New Tactics in the fight against piracy

2009 has seen an increase in security issues, with an increase in the number of pirate attacks in the seas around Somalia. Although this is the most frequently reported area, there are other areas around the world such as the south eastern china seas and off the coast of India that are also targeted.

Piracy, a modern problem is not however new, bandits of the sea have targeted sea farer's since the advent of sea travel and transport. The Caribbean and the Mediterranean have long been targeted by men and groups looking to capitalize on the trade routes.

In our modern times, many security companies are coming up with fresh and innovative solutions to this century old problem. One such company RSB International uses ex Israeli special forces, specifically trained and armed to sufficiently protect crew and cargo.

Israeli personnel are specifically chosen for their experience in dealing with uncoventional scenarios as well as experience and knowledge dealing with dynamic and changing strategies, this is essential to the new battlefield, fluid and changeable.

The reporter hopes that this century old problem has found a new and successful solution to prevent piracy and there by maintaining seafaring routes and the opportunity for trade between countries to continue unhindered.

russian vessel gets hijacked

piracy in somalia

Fighting Piracy in Somalia

We applaud the U.S. Navy for the rescue of Richard Phillips from Somali pirates, and Captain Phillips for giving himself as a hostage to safeguard his crew. We also regret the death of the French yachtsman, Florent Lemaçon, who was killed along with two pirates when French navy commandos stormed the sailboat they were on (Mr. Lemaçon’s wife and child and two family friends were rescued).

The cruel fact is that even as Americans celebrated the rescue, the Somali pirates — in what is business as usual off of Somalia’s long ungoverned coast— were grabbing more ships. There are now 17 captured ships and about 260 hostages waiting to be ransomed. The short-term answer is more patrols and better cooperation with regional states; a long-term solution, alas, remains elusive.

The U.S. and French governments were fully within their rights to authorize deadly force against the heavily armed pirates. Though the bandits may only be looking for ransom, their trophies have included giant oil tankers and ships full of sophisticated weapons. They have seriously disrupted shipping in one of the busiest maritime passages in the world, and their tactics could easily be adopted by terrorist groups — including Islamist groups inside Somalia linked to Al Qaeda — looking to cripple global commerce. President Obama has rightly pledged to work with nations around the world to fight this plague. The United States and its allies and other affected states will have to increase their patrols in the Indian Ocean, as well as their coordination and cooperation. They must also consider the pros and cons of placing armed teams on cargo ships to repel pirate attacks. The pirates simply cannot be allowed to roam the seas unchallenged. But Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa, with countless small ports, fishing villages and inlets, so military means alone are not likely to end the piracy. That can happen only with the revival of a semblance of government in Somalia.

This is tough. Somalia has known only varying degrees of anarchy for 18 years now. A whole generation of Somalis has been raised in a violent free-for-all of warlords, pirates and extremists. Misguided American attempts to impose order produced the “Black Hawk Down” fiasco in 1993 and an ultimately useless Ehtiopian invasion in 2006.

Yet left to its own devices, Somalia can only become more noxious, spreading violence to its East African neighbors, breeding more extremism and making shipping through the Gulf of Aden ever more dangerous and costly. Various approaches are being discussed, such as working through Somalia’s powerful clans to reconstitute first local and then regional and national institutions. These must be urgently explored. One thing is clear: the United States cannot go it alone. This is a problem that can only be solved in partnership with Western allies and East African governments.

Pirate Attacks Up 75%; Nearly One Raid Per Day

Somewhere on the world’s waterways, a pirate will try to strike today. Another will tomorrow. And another the day after that. Piracy is on the rise, across the globe —up nearly 75%, from last decade to this one, according to a new report from theRAND Corporation. There’s now at least an attempt at a pirate attack nearly every day. 

Why?  Mainly, the RAND report says, because there are now more targets to loot. "First and most fundamentally, there has been a massive increase in commercial maritime traffic. Combined with the large number of ports around the world, this growth has provided pirates with an almost limitless range of tempting, high-payoff targets."

And while some governments (and some reporters) have worries about pirates and terrorists teaming up, "the presumed convergence between maritime terrorism and piracy remains highly questionable, however. To date, there has been no credible evidence to support speculation about such a nexus emerging."

