Via BBC News (March 23, 2012) -
The European Union has agreed to expand its mission against Somali pirates by allowing military forces to attack land targets as well as those at sea.
In a two-year extension of its mission, EU defence ministers agreed warships could target boats and fuel dumps.
The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner says the move is a significant step-up in operations, but one that also risks escalation.
Up to 10 EU naval ships are currently on patrol off the Horn of Africa.
They have policed shipping routes and protected humanitarian aid since 2008. The extension means they will stay until at least December 2014.
An EU official said the new mandate would allow warships or helicopters to fire at fuel barrels, boats, trucks or other equipment on beaches, according to Agence France-Presse.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo told reporters: "The EU plan is to allow attacks on land installations when ships are assaulted at sea," adding that "much care" would be taken to avoid civilian deaths.
Rear Admiral Duncan Potts, the operation commander for the EU Naval Force in Somalia, said it had already made considerable progress targeting the pirates at sea.
Showing posts with label Real Life Pirates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Real Life Pirates. Show all posts
Friday, March 23, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
U.S. Military Raid in Somalia Frees Dane, American
Via USA Today -
The Navy Seals that rescued two aide workers in Somalia were not dealing with al-Qaeda-linked militant groups but pirate-gangs that have been terrorizing the region kidnapping people and holding them for ransoms.
The raid under cover of darkness on Wednesday freed American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, a Dane, who were "on their way to be reunited with their families," the Danish Refugee Council said Wednesday.
President Obama authorized the mission by SEAL Team 6, the same unit that was behind the operation in Pakistan last May that killed Osama bin Laden.
One official who spoke on the condition he would remain anonymous told the Associated Press that the team parachuted into the area before moving on foot to the target. Nine kidnappers were killed. The raid happened near the Somali town of Adado.
The SEAL raid shows the the United States is "more willing to confront pirates than it has in the past," says Derek Reveron, a professor at the Naval War College.
It also suggests a growing willingness to use its special operations forces, which is riskier than drone strikes.
"Clearly it was a good target of opportunity," Reveron says. "But it also strikes me as pretty significant, parachuting SEALs into Somalia."
As large ships at sea have increased their defenses against pirate attacks, gangs have looked for other money making opportunities like land-based kidnappings.
It is not clear what impact the raid will have on piracy in the region.
But the number of successful pirate hijackings on shipping has dropped dramatically in 2011 in the Horn of Africa region. The number of successful pirate attacks fell to 24 last year, from 45 in 2010, according to NATO.
The Navy Seals that rescued two aide workers in Somalia were not dealing with al-Qaeda-linked militant groups but pirate-gangs that have been terrorizing the region kidnapping people and holding them for ransoms.
The raid under cover of darkness on Wednesday freed American Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, a Dane, who were "on their way to be reunited with their families," the Danish Refugee Council said Wednesday.
President Obama authorized the mission by SEAL Team 6, the same unit that was behind the operation in Pakistan last May that killed Osama bin Laden.
One official who spoke on the condition he would remain anonymous told the Associated Press that the team parachuted into the area before moving on foot to the target. Nine kidnappers were killed. The raid happened near the Somali town of Adado.
The SEAL raid shows the the United States is "more willing to confront pirates than it has in the past," says Derek Reveron, a professor at the Naval War College.
It also suggests a growing willingness to use its special operations forces, which is riskier than drone strikes.
"Clearly it was a good target of opportunity," Reveron says. "But it also strikes me as pretty significant, parachuting SEALs into Somalia."
As large ships at sea have increased their defenses against pirate attacks, gangs have looked for other money making opportunities like land-based kidnappings.
It is not clear what impact the raid will have on piracy in the region.
But the number of successful pirate hijackings on shipping has dropped dramatically in 2011 in the Horn of Africa region. The number of successful pirate attacks fell to 24 last year, from 45 in 2010, according to NATO.
Friday, January 6, 2012
U.S. Rescues Iranian Ship Held by Pirates
Via CBS News -
A U.S. Navy destroyer has rescued an Iranian fishing boat that had been commandeered by suspected pirates just days after Tehran warned the U.S. to keep its warships out of the Persian Gulf.
American forces flying off the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd responded to a distress call from the Iranian vessel, the Al Molai, which had been held captive for more than 40 days, the U.S. Navy said Friday. The Kidd was sailing in the Arabian Sea, after leaving the Persian Gulf, when it came to the sailors' aid.
A U.S. Navy team boarded the ship Thursday and detained 15 suspected Somali pirates. They had been holding the 13-member Iranian crew hostage and were using the boat as a "mother ship" for pirating operations in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commented on the rescue in an interview scheduled to air Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."
"It's what we do. And it's what we do in that part of the world. We get a distress call, as we did in this case, even though it came from an Iranian ship. When the pirates went after them, we respond to those calls," Panetta said. "We did what we have to do in that situation. I think it just sends an important message to the world that the United States is going to abide by international rules and international order, and that's exactly what we did here."
In the same interview, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the suspected pirates surrendered without incident.
"I think in the face of the overwhelming combat power that was presented the pirates made the right decision," he said.
Amid escalating tensions with Tehran, the Obama administration reveled in delivering the news.
"This is an incredible story. This is a great story," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, explaining that the very same American ships the Islamic republic protested for recently traveling through the Strait of Hormuz were responsible for the Iranian vessel's recovery.
"They were obviously very grateful to be rescued from these pirates," Nuland said.
------------------------------------------------------------
Iran welcomes U.S. rescue of Iranian fishermen
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/07/world/meast/iran-us-navy-rescue/index.html
A U.S. Navy destroyer has rescued an Iranian fishing boat that had been commandeered by suspected pirates just days after Tehran warned the U.S. to keep its warships out of the Persian Gulf.
American forces flying off the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd responded to a distress call from the Iranian vessel, the Al Molai, which had been held captive for more than 40 days, the U.S. Navy said Friday. The Kidd was sailing in the Arabian Sea, after leaving the Persian Gulf, when it came to the sailors' aid.
A U.S. Navy team boarded the ship Thursday and detained 15 suspected Somali pirates. They had been holding the 13-member Iranian crew hostage and were using the boat as a "mother ship" for pirating operations in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta commented on the rescue in an interview scheduled to air Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."
"It's what we do. And it's what we do in that part of the world. We get a distress call, as we did in this case, even though it came from an Iranian ship. When the pirates went after them, we respond to those calls," Panetta said. "We did what we have to do in that situation. I think it just sends an important message to the world that the United States is going to abide by international rules and international order, and that's exactly what we did here."
In the same interview, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the suspected pirates surrendered without incident.
"I think in the face of the overwhelming combat power that was presented the pirates made the right decision," he said.
Amid escalating tensions with Tehran, the Obama administration reveled in delivering the news.
"This is an incredible story. This is a great story," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, explaining that the very same American ships the Islamic republic protested for recently traveling through the Strait of Hormuz were responsible for the Iranian vessel's recovery.
"They were obviously very grateful to be rescued from these pirates," Nuland said.
------------------------------------------------------------
Iran welcomes U.S. rescue of Iranian fishermen
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/07/world/meast/iran-us-navy-rescue/index.html
A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, had positive words about the rescue when he spoke Saturday to the Arabic news network Al-Alam.
