirated over a year ago and which was suspected of being used as a mother ship for Pirate Action Groups (PAG).The vessel was carrying a fast attack skiff (used to attack merchant vessels) on her deck and was seen to have Rocket Propelled Grenades and small arms on board. She was suspected of carrying out a number of attacks on merchant vessels and had been used to resupply other pirate vessels in recent months.F/S Guepratte tracked the Dhow from a few miles away and monitored here activity until the next morning. At dawn on 23rd April, the French warship and her helicopter closed with the suspect vessel in attempt to stop her escaping to sea and posing a real threat to merchant vessels in the area. The dhow immediately altered its course and fled westwards back towards Somalia. The frigate ...

To negotitate over their demands Somali pirates, who have hijacked the vessel MV Asphalt Venture with 46 Indians on board, have offered to talk with the Indian government to negotiate over their demands, media reports claimed on Friday.As per reports, the pirates do not want to carry on any dialogue with the company and instead want to speak directly with the Government of India.The Somali pirates are pressing for the release of their accomplices, who are currently in the Indian jails following their arrests during the Indian Navy and Coast Guard operations in the Indian Ocean in the past few months.Earlier on Wednesday, government ruled out any possibility of holding talks with Somali pirates, and decided to "wait and watch" as ship owners continued to negotiate the release of the hostages.The decision was taken at an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), which met for the first time after being set up last month to deal with the problem.The meeting was of the view that the government should not negotiate with the pirates or enter into deals for release of crew on ransom, report said.The IMG, headed by Additional Secretary, Shipping, Vijay Chhibber, and including senior official from Ministries of External Affairs, Home ...

28 April - 5 May 2011 During the reporting period (28 April - 05 May 11) and compared to previous weeks, overall piracy activity slightly increased. In total, one MV was successfully pirated off the Kenyan coast.Additionally, there were two attacks in the Somali Basin East of 65 E, one approach off the coast of Oman, as well as two suspicious incidents in the Arabian Sea and one in the GOA respectively. Although two dhows have been successfully disrupted shortly after having left their anchorage, two dhows, one whaler PAG and the FV Jih Chun Tsai have been located by patrol aircraft underway on probable mother ship operations.Consequently it is now assessed that two dhow PAG are operating in the Arabian Sea one in the area between 17 and 23 degrees N and 57 and 63 degrees E and the second between 10 to 15 N and 65 to 70 E. Jih Chun Tsai, in company with Jelbut 33 remains in the area 5 to 10N and 50 to 55E on changing courses and giving no indication of their operational intentions.Jelbut 32 currently located in the area 0 to 5N and 50 to 55E on an easterly heading, might very ...

28 April 2011 Weekly Maritime Crime and Piracy Summary CARIBBEAN SEA:A RoRo was robbed 2 May 2011 at 0740 UTC while anchored inposition 09:58.6N - 083:01.0W at the Puerto Limon anchorage, Costa Rica. Ten robbersboarded the ship, tied up the crew, kicked them, and stole their personal property. The crewfreed themselves about 20 minutes after the robbers escaped with the stolen items.GULF OF GUINEA:Three crew members were kidnapped off a tug 1 May 2011 at1700 UTC while anchored in a position 20NM offshore from Bonny Island, Nigeria.Robbers used at least one speedboat to board the vessel. The robbers destroyed thecommunications equipment, stole the crew valuables, and seized three Nigerian nationalcrewmembers, to include the Master and First Mate. The other six crew members were leftonboard. (Commercial Sources)Two robbers attempted to board a tanker 29 April at 2255 UTCwhile at anchor in position 06:06N - 002:37E, approximately 22NM south of Porto Novo,Benin. Seven armed robbers approached the tanker in a boat. Two robbers tried to board thetanker from the fenders. After an alarm was raised, the robbers aborted the attack andtraveled toward Lagos, Nigeria. (IMB)INDIAN OCEAN:Cargo ship (ITAL GLAMOUR) was fired upon by one skiff with sixpirates onboard 4 May at 0432 ...