 

There were "a total of 2,463 actual or attempted acts of piracy were registered around the world between 2000 and the end of 2006. This represents an annual average incident rate of 352, a substantial increase over the mean of 209 recorded for the period of 1994–1999," the report notes. "The concentration of pirate attacks continues to be greatest in Southeast Asia, especially in the waters around the Indonesian archipelago… which accounted for roughly 25 percent of all global incidents during 2006."

The post-9/11 environment has also made some shipping lanes more vulnerable.  Since then, governments have been pressured to "to invest in expensive, land-based homeland security initiatives" — often ignoring maritime security, as a result. In addition:

…lax coastal and port-side security have played an important role in enabling low-level piratical activity, especially harbor thefts of goods from ships at anchor.

…corruption and emergent voids of judicial prerogative have encouraged official complicity in high-level pirate rings, which has impacted directly on the “phantom ship” phenomenon.

…the global proliferation of small arms has provided pirates (as well as terrorists and other criminal elements) with an enhanced means to operate on a more destructive and sophisticated level.

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden

There have been more than 70 acts of piracy or attempted piracy against yachts and cargo ships in Gulf of Aden this year
(Badri Media/EPA)

Jenny Booth
Nov 17: A Saudi-owned supertanker loaded with crude oil, with two Britons among its 25 crew, is boarded off the Kenyan coast - the largest ship to be seized so far by Somali pirates, and the farthest away from Somali territorial waters

Nov 12: A Turkish chemical tanker hijacked off the coast of Yemen

Nov 11: Three pirates killed and others captured in firefight with Royal Marines from HMS Cumberland, after attempted hijack of Danish-registered MV Powerful 60 miles off Yemen coast

Oct 28: A Spanish military patrol plane thwarts attempts to hijack an oil tanker by buzzing the pirate vessel repeatedly and dropping smoke canisters

Related Links
Pictures: Somali pirates
Pirates made mistake in capturing tanks
Royal Navy in firefight with Somali pirates
Oct 2: Ten EU countries pledge to contribute ships, helicopters and personnel to an anti-piracy taskforce off east Africa

Sept 26: Greek chemical tanker seized off the coast of Somalia

Sept 25: Pirates demand $35 million ransom after seizing the Ukrainian cargo ship Faina, which was laden with Russian tanks, and its crew

Sept 18: Insurance premiums for ships using the Gulf of Aden are reported to have increased tenfold in one year, on the same day that pirates seize a Greek ship carrying salt, with 25 Filipino crew, and a Hong Kong-registered vessel en route for Tunisia with 24 Chinese and one Sri Lankan crew aboard

Sept 5: Somali gunmen demand $1 million ransom for a retired French couple aboard a yacht that was seized in the Gulf of Aden and sailed to a remote buccaneer hideout. The couple are rescued on Sept 16 when the yacht is stormed by an underwater combat unit of French special forces

Aug 22: Somali pirates seize three ships in one day. An Iranian bulk carrier with 29 crew and a Japanese-operated chemical tanker with 19 hands aboard are hijacked within an hour of one another on the Gulf of Aden, followed a few hours later by a German-operated cargo ship with nine crew

Aug 20: A Malaysian palm oil tanker is seized

Aug 14: Thai cargo ship and the 28 people on board taken hostage off Northern Somalia

July: A Japanese-owned ship carrying 20 Philippine sailors is hijacked in the Gulf of Aden

June: UN Security Council votes to allow countries to send warships into Somali waters to tackle piracy

April 21: Pirates fire rocket-propelled grenades at a Japanese oil tanker, leaving a hole that allowed several hundred gallons of fuel to leak out

April 11: In a daring helicopter raid, French marine commandos free the 30 crew of the luxury yacht Le Ponant a week after it was seized by pirates described as local Somali fishermen.

Piracy Prone Areas and Warnings

Mariners are warned to be extra cautious and to take necessary precautionary measures when transiting the following areas:

South East Asia and Indian Sub Continent

Bangladesh:
Although the number of attacks has fallen, the area is still listed as very high risk. Pirates are targeting ships preparing to anchor. Most attacks reported at Chittagong anchorages and approaches.