"Rescuing Iranian sailors by the U.S. was a humanitarian act and we welcome such acts," he said. "The Iranian Navy also engages in such rescue operations. It is the responsibility of all nations to rescue nationals from other countries from pirates."
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Piracy: Prepare to Repel Boarders
Via The Economist -
SomaliS pirates can be persistent. They have attacked the Maersk Alabama, a container ship owned by an American subsidiary of Denmark’s Maersk Line, no fewer than five times, most recently in May. In the first attack, in 2009, the captain was held hostage until the US Navy rescued him. Then Maersk put private armed guards on the ship. Since then, it has successfully repelled all boarders.
Maersk says it is only arming a few ships plying the pirate-infested waters off East Africa. But the practice is spreading rapidly among shipping firms despite the cost, which can run to $100,000 per voyage for a four-man team. That is because the number of attacks, off Somalia and elsewhere, has kept growing despite the strengthening of naval patrols (see chart). The European Union’s NAVFOR task-force, NATO warships and other navies patrol the waters off Somalia, but this has only pushed the pirates out into the open ocean, extending their attack zone towards India’s coast and as far south as Mozambique’s. This has forced the shipping industry, its insurers, and the national and international authorities that oversee them to accept that private armed guards are a necessity.
[...]
Until February the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents the world’s merchant shipowners, opposed the use of armed guards—even as some members were discreetly hiring them. Since the chamber changed its line, the number of owners tooling up has accelerated. Now, says Simon Bennett, its spokesman, perhaps 20% of all ships passing through the risky parts of the Indian Ocean have armed guards aboard—typically retired marines or the like.
In recruiting armed security men, some shipowners have defied the laws of the countries where their vessels are registered. But governments, unable to provide the naval cover the shipowners want, are one by one legalising the practice. Spain, one of the earliest to let its fishing-boats carry armed guards, said on September 27th that they would now be allowed to use machineguns and other heavy weapons against the pirates’ AK-47s.
Some countries, such as America and Denmark, have introduced licensing schemes for owners who want to arm their ships. Britain is among those still considering legalisation, and Greece’s shipping industry is pressing its government to do likewise. The UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO), while still not endorsing the practice, last month asked Somalia’s neighbours to let armed merchant ships call at their ports. The ICS says it understands Egypt is to lift its ban on armed merchant ships’ passage through the Suez canal. But the Indian government is still said to disapprove of armed merchant ships calling at its ports: their guards either have to go elsewhere or dump their weapons overboard.
[...]
There do not yet seem to have been any claims, or lawsuits, over the use of armed ship guards, says Tom Heinan of International Registries (which runs the Marshall Islands’ shipping register). But shipowners using them could face legal action in various places: their own country, the flag state of their ship, the home countries of injured crewmen, and so on. All the more reason to ensure that the guards are competent and well-insured.
SomaliS pirates can be persistent. They have attacked the Maersk Alabama, a container ship owned by an American subsidiary of Denmark’s Maersk Line, no fewer than five times, most recently in May. In the first attack, in 2009, the captain was held hostage until the US Navy rescued him. Then Maersk put private armed guards on the ship. Since then, it has successfully repelled all boarders.
Maersk says it is only arming a few ships plying the pirate-infested waters off East Africa. But the practice is spreading rapidly among shipping firms despite the cost, which can run to $100,000 per voyage for a four-man team. That is because the number of attacks, off Somalia and elsewhere, has kept growing despite the strengthening of naval patrols (see chart). The European Union’s NAVFOR task-force, NATO warships and other navies patrol the waters off Somalia, but this has only pushed the pirates out into the open ocean, extending their attack zone towards India’s coast and as far south as Mozambique’s. This has forced the shipping industry, its insurers, and the national and international authorities that oversee them to accept that private armed guards are a necessity.
[...]
Until February the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents the world’s merchant shipowners, opposed the use of armed guards—even as some members were discreetly hiring them. Since the chamber changed its line, the number of owners tooling up has accelerated. Now, says Simon Bennett, its spokesman, perhaps 20% of all ships passing through the risky parts of the Indian Ocean have armed guards aboard—typically retired marines or the like.
In recruiting armed security men, some shipowners have defied the laws of the countries where their vessels are registered. But governments, unable to provide the naval cover the shipowners want, are one by one legalising the practice. Spain, one of the earliest to let its fishing-boats carry armed guards, said on September 27th that they would now be allowed to use machineguns and other heavy weapons against the pirates’ AK-47s.
Some countries, such as America and Denmark, have introduced licensing schemes for owners who want to arm their ships. Britain is among those still considering legalisation, and Greece’s shipping industry is pressing its government to do likewise. The UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO), while still not endorsing the practice, last month asked Somalia’s neighbours to let armed merchant ships call at their ports. The ICS says it understands Egypt is to lift its ban on armed merchant ships’ passage through the Suez canal. But the Indian government is still said to disapprove of armed merchant ships calling at its ports: their guards either have to go elsewhere or dump their weapons overboard.
[...]
There do not yet seem to have been any claims, or lawsuits, over the use of armed ship guards, says Tom Heinan of International Registries (which runs the Marshall Islands’ shipping register). But shipowners using them could face legal action in various places: their own country, the flag state of their ship, the home countries of injured crewmen, and so on. All the more reason to ensure that the guards are competent and well-insured.
Monday, March 14, 2011
India Seizes 61 Pirates After Gunfight in the Arabian Sea
Via Telegraph UK -
The operation is one of the most successful since Somalian pirates escalated their campaign of extortion and kidnap on the Indian Ocean two years ago. The Indian authorities have yet to disclose the nationality of the suspects but they are believed to be from either Somalia or Yemen.
They were arrested after an Indian naval ship closed in on a hijacked fishing vessel just under 700 miles off the Kerala coastal port of Cochin. The boat was carrying 61 suspected pirates and 13 of the boat's crew who had been held captive.
The suspected pirates had hijacked the boat, the Mozambique-flagged Vega 5 in December last year and had since used it as a base for attacks on other ships.
They were finally caught on Sunday after they opened fire on the approaching Indian naval ship. They were forced to jump overboard when their own vessel was set ablaze caught fire in fierce retaliatory fire from the Indian ship. The 13 original crew members were freed in the raid. Indian officials said they found 80 to 90 small arms or rifles and some heavy weapons on the fishing vessel.
The number of pirate attacks and the scale of their demands has increased singnificantly in recent months. More than 660 people are currently believed to be held hostage in pirates from raids on 30 ships.
India has intensified its operations against pirates in the Indian Ocean. It arrested 28 pirates last month and 15 in January.
The operation is one of the most successful since Somalian pirates escalated their campaign of extortion and kidnap on the Indian Ocean two years ago. The Indian authorities have yet to disclose the nationality of the suspects but they are believed to be from either Somalia or Yemen.
They were arrested after an Indian naval ship closed in on a hijacked fishing vessel just under 700 miles off the Kerala coastal port of Cochin. The boat was carrying 61 suspected pirates and 13 of the boat's crew who had been held captive.
The suspected pirates had hijacked the boat, the Mozambique-flagged Vega 5 in December last year and had since used it as a base for attacks on other ships.
