Tag: maritime piracy

Joint efforts of littoral states around the Somalia Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Wednesday that the piracy in Arab Sea could be reduced by the participation of littoral states to guard the shipping lane in the waters.The statement came after a series of hijackings of international commercial ships, including one from Indonesia, by Somalian pirates when they passed the lane, despite presence of multi-national troops.The minister cited as example the participation of three littoral states, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in successfully securing the Malaka Straits from piracy years ago."Currently, it is likely lacking of joint efforts of littoral states around the Somalia," he said at the Jakarta Convention Center here.Indonesia has released 20 of its citizen from the hostages of Somalian pirates recently and now is struggling to free 13 of its other citizen pirated after the release of the 20."We insisted to free the 13 of our citizens. We will cooperate with the government of Singapore to release them," said Natalegawa.The 13 Indonesian sailors onboard Singaporean ship MT Gemini were held hostage by Somali pirates in Somalian waters during its sailing to Kenya. Source: Xinhua

A boarding party has now confirmed that the pirates have left A Cosco bulker has survived a scrape with Somali pirates almost two years after being involved in a high-profile casualty off Norway.The Full City grounded on the rocks off Langesund, spilling oil in 2009.Armed pirates using two skiffs attacked the 26,800-dwt Full City early this morning in the Southern Arabian Sea, sources say.They managed to board the vessel and there were some suggestions the ship had been hijacked.Indian, Chinese and NATO warships raced to the scene and a boarding party has now confirmed the pirates have left.The Full City was en route from Jeddah to India when the attack took place.The 1995-built bulker made headlines in the summer of 2009 after running aground off Norway.An estimated 300 tonnes of fuel oil was spilled in the accident after it dragged its anchor while sheltering from a storm.The master was sentenced to six months in jail for his role in the saga.Source: Tradewinds

Aims to put security personnel on board every ship passing through somalian waters Indonesia is exploring various possibilities to ensure the security of Indonesian-flagged ships passing through Somalian waters following the recent piracy incident including the possibility of stationing a command ship in the region."A second possibility is putting security personnel on board every ship that will pass through Somalian waters," Military Chief Adm. Agus Suhartono said on Monday.He said these measures were not impossible to do but a thorough study had to be done before implementing them "such as regarding the frequency of Indonesian ships passing through Somalian waters or whether it is effective if we station a command ship with regard to the frequency or whether it is effective for us to station security personnel on every ship to pass there. These are things that we have to study first," he said.Regarding the possibility of Indonesia joining the Combined Task Force One Five One (CTF 151) led by Singapore, Agus said that he had already sent two middle-ranking officers in the CTF 151."The presence of the officers have been proven effective especially for securing Indonesian-flagged ships that pass the Somalian waters. Even they have intensively helped the officers ...

Piracy activity was low During the reporting period (21-28 Apr 2011) overall piracy activity was low. There were two attacks in the Somali Basin, one approach each in the southern Red Sea, and the Somali Basin.As a result of the successful disruption of one pirate mother ship dhow in the Arabian Sea, it is now assessed that there are probably no PAGs currently deployed in that region.However, based on the activities in the south, it is assessed that at least one dhow and another unknown PAG is operational in the southern Somali Basin east of the Seychelles. Gulf of Aden/Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) Pirate activities werelimited to one approach in the southern Red Sea during the last week, although we continue to assess that the IRTC is not pirate free. The judgment that pirate skiffs may blend into the local traffic and commence an attack at any time without any warning remains valid. Arabian Sea/Greater Somali Basin Although reduced to two attacks and one approach, the overall threat assessment for this area remains high. The current assessment is that there may no longer be any dhow PAGs active in the Arabian Sea. This situation could change rapidly, however, and ...

Ongoing processes Indonesia and Singapore are working together to free the MV Gemini, a vessel operated by Singapore-based Glory Ship Management, which was seized by Somalian pirates on Saturday while on its way to Kenya from Malaysia.We are cooperating with the Singaporean government so our sailors will be treated well, given protection and freed soon, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters as quoted by news portal Detik.com.Marty refused to explain in detail how the two countries are cooperating.There are ongoing processes and it is not a simple matter, he said.Glory Ship Management said in a statement on Sunday that pirates were believed to have seized the Singapore-registered MT Gemini and its more than 28,000 tons of crude palm oil.The ship had 25 crew members on board, including of 13 Indonesians, five Chinese, four South Koreans and three Myanmar citizens.Source: Jakarda Globe

26 April 2011 update EU Navfor has issued a press release concerning the estimated total number of hostages held and the total number of vessels under pirate control.To view the press release please click hereSource: EU NAVFOR

25 personnel on board On 30 April, the product tanker MV GEMINI was pirated approximately 180 NM East of Malindi, Kenya.The 20,989 tonne, Singaporian flagged and owned vessel was on its way to Mombasa (Kenya) from Kuala Tanjung (Malaysia) when it was attacked.The MV GEMINI has a crew of 25 (4 Korean, 13 Indonesians, 3 Mayanmar, 5 Chinese). There is no further information about the crew at present.The MV GEMINI was registered with MSC(HOA) and was reporting to UKMTO.EUNAVFOR are continuing to monitor the situation.Source: EU NAVFOR

Pirates used two skiffs A Singaporean chemical tanker has survived a holiday brush with pirates off Somalia.Shots were fired at the 33,374-dwt Atlantia on Easter Sunday as a gang looked to take control of the ship, TradeWinds has learned.Pirates used two skiffs to launch the attack which occurred half way between Somali and Madagascar, sources say.The vessel, owned by Glory Shipmanagement of Singapore, did not have armed guards on board but was able to survive the hit.It is not known how many crew members were on board the tanker or whether it was damaged during the incident.Source: Tradewinds

Ship is now sailing to a safe port On the 23rd April, the bulk carrier MV RENUAR was released from pirate control after 133 days in captivity.The Liberian owned, Panamanian flagged vessel and her crew of 24 Filipinos had been pirated on 11th December 2010, 550 nautical miles off the coast of India. She was on route to Fujairah (UAE) from Port Louis (Mauritius), when she was attacked.The ship is now sailing to a safe port.Source: EU NAVFOR

Carrying 24 crew members Somali pirates on Saturday released a Panama-flagged vessel carrying two dozen Filipino crew members, the Filipino government confirmed on Tuesday.The MV Renuar, a Panama-flagged and Liberian-owned bulk cargo vessel, was hijacked on December 11, 2010, about 1,050 nautical miles (1,944 kilometers) east of the Somali coastal village of Eyl, or about 550 nautical miles (1,018 kilometers) from the coast of India.The vessel was en-route to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates from Port Louis in Mauritius when it was taken over by a group of Somali pirates, who have together hijacked hundreds of vessels in recent years."The attack was launched from two attack skiffs, supported by a mother ship, with pirates firing small arms and rocket propelled grenades at the merchant vessel," EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) spokesman Per Klingvall said in December. "Since the attack, the pirates have confirmed that they have control of the ship which is now heading West towards the Somali Coast."The crew of 24, all whom are Filipino, had tried to evade the pirate attack for a while, but failed. Eventually, after several attempts, the pirates were able to board the vessel and take over the ship.A statement from the Department of ...