Indonesia:
Anambas / Natuna island area, Belawan, Jakarta/Tg. Priok. Pirates normally armed with guns / knives / machete. Generally be vigilant in other areas. Many attacks may have gone unreported.

Malacca Straits:
Although the number of attacks have dropped due to the increase and aggressive patrols by the littoral states Authorities since July 2005, ships are advised to continue maintaining a strict anti piracy watch when transiting the straits. Currently, there are no indications for how long the patrols will continue.

Malaysia:
off Tioman Island / South China Sea

Philippines:
Manila – Pirates target ships at anchor and surrounding waters.

Singapore Straits:
Vessels are advised to continue to be vigilant and maintain anti piracy watches. Pirates attack ships while underway or while anchored at OPL.

Vietnam:
Vung Tau

Africa and Gulf of Aden

Africa:

Tema (Ghana):
Most attacks occurred while ship at anchor.

Lagos & Bonny River (Nigeria):
Pirates are violent and have attacked and robbed vessels / kidnapped crews along the coast and rivers, anchorages ports and surrounding waters. Vessels advised to be also vigilant in other parts in Nigeria.

Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania):
Pirates continue to target ships in port, anchorages and surrounding waters.

Gulf of Aden:
Somali pirates are attacking vessels in the northern Somali coast in the Gulf of Aden. These pirates are firing automatic weapons and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) in an attempt to board and hijack vessels. Once the attack is successful and the vessel hijacked, the pirates sail the vessel to the Somali coast and thereafter demand a ransom for the safe release of the vessel and crew. All vessels transiting the area are advised to take additional precautionary measures and maintain strict 24 hours visual and radar anti piracy watch using all available means. Watch keeping crews should look out for small suspicious boats converging to own vessel. Early sightings/detection and accurate assessment will allow Master to increase speed and take evasive manoeuvres to escape from pirates and at the same time request for assistance from various Authorities/Agencies including the IMB PRC.

Since 1 February 2009, MSCHOA (www.mschoa.org) has established the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC). Military assets (Naval and Air) will be strategically deployed within the area to best provide protection and support to merchant ships.

Masters using the IRTC are not relieved of their obligation and should continue to maintain a strict 24 hour lookout using all available means to get an early warning of an approaching threat. Some vessels have been attacked/hijacked in the corridor.

Ships/Owners are advised to register their details on the MSCHOA website www.mschoa.org and obtain further information regarding the close support protection details for ships transiting the Gulf of Aden. Ships are encouraged to conduct their passage through the Internationally Recognised Transit Corridor (IRTC) in groups based on their transit speed.

Group Transits
From 0001Z Sun 01 Feb a new Group Transit programme will be brought into force.
This will have Group Transits for vessels proceeding at the following speeds: 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 kts.

Master are also advise to maintain a listening watch on VHF Channels 16 and 72 in order to hear the Maritime Advisory Calls from the warships in the area who will make general security broadcasts to announce their location and in turn will also listen for merchant ships calling them.

Somalia:
Recent attacks indicate that the pirates have resumed attacking vessels in the eastern and southern coast of Somalia. Some attacks have spread and taken place as far as off the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast. The Somali pirates are dangerous and are prepared to fire their automatic weapons and RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) at ships in order to stop them. Pirates are believed to be using “mother vessels” to launch attacks further away from the coast. These “mother vessels” are able to proceed far out to sea and launch smaller boats to attack and hijack passing ships. Some of these attacks have taken place almost 500nm from the coast. The IMB in cooperation with the MSCHOA advices that vessels not making scheduled calls to ports in Somalia should keep as far away as possible from the Somali coast, preferably more than 600 nautical miles from the coast line and when routing north / south consider keeping east of 60E longitude until east of Seychelles.

Mariners are advised to report any suspicious boats to the Centre. A 24hour visual and radar watch must be maintained as early sightings / detection and accurate assessment will allow Masters to take evasive actions and increase speed and at the same time request for assistance and escape.

South and Central America and the Carribbean waters

Brazil:
Although the number of reported attacks has dropped in Santos. Ships are advised to continue to be vigilant.

Rest of the world

Arabian Sea
Sightings and calls from suspicious small boats. In some cases, boatschased ships with unknown intent.