They were finally caught on Sunday after they opened fire on the approaching Indian naval ship. They were forced to jump overboard when their own vessel was set ablaze caught fire in fierce retaliatory fire from the Indian ship. The 13 original crew members were freed in the raid. Indian officials said they found 80 to 90 small arms or rifles and some heavy weapons on the fishing vessel.
The number of pirate attacks and the scale of their demands has increased singnificantly in recent months. More than 660 people are currently believed to be held hostage in pirates from raids on 30 ships.
India has intensified its operations against pirates in the Indian Ocean. It arrested 28 pirates last month and 15 in January.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Somalia: Piracy’s Terrorism Nexus Revealed
Via informationdissemination.net -
First, let me caveat this post that news sources out of Somalia are notoriously unreliable. Anything coming out of Southern Somalia is suspect as al Shabaab owns the media and uses it as their own propaganda arm. There has been OSINT reporting of indirect coordination between al Shabaab and pirates before and much of this nexus has been overstated. But this reporting (and similar recent stories) seems credible and should be a concern to those who still argue that piracy is little more than a nuisance to shipping companies. A 10-20% piece of the total 2010 piracy haul would amount to 20-40 million USD added to al Shabaab’s coffers for 2011 if piracy trends continue unabated.
Shaking down clans, other militant groups, and the general population for revenue is par for Shabaab’s course. With a number of diverse revenue sources, some involving maritime trade,
al Shabaab has become the richest of the Al Qaeda affiliates (and yes, they are al Qaeda). Many of AQ’s traditional funding sources for have dried up. Yet terrorism remains an economy of force tactic, so a few million distributed between affiliates here and there is sufficient to sustain the global jihaadi movement. Chalk up another reason to develop a more aggressive, coherent, and decisive campaign against piracy (and needless to say, al Shabaab).
First, let me caveat this post that news sources out of Somalia are notoriously unreliable. Anything coming out of Southern Somalia is suspect as al Shabaab owns the media and uses it as their own propaganda arm. There has been OSINT reporting of indirect coordination between al Shabaab and pirates before and much of this nexus has been overstated. But this reporting (and similar recent stories) seems credible and should be a concern to those who still argue that piracy is little more than a nuisance to shipping companies. A 10-20% piece of the total 2010 piracy haul would amount to 20-40 million USD added to al Shabaab’s coffers for 2011 if piracy trends continue unabated.
Shaking down clans, other militant groups, and the general population for revenue is par for Shabaab’s course. With a number of diverse revenue sources, some involving maritime trade,
al Shabaab has become the richest of the Al Qaeda affiliates (and yes, they are al Qaeda). Many of AQ’s traditional funding sources for have dried up. Yet terrorism remains an economy of force tactic, so a few million distributed between affiliates here and there is sufficient to sustain the global jihaadi movement. Chalk up another reason to develop a more aggressive, coherent, and decisive campaign against piracy (and needless to say, al Shabaab).
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Somali Pirates' Eastward Expansion
STRATFOR - Video Dispatch
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20101206_dispatch_somali_pirates_eastward_expansion
CFR - Smarter Measures in Fight against Piracy
http://www.cfr.org/publication/23611/smarter_measures_in_fight_against_piracy.html
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20101206_dispatch_somali_pirates_eastward_expansion
CFR - Smarter Measures in Fight against Piracy
http://www.cfr.org/publication/23611/smarter_measures_in_fight_against_piracy.html
Monday, November 15, 2010
Rule #1 for Pirate Hostages: Don’t Get Stoned
Via Wired.com (Danger Room) -
Don’t get high, don’t piss anyone off, and try to smile every once in a while: These are just some of the handy tips that can help you make your captivity in the hands of Somali pirates more enjoyable.
The waters around the Horn of Africa are getting more dangerous for seafarers. Hijackings by Somali piratesshootouts with mercs and hijack attempts against warships continue and pirates are holding hostages for as long as 13 months. EU Navfor, the European Union’s naval forces countering piracy off the coast of Somalia, has responded to this crisis with a handy pamphlet, “Surviving Piracy Off the Coast of Somalia,” containing all the wisdom you need to make the most of your captivity. are on the upswing this year, deadly
One tip from elementary school is particularly helpful: Just say no to drugs. Khat is a leaf with amphetamine-like effects common in Somalia, particularly among pirates, and may be available to you while detained on board your captured ship. Though borrowing from your captors’ stash may provide you with some “temporary relief” from the drudgery of captivity, it can bad for your health in the form on an acute pirate beatdown. The “negative effects of withdrawal symptoms and increased tension due to cravings,” the pamphlet warns, can irritate your pirate hosts and result in “unnecessary violence.” In other words, nobody likes a cranky junky, particularly not pirates, so be smart and politely decline if offered drugs.
Don’t get high, don’t piss anyone off, and try to smile every once in a while: These are just some of the handy tips that can help you make your captivity in the hands of Somali pirates more enjoyable.
The waters around the Horn of Africa are getting more dangerous for seafarers. Hijackings by Somali piratesshootouts with mercs and hijack attempts against warships continue and pirates are holding hostages for as long as 13 months. EU Navfor, the European Union’s naval forces countering piracy off the coast of Somalia, has responded to this crisis with a handy pamphlet, “Surviving Piracy Off the Coast of Somalia,” containing all the wisdom you need to make the most of your captivity. are on the upswing this year, deadly
One tip from elementary school is particularly helpful: Just say no to drugs. Khat is a leaf with amphetamine-like effects common in Somalia, particularly among pirates, and may be available to you while detained on board your captured ship. Though borrowing from your captors’ stash may provide you with some “temporary relief” from the drudgery of captivity, it can bad for your health in the form on an acute pirate beatdown. The “negative effects of withdrawal symptoms and increased tension due to cravings,” the pamphlet warns, can irritate your pirate hosts and result in “unnecessary violence.” In other words, nobody likes a cranky junky, particularly not pirates, so be smart and politely decline if offered drugs.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
UK Blocks Sanctions Against Suspected Somali Pirates
Via BBC (Aug 9, 2010) -
It's emerged that the British government is blocking a move at the UN to take action against two suspected pirate organisers.
This is despite tough British language condemning pirates and the paying of ransom, and its contribution of warships to the anti-pirate operation run by the EU, known as EU Navfor.
The EU operation has itself been reduced to near farce in the last week, with a Spanish ship having to send pirates back to Somalia, after catching them red-handed, because the problems of prosecuting them are too great.
A look first at the British position.
The Foreign Office in London confirmed a story in the Financial Times that the UK is blocking an American proposal to add the names of two alleged pirate leaders to a UN sanctions list.
[...]
The reason, I am told, is that the paying of ransom is not a criminal offence in the UK. This has made it possible for ransom to be paid for dozens of ships and their crews, and many of the negotiations go through London.
But, the argument is, if the suspected pirate leaders, named by the Foreign Office as Abshir Abdillahi and Mohamed Abdi Garaad (with numerous variants) are put on the UN sanctions list, then ransom in effect becomes an offence in the UK and might put an end to many ransom deals.
According to British officials Abdillahi and Garaad are "high-profile pirate leaders involved in hijacks in the Gulf of Aden".
Indeed, they are alleged to be so influential that almost all ransoms are said to involve them in some way.
[...]
Britain has applied the technical hold because it is under pressure from ship-owners and seafarers who prefer the present system. This system is basically one of doing business, not waging war. The ship is taken, negotiations take place, the money is paid and the ship and its crew are released.
[...]
Gavin Simmons of the London Chamber of Shipping told the FT: "To discontinue payments or make them illegal would jeopardise the safety of seafarers held captive."
This is something of an embarrassment to the British government. Foreign Office officials told me it was being discussed "at the highest level" and something might develop "in the next few months".
[...]
Pirates caught in the act cannot easily be prosecuted and in this case were simply sent back home.
Kenya has taken about 100 pirate suspects and has imprisoned about 20 of them. But Kenya is now threatening to withdraw its co-operation, saying that it is not being given enough support.
Both examples show how far the international community is from solving a problem that in the 19th Century would have been dealt with in somewhat shorter order.
---------------------------------------------
Beyond Kenya, there are other nations in the area that are working with the international community to jail pirates caught in the action - i.e. Seychelles.
But this latest technical hold by the British is an interesting Catch-22.
More and more ships are being armed with anti-pirate countermeasures (e.g. water cannons, armed guards while at sea, wire & railing protection, etc)...but at the same time, if a ship is hijacked, the ship-owners [understandably] want to pass the ransom and just get their crew back safely.
But as the anti-pirate measures increase, so do the actions of the pirates...and thus there is a greater chance of harm coming to the crew during the hijack. Therefore, at what point will companies decide enough is enough and stop paying. After two crew members are killed during each hijack attempt? Three? After more proof is found that groups are working with organized crime rings??
And without putting a clear legal framework in place now for holding and jailing these pirates...how can we move forward after that threshold is reached?
It's emerged that the British government is blocking a move at the UN to take action against two suspected pirate organisers.
This is despite tough British language condemning pirates and the paying of ransom, and its contribution of warships to the anti-pirate operation run by the EU, known as EU Navfor.
The EU operation has itself been reduced to near farce in the last week, with a Spanish ship having to send pirates back to Somalia, after catching them red-handed, because the problems of prosecuting them are too great.
A look first at the British position.
The Foreign Office in London confirmed a story in the Financial Times that the UK is blocking an American proposal to add the names of two alleged pirate leaders to a UN sanctions list.
[...]
The reason, I am told, is that the paying of ransom is not a criminal offence in the UK. This has made it possible for ransom to be paid for dozens of ships and their crews, and many of the negotiations go through London.
But, the argument is, if the suspected pirate leaders, named by the Foreign Office as Abshir Abdillahi and Mohamed Abdi Garaad (with numerous variants) are put on the UN sanctions list, then ransom in effect becomes an offence in the UK and might put an end to many ransom deals.
According to British officials Abdillahi and Garaad are "high-profile pirate leaders involved in hijacks in the Gulf of Aden".
Indeed, they are alleged to be so influential that almost all ransoms are said to involve them in some way.
[...]
Britain has applied the technical hold because it is under pressure from ship-owners and seafarers who prefer the present system. This system is basically one of doing business, not waging war. The ship is taken, negotiations take place, the money is paid and the ship and its crew are released.
[...]
Gavin Simmons of the London Chamber of Shipping told the FT: "To discontinue payments or make them illegal would jeopardise the safety of seafarers held captive."
This is something of an embarrassment to the British government. Foreign Office officials told me it was being discussed "at the highest level" and something might develop "in the next few months".
[...]
Pirates caught in the act cannot easily be prosecuted and in this case were simply sent back home.
Kenya has taken about 100 pirate suspects and has imprisoned about 20 of them. But Kenya is now threatening to withdraw its co-operation, saying that it is not being given enough support.
Both examples show how far the international community is from solving a problem that in the 19th Century would have been dealt with in somewhat shorter order.
---------------------------------------------
Beyond Kenya, there are other nations in the area that are working with the international community to jail pirates caught in the action - i.e. Seychelles.
But this latest technical hold by the British is an interesting Catch-22.
More and more ships are being armed with anti-pirate countermeasures (e.g. water cannons, armed guards while at sea, wire & railing protection, etc)...but at the same time, if a ship is hijacked, the ship-owners [understandably] want to pass the ransom and just get their crew back safely.
But as the anti-pirate measures increase, so do the actions of the pirates...and thus there is a greater chance of harm coming to the crew during the hijack. Therefore, at what point will companies decide enough is enough and stop paying. After two crew members are killed during each hijack attempt? Three? After more proof is found that groups are working with organized crime rings??
And without putting a clear legal framework in place now for holding and jailing these pirates...how can we move forward after that threshold is reached?
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Somali Pirate Cook Saves Hostages, Then Disappears
Via WBOC.com (TV16 - Maryland) -
The pirate cook smuggled food to the terrified hostages held by his gang off the Somali coast. He bought them cell phone cards. And when the pirates started talking about harvesting their organs for cash, he sneaked them guns.
The hostages killed the pirates and escaped. But now the life of the Somali cook, known only as Ahmed, is in danger. Despite actions the crew described as heroic, European Union nations, Syria and nearby Djibouti have all refused to take him, according to an official who was not authorized to talk.
Ahmed has since disappeared. It is thought to be the first time someone working for the pirates has turned against them to help hostages.
"Sending him back to (Somalia's) shore would be putting him to death for his compassion," said John S. Burnett, the author of "Dangerous Waters: Modern Piracy and Terrorism on the High Seas." ''This smacks of a bureaucratic bungle ... it's a line in the sand. No Somali pirate will ever risk showing any modicum of compassion again if he knows he's not going to get any help from the authorities."
[...]
The tale began Feb. 2, when the pirates hijacked the MV Rim, a Libyan-owned, North Korean-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.
[...]
During the first two months, the pirates gave food and water to the crew of one Romanian and nine Syrians. But when talks about the $300,000 ransom went nowhere, the pirates grew impatient. The crew got little food or water, Virgil Teofil Cretu, the 36-year-old Romanian crew member, said in an interview in Costanta, Romania.
Cretu, who as the coxswain had steered the ship, and the Syrian sailors drank rainwater and cooked rice in seawater. Their diet was augmented by whatever Ahmed could sneak to them.
[...]
Ahmed bought a SIM card to use in a cell phone the crew had hidden from the pirates, so the hostages could speak with relatives.
But the negotiations were not going well. No one from North Korea, Libya or Syria would agree to pay a ransom.
On June 2, Ahmed told the crew that the pirates had decided to kill them and harvest their organs to get some money out of the seajacking. Ahmed secretly passed the crew three Kalashnikovs. That's when "all hell broke loose," according to Cretu.
[...]
The crew started their engines and steamed away, pursued by more pirates in another hijacked vessel. The MV Rim's old engines stalled, but an EU Naval Force helicopter swooped down just before the pirates closed in, hovering between the two ships and buying precious minutes.
After the crew was taken off the MV Rim, the EU Naval Force let the ship drift in the Gulf of Aden. Cretu said the ship was to have been scrapped after delivering in India a load of kaolin, a soft white clay used in making porcelain and many other products.
Now the crew has gone home, but Ahmed is nowhere to be found. His last known location was the Dutch warship Johan de Witt.
"In my mind, cook Ahmed was an angel sent by God," said Cretu. "Without his intervention, without his courage, we would have been dead."
The EU Naval Force won't say if he was set ashore in Somalia - where he faced execution by pirates or clan members of the brigands who died - or sent away alone in a small boat to navigate the high seas at the beginning of monsoon season. EU Naval Force officials said they had investigated repatriation and migration options for Ahmed but would not give details.
[...]
"I owe my life to my Somali friend and I want to take him into my home if possible so he and his family can change their lives," said Cretu.
The pirate cook smuggled food to the terrified hostages held by his gang off the Somali coast. He bought them cell phone cards. And when the pirates started talking about harvesting their organs for cash, he sneaked them guns.
The hostages killed the pirates and escaped. But now the life of the Somali cook, known only as Ahmed, is in danger. Despite actions the crew described as heroic, European Union nations, Syria and nearby Djibouti have all refused to take him, according to an official who was not authorized to talk.
Ahmed has since disappeared. It is thought to be the first time someone working for the pirates has turned against them to help hostages.
"Sending him back to (Somalia's) shore would be putting him to death for his compassion," said John S. Burnett, the author of "Dangerous Waters: Modern Piracy and Terrorism on the High Seas." ''This smacks of a bureaucratic bungle ... it's a line in the sand. No Somali pirate will ever risk showing any modicum of compassion again if he knows he's not going to get any help from the authorities."
[...]
The tale began Feb. 2, when the pirates hijacked the MV Rim, a Libyan-owned, North Korean-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden.
[...]
During the first two months, the pirates gave food and water to the crew of one Romanian and nine Syrians. But when talks about the $300,000 ransom went nowhere, the pirates grew impatient. The crew got little food or water, Virgil Teofil Cretu, the 36-year-old Romanian crew member, said in an interview in Costanta, Romania.
Cretu, who as the coxswain had steered the ship, and the Syrian sailors drank rainwater and cooked rice in seawater. Their diet was augmented by whatever Ahmed could sneak to them.
[...]
Ahmed bought a SIM card to use in a cell phone the crew had hidden from the pirates, so the hostages could speak with relatives.
But the negotiations were not going well. No one from North Korea, Libya or Syria would agree to pay a ransom.
On June 2, Ahmed told the crew that the pirates had decided to kill them and harvest their organs to get some money out of the seajacking. Ahmed secretly passed the crew three Kalashnikovs. That's when "all hell broke loose," according to Cretu.
[...]
The crew started their engines and steamed away, pursued by more pirates in another hijacked vessel. The MV Rim's old engines stalled, but an EU Naval Force helicopter swooped down just before the pirates closed in, hovering between the two ships and buying precious minutes.
After the crew was taken off the MV Rim, the EU Naval Force let the ship drift in the Gulf of Aden. Cretu said the ship was to have been scrapped after delivering in India a load of kaolin, a soft white clay used in making porcelain and many other products.
Now the crew has gone home, but Ahmed is nowhere to be found. His last known location was the Dutch warship Johan de Witt.
"In my mind, cook Ahmed was an angel sent by God," said Cretu. "Without his intervention, without his courage, we would have been dead."
The EU Naval Force won't say if he was set ashore in Somalia - where he faced execution by pirates or clan members of the brigands who died - or sent away alone in a small boat to navigate the high seas at the beginning of monsoon season. EU Naval Force officials said they had investigated repatriation and migration options for Ahmed but would not give details.
[...]
"I owe my life to my Somali friend and I want to take him into my home if possible so he and his family can change their lives," said Cretu.
Monday, May 24, 2010
U.S. Destroyer Shadows Ship Under Pirate Control
Via CNN -
A U.S. destroyer is shadowing a ship off the coast of Somalia after it was taken over by 50 pirates, authorities said.
The M/V Iceberg was identified last week after the USS McFaul conducted a 36-hour surveillance mission, the multi-national Combined Maritime Forces said in a statement. The USS McFaul began shadowing the Panamanian-flagged vessel May 19 before the M/V Iceberg reversed course and began heading toward the Somali coast.
"We cannot be sure what the pirates' plan was if they had not been interrupted," said Rear Adm. Beom Rim Lee, commander of the Combined Maritime Forces task force.
"The vessel may have been on its way to either assist other pirates in distress, or look for another merchant vessel to attack," he said.
The M/V Iceberg was last been seen off the coast of the Somali town of Garacaad, a known pirate haven, but its exact location was unknown until USS McFaul positively identified it. "Further investigation showed the name of the ship had been crudely painted over" in an effort to disguise it, which caused confusion in identifying it, the Combined Maritime Forces statement said.
The USS McFaul had initially requested to board the ship to check on the crew. The M/V Iceberg denied it had been taken over, saying it was having mechanical difficulties. Eventually, crew members radioed back saying they had been taken hostage by heavily armed pirates, officials said.
The M/V Iceberg has a crew of 24 from Yemen, India, Ghana, Sudan, Pakistan and the Philippines, officials said.
A U.S. destroyer is shadowing a ship off the coast of Somalia after it was taken over by 50 pirates, authorities said.
The M/V Iceberg was identified last week after the USS McFaul conducted a 36-hour surveillance mission, the multi-national Combined Maritime Forces said in a statement. The USS McFaul began shadowing the Panamanian-flagged vessel May 19 before the M/V Iceberg reversed course and began heading toward the Somali coast.
"We cannot be sure what the pirates' plan was if they had not been interrupted," said Rear Adm. Beom Rim Lee, commander of the Combined Maritime Forces task force.
"The vessel may have been on its way to either assist other pirates in distress, or look for another merchant vessel to attack," he said.
The M/V Iceberg was last been seen off the coast of the Somali town of Garacaad, a known pirate haven, but its exact location was unknown until USS McFaul positively identified it. "Further investigation showed the name of the ship had been crudely painted over" in an effort to disguise it, which caused confusion in identifying it, the Combined Maritime Forces statement said.
The USS McFaul had initially requested to board the ship to check on the crew. The M/V Iceberg denied it had been taken over, saying it was having mechanical difficulties. Eventually, crew members radioed back saying they had been taken hostage by heavily armed pirates, officials said.
The M/V Iceberg has a crew of 24 from Yemen, India, Ghana, Sudan, Pakistan and the Philippines, officials said.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Russian Forces Storm Oil Tanker, Arrest Somali Pirates
Via Times Online UK -
Russian commandos dramatically rescued the crew of an oil tanker today that had been seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
Special forces marines stormed the Liberian-registered Moscow University and freed all 23 Russian crew members unharmed. One pirate was reported killed and ten others were arrested after a firefight during the dawn helicopter raid on the vessel, which is carrying 86,000 tonnes of oil worth $52 million (£34 million).
“During reconnaissance preceding the assault operation, the Russian sailors simultaneously used helicopters and speedboats while special forces covertly approached the tanker,” an unidentified Russian navy official told the Ria-Novosti news agency.
“The pirates on board the Moscow University tanker opened fire using small arms. One of them was shot during return fire.”
Russian commandos dramatically rescued the crew of an oil tanker today that had been seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
Special forces marines stormed the Liberian-registered Moscow University and freed all 23 Russian crew members unharmed. One pirate was reported killed and ten others were arrested after a firefight during the dawn helicopter raid on the vessel, which is carrying 86,000 tonnes of oil worth $52 million (£34 million).
“During reconnaissance preceding the assault operation, the Russian sailors simultaneously used helicopters and speedboats while special forces covertly approached the tanker,” an unidentified Russian navy official told the Ria-Novosti news agency.
“The pirates on board the Moscow University tanker opened fire using small arms. One of them was shot during return fire.”
Monday, May 3, 2010
Somali Pirates Move Hijacked Ships After Insurgents Seize Town
Via VOA News -
Somali pirates have moved three hijacked ships from the port of Harardheere, which was seized by Islamist militants on Sunday.
Witnesses say pirates sent the three ships farther out to sea as fighters from the insurgent group Hizbul Islam stormed into Harardheere, prompting pirates there to flee.
The destination of the ships is not known but many of the pirates have fled to another pirate stronghold, Hobyo, farther north on Somalia's eastern coast.
A spokesman for Hizbul Islam, Abdinasir Mohamed Afdhuub, says the group seized Harardheere to impose Islamic law.
However, pirates from the area say Hizbul Islam had demanded a cut of the pirates multi-million dollar business – hijacking ships for ransom.
[...]
Hizbul Islam and the insurgent group al-Shabab have been fighting the fragile Somali government for three years. The groups control large parts of southern and central Somalia and portions of the capital, Mogadishu.
Both have moved to enforce a harsh form of sharia, or Islamic law, in the areas under their control.
The groups were once allies but fell out last year in a dispute over another port town, Kismayo.
Somali pirates have moved three hijacked ships from the port of Harardheere, which was seized by Islamist militants on Sunday.
Witnesses say pirates sent the three ships farther out to sea as fighters from the insurgent group Hizbul Islam stormed into Harardheere, prompting pirates there to flee.
The destination of the ships is not known but many of the pirates have fled to another pirate stronghold, Hobyo, farther north on Somalia's eastern coast.
A spokesman for Hizbul Islam, Abdinasir Mohamed Afdhuub, says the group seized Harardheere to impose Islamic law.
However, pirates from the area say Hizbul Islam had demanded a cut of the pirates multi-million dollar business – hijacking ships for ransom.
[...]
Hizbul Islam and the insurgent group al-Shabab have been fighting the fragile Somali government for three years. The groups control large parts of southern and central Somalia and portions of the capital, Mogadishu.
Both have moved to enforce a harsh form of sharia, or Islamic law, in the areas under their control.
The groups were once allies but fell out last year in a dispute over another port town, Kismayo.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Kenya Ends Trials of Somali Pirates in its Courts
Via BBC -
The Kenyan government has said it will not accept any more seized Somali pirates to be tried in its courts.
It said the international community had not lived up to its promises to help Kenya with the "burden" of prosecuting and imprisoning pirates.
Kenya's foreign minister also said Nairobi was considering terminating an agreement with the EU to deal with pirates caught off the Horn of Africa.
Kenya currently holds more than 100 Somali pirates.
"For the last two weeks we have declined to accept captured pirates from some of our friendly countries and told them to try it elsewhere," Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula told reporters.
"We discharged our international obligation. Others shied away from doing so. And we cannot bear the burden of the international responsibility," the minister said.
With Kenya sitting on Somalia's southern border, the country has been on the front line in the fight against piracy, the BBC's Peter Greste in Nairobi says.
He says that this fight has cost shipping through the port of Mombasa dearly because of higher insurance fees and reduced traffic. Tourist ships too have shied away from the region.
That is why Kenya earlier agreed to prosecute pirates caught by the EU naval task force, our correspondent adds.
The head of the EU delegation in Kenya, Ambassador Eric Van der Linden, said he understood the frustration, but felt that there was still room for discussion.
He said it was in Nairobi's interest to contain piracy, but it should not be its burden alone.
The Kenyan government has said it will not accept any more seized Somali pirates to be tried in its courts.
It said the international community had not lived up to its promises to help Kenya with the "burden" of prosecuting and imprisoning pirates.
Kenya's foreign minister also said Nairobi was considering terminating an agreement with the EU to deal with pirates caught off the Horn of Africa.
Kenya currently holds more than 100 Somali pirates.
"For the last two weeks we have declined to accept captured pirates from some of our friendly countries and told them to try it elsewhere," Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula told reporters.
"We discharged our international obligation. Others shied away from doing so. And we cannot bear the burden of the international responsibility," the minister said.
With Kenya sitting on Somalia's southern border, the country has been on the front line in the fight against piracy, the BBC's Peter Greste in Nairobi says.
He says that this fight has cost shipping through the port of Mombasa dearly because of higher insurance fees and reduced traffic. Tourist ships too have shied away from the region.
That is why Kenya earlier agreed to prosecute pirates caught by the EU naval task force, our correspondent adds.
The head of the EU delegation in Kenya, Ambassador Eric Van der Linden, said he understood the frustration, but felt that there was still room for discussion.
He said it was in Nairobi's interest to contain piracy, but it should not be its burden alone.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Suspected Pirates Nabbed After Skirmish with U.S. Navy Frigate
Via CNN.com -
A group of suspected pirates was captured Thursday after attacking a U.S. Navy frigate in the Indian Ocean, according to a statement released by the U.S. Sixth Fleet.
The USS Nicholas (FFG-47) is a third-generation Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigate. The Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates were designed primarily as anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare guided-missile warships intended to provide open-ocean escort of amphibious warfare ships and merchant ship convoys in moderate threat environments.
Complement = 15 officers and 190 enlisted
A group of suspected pirates was captured Thursday after attacking a U.S. Navy frigate in the Indian Ocean, according to a statement released by the U.S. Sixth Fleet.
The USS Nicholas reported taking fire from a suspected pirate skiff shortly after midnight local time west of the Seychelles, the statement said. The Nicholas quickly returned fire and began pursuing the skiff, which was eventually disabled. A boarding team from the Nicholas subsequently captured and detained three people, the statement said.
The team discovered ammunition and several cans of fuel aboard the skiff, which was later sunk by the Nicholas.
Two more suspected pirates were captured on a confiscated "mother ship," the statement said. The detainees will "remain in U.S. custody on board Nicholas until a determination is made regarding their disposition," it said.
The Pentagon is determining its next steps, and the suspects may be sent to Kenya to be tried in a piracy court there, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Thursday
The Nicholas, based in Norfolk, Virginia, is part of the U.S. military's Africa Command.
---------------------------------------The USS Nicholas (FFG-47) is a third-generation Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigate. The Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates were designed primarily as anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare guided-missile warships intended to provide open-ocean escort of amphibious warfare ships and merchant ship convoys in moderate threat environments.
Complement = 15 officers and 190 enlisted
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Mercs vs. Pirates: Deadly Shootout on the High Seas
Via Wired.com -
For months, shipping firms have been testing ways to repel pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, trying everything from sonic blasters to warning shots. But things have now escalated to lethal force: A Somali pirate was apparently killed yesterday in a gunfight between a cargo ship and a pirate skiff.
According to a news release issued today by the European Union Naval Force Somalia, or NavFor, the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship MV Almezaan came under attack by pirates while sailing to Mogadishu. “An armed private vessel protection detachment on board the ship returned fire, successfully repelling the first attack, but the pirates continued to pursue. A second attack was repelled and the pirates fled the area.”
In response to a distress call from the Almezaan, NavFor sent the Spanish frigate ESPS Navarra (pictured here) to the scene. The Spanish warship located the cargo vessel — as well as the boats belonging to the attackers.
A naval boarding party searched two pirate skiffs. They found six suspected pirates, as well as the body of one individual, dead from what were described as “small caliber gunshot wounds.” All six suspected pirates, as well as the body of their crewmate, were taken aboard the Navarra.
Hiring armed private security to protect against pirate attack is still considered a controversial move. Companies are concerned about liability and insurance issues, and some security consultancies say that the main job of hired guns is to avoid a deadly escalation in the first place.
----------------------------
This is yet another example of the increasing escalation of force. Things have changed quite a bit since I started watching this area in mid-2007.
Earlier this month, six pirates attacked a vessel before breaking off and chasing the French fishing boat Torre Giulia. A French military detachment onboard a nearby ship fired warning shots at the pirates. The ship then approached the skiff and collided with it, sinking the skiff and throwing the pirates into the water. Four were rescued, but two others were missing shortly after the incident.
For months, shipping firms have been testing ways to repel pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, trying everything from sonic blasters to warning shots. But things have now escalated to lethal force: A Somali pirate was apparently killed yesterday in a gunfight between a cargo ship and a pirate skiff.
According to a news release issued today by the European Union Naval Force Somalia, or NavFor, the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship MV Almezaan came under attack by pirates while sailing to Mogadishu. “An armed private vessel protection detachment on board the ship returned fire, successfully repelling the first attack, but the pirates continued to pursue. A second attack was repelled and the pirates fled the area.”
In response to a distress call from the Almezaan, NavFor sent the Spanish frigate ESPS Navarra (pictured here) to the scene. The Spanish warship located the cargo vessel — as well as the boats belonging to the attackers.
A naval boarding party searched two pirate skiffs. They found six suspected pirates, as well as the body of one individual, dead from what were described as “small caliber gunshot wounds.” All six suspected pirates, as well as the body of their crewmate, were taken aboard the Navarra.
Hiring armed private security to protect against pirate attack is still considered a controversial move. Companies are concerned about liability and insurance issues, and some security consultancies say that the main job of hired guns is to avoid a deadly escalation in the first place.
----------------------------
This is yet another example of the increasing escalation of force. Things have changed quite a bit since I started watching this area in mid-2007.
Earlier this month, six pirates attacked a vessel before breaking off and chasing the French fishing boat Torre Giulia. A French military detachment onboard a nearby ship fired warning shots at the pirates. The ship then approached the skiff and collided with it, sinking the skiff and throwing the pirates into the water. Four were rescued, but two others were missing shortly after the incident.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Fight Against Somali Pirates Heating Up
Via Yahoo! News (AP) -
Signaling a new offensive mindset, international military officials vowed Friday to fight the pirates as swarms of Somalis moved into the waters off East Africa. Four shootouts with pirates showed that high-seas attacks are intensifying with the end of the monsoon season.
Nearly half the 47 ships hijacked off Somalia last year were taken in March and April — the most dangerous months of the year for ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
In the most serious skirmish Friday, six pirates attacked a vessel before breaking off and chasing the French fishing boat Torre Giulia, said Cmdr. John Harbour, spokesman for the EU Naval Force.
A French military detachment onboard a nearby ship fired warning shots at the pirates. The ship then approached the skiff and collided with it, sinking the skiff and throwing the pirates into the water. Four were rescued, but two others were missing, Harbour said.
A spike in attacks is likely in the coming weeks, said Harbour. This season, though, ship owners and sailors are more prepared to evade pirates, fight back, or they have armed security onboard, raising the likelihood of violence.
"We know the monsoon is over. We know they're coming. We're taking the fight to the pirates," said Harbour.
Crews are successfully repelling more attacks, making it harder for pirates to capture ships and earn multi-million dollar ransoms.
In turn, the Somali gangs are increasingly turning violent. The International Maritime Bureau says only seven ships were fired on worldwide in 2004 but that 114 ships were fired on last year off the Somali coast alone. That's up from 39 incidents off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden in 2008.
[...]
Many ship owners are investing in physical defenses like stringing razor wire and adding fire hoses that can hit attackers with streams of high-pressure water. Some ships are even having electric fence-style systems installed.
Crews have thrown everything from oil drums to wooden planks at would-be hijackers clambering up ladders. Last month a crew played the sound of dogs barking over an amplifier to frighten off attackers.
Last year, the average ransom was around $2 million, according to piracy expert Roger Middleton of the British think tank Chatham House. This year, two ransoms paid were around $3 million and $7 million, he said.
The original Somali pirates were fishermen aggrieved over the huge foreign trawlers depleting their seas — a complaint the international community has yet to address despite pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into anti-piracy patrols. Huge ransoms lured criminal gangs into piracy, though, and ransom inflation has made it more expensive to buy the freedom of the more than 130 hostages still being held.
Signaling a new offensive mindset, international military officials vowed Friday to fight the pirates as swarms of Somalis moved into the waters off East Africa. Four shootouts with pirates showed that high-seas attacks are intensifying with the end of the monsoon season.
Nearly half the 47 ships hijacked off Somalia last year were taken in March and April — the most dangerous months of the year for ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
In the most serious skirmish Friday, six pirates attacked a vessel before breaking off and chasing the French fishing boat Torre Giulia, said Cmdr. John Harbour, spokesman for the EU Naval Force.
A French military detachment onboard a nearby ship fired warning shots at the pirates. The ship then approached the skiff and collided with it, sinking the skiff and throwing the pirates into the water. Four were rescued, but two others were missing, Harbour said.
A spike in attacks is likely in the coming weeks, said Harbour. This season, though, ship owners and sailors are more prepared to evade pirates, fight back, or they have armed security onboard, raising the likelihood of violence.
"We know the monsoon is over. We know they're coming. We're taking the fight to the pirates," said Harbour.
Crews are successfully repelling more attacks, making it harder for pirates to capture ships and earn multi-million dollar ransoms.
In turn, the Somali gangs are increasingly turning violent. The International Maritime Bureau says only seven ships were fired on worldwide in 2004 but that 114 ships were fired on last year off the Somali coast alone. That's up from 39 incidents off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden in 2008.
[...]
Many ship owners are investing in physical defenses like stringing razor wire and adding fire hoses that can hit attackers with streams of high-pressure water. Some ships are even having electric fence-style systems installed.
Crews have thrown everything from oil drums to wooden planks at would-be hijackers clambering up ladders. Last month a crew played the sound of dogs barking over an amplifier to frighten off attackers.
Last year, the average ransom was around $2 million, according to piracy expert Roger Middleton of the British think tank Chatham House. This year, two ransoms paid were around $3 million and $7 million, he said.
The original Somali pirates were fishermen aggrieved over the huge foreign trawlers depleting their seas — a complaint the international community has yet to address despite pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into anti-piracy patrols. Huge ransoms lured criminal gangs into piracy, though, and ransom inflation has made it more expensive to buy the freedom of the more than 130 hostages still being held.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Somali Pirates Threaten to Kill British Hostages in Days
Via CNN -
A British couple held hostage by pirates for more than three months have told of brutal treatment at the hand of their captors who they say are perilously close to killing them.
In separate telephone interviews with CNN affiliate ITN, Paul and Rachel Chandler pleaded for help and spoke of their fears that they were just days away from death.
An emotional Rachel Chandler also spoke of how she thought "dying would actually be an easy way out" and how she wanted to see her husband "at least once before we die."
The Chandlers were taken by pirates from their 38-foot yacht, the Lynn Rival, just days after setting sail from the Seychelles islands for Tanzania.
Their captors initially demanded a ransom of $7 million, but the British government -- in line with longstanding policy -- has refused to pay.
"Please, please find a way of helping us because it really is a very desperate situation here," Rachel Chandler said in the latest interview, in which she said she had not seen her husband for two weeks since they were violently separated.
"I've broken a tooth because I was hit on the head with something, probably the butt of a gun... I don't know... and yes, so we have been physically attacked."
Rachel Chandler, 55, who along with her husband has been held for nearly 100 days, said the pirates had issued a new deadline.
"They've just told me that if they don't get the money within four or five days they'll kill one of us."
Audibly close to tears, she also asked for a message to be passed on to her husband.
"The message to him is hang on for me because I hope -- my biggest hope -- is that I shall see him at least once before we die."
She added: "It's hard not to feel, well, dying would actually be an easy way out. It's hard to explain but it is when you're all on your own in this country and you've no idea where you are and no idea when something might happen and whether I'll see Paul again. It's just very, very despairing"
A British couple held hostage by pirates for more than three months have told of brutal treatment at the hand of their captors who they say are perilously close to killing them.
In separate telephone interviews with CNN affiliate ITN, Paul and Rachel Chandler pleaded for help and spoke of their fears that they were just days away from death.
An emotional Rachel Chandler also spoke of how she thought "dying would actually be an easy way out" and how she wanted to see her husband "at least once before we die."
The Chandlers were taken by pirates from their 38-foot yacht, the Lynn Rival, just days after setting sail from the Seychelles islands for Tanzania.
Their captors initially demanded a ransom of $7 million, but the British government -- in line with longstanding policy -- has refused to pay.
"Please, please find a way of helping us because it really is a very desperate situation here," Rachel Chandler said in the latest interview, in which she said she had not seen her husband for two weeks since they were violently separated.
"I've broken a tooth because I was hit on the head with something, probably the butt of a gun... I don't know... and yes, so we have been physically attacked."
Rachel Chandler, 55, who along with her husband has been held for nearly 100 days, said the pirates had issued a new deadline.
"They've just told me that if they don't get the money within four or five days they'll kill one of us."
Audibly close to tears, she also asked for a message to be passed on to her husband.
"The message to him is hang on for me because I hope -- my biggest hope -- is that I shall see him at least once before we die."
She added: "It's hard not to feel, well, dying would actually be an easy way out. It's hard to explain but it is when you're all on your own in this country and you've no idea where you are and no idea when something might happen and whether I'll see Paul again. It's just very, very despairing"
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Two Ships Seized Off Somali Coast
Via VOA News -
Authorities say Somali pirates have hijacked a British-flagged cargo ship transporting cars and a chemical tanker from Singapore.
Officials say pirates seized the cargo ship Asian Glory and its 25-member crew late Friday in waters about 1,000 kilometers east of Somalia.
A spokesman for the European Union task force in charge of battling piracy off the Somali coast says the seizure took place outside the mission's patrol zone.
The spokesman, Commander John Harbour, said the pirates had not yet contacted the ship's management company, Zodiac Maritime Agencies, and it was unclear where the vessel was headed.
The ship's crew includes 10 Ukrainians, eight Bulgarians, five Indians and two Romanians. Officials say they appear to be safe.
Earlier Friday, pirates seized the chemical tanker Pramoni in the Gulf of Aden.
The Pramoni's crew includes 17 Indonesians, five Chinese, one Vietnamese and one Nigerian. They are reported to be well.
Maritime officials say Somali pirates are currently holding more than 10 foreign vessels and more than 200 crewmen hostage.
Authorities say Somali pirates have hijacked a British-flagged cargo ship transporting cars and a chemical tanker from Singapore.
Officials say pirates seized the cargo ship Asian Glory and its 25-member crew late Friday in waters about 1,000 kilometers east of Somalia.
A spokesman for the European Union task force in charge of battling piracy off the Somali coast says the seizure took place outside the mission's patrol zone.
The spokesman, Commander John Harbour, said the pirates had not yet contacted the ship's management company, Zodiac Maritime Agencies, and it was unclear where the vessel was headed.
The ship's crew includes 10 Ukrainians, eight Bulgarians, five Indians and two Romanians. Officials say they appear to be safe.
Earlier Friday, pirates seized the chemical tanker Pramoni in the Gulf of Aden.
The Pramoni's crew includes 17 Indonesians, five Chinese, one Vietnamese and one Nigerian. They are reported to be well.
Maritime officials say Somali pirates are currently holding more than 10 foreign vessels and more than 200 crewmen hostage.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Dutch Navy Arrests Somali Pirates After Attempted Cargo Ship Hijack
Via BBC -
he Dutch navy has arrested 13 Somali pirates who attempted to hijack a cargo ship south of Oman.
The EU anti-piracy task force Navfor says the cargo ship - called MV BBC Togo - had barbed wire defences and held off an attack by two fast skiffs.
The Dutch warship Evertsen later found a dhow with two skiffs fitting the description in the area.
A boarding team arrested the pirates, seizing machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, ladders and grappling hooks.
The pirates may be handed over to Kenya or the Seychelles for prosecution, says the Dutch defence ministry.
[...]
Navfor is one of several international naval forces patrolling the seas off Somalia to try to prevent the hijacking of ships using the vital sea routes. Nato and the US also lead task forces.
---------------------------
In May 2009, a leaked European military intelligence document indicated that some Somali pirates were being directed to their targets by a "consultant" teams in the UK.
The report said that pirate groups have "well-placed informers" in London who are in regular contact with control centres in Somalia where decisions on which vessels to attack are made. These London-based "consultants" help the pirates select targets, providing information on the ships' cargoes and courses.
he Dutch navy has arrested 13 Somali pirates who attempted to hijack a cargo ship south of Oman.
The EU anti-piracy task force Navfor says the cargo ship - called MV BBC Togo - had barbed wire defences and held off an attack by two fast skiffs.
The Dutch warship Evertsen later found a dhow with two skiffs fitting the description in the area.
A boarding team arrested the pirates, seizing machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, ladders and grappling hooks.
The pirates may be handed over to Kenya or the Seychelles for prosecution, says the Dutch defence ministry.
[...]
Navfor is one of several international naval forces patrolling the seas off Somalia to try to prevent the hijacking of ships using the vital sea routes. Nato and the US also lead task forces.
---------------------------
In May 2009, a leaked European military intelligence document indicated that some Somali pirates were being directed to their targets by a "consultant" teams in the UK.
The report said that pirate groups have "well-placed informers" in London who are in regular contact with control centres in Somalia where decisions on which vessels to attack are made. These London-based "consultants" help the pirates select targets, providing information on the ships' cargoes and courses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)