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The Threat of Modern Piracy- A Merged Thread

Unsurprisingly, the pirates have taken a Danish Family hostage.

Link to article here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/somali-pirate-says-danish-hostages-killed-attempt-made-20110301-110312-735.html

Essentially, the pirates say these people will suffer the same fate as the 4 Americans if a rescue attempt is made.
 
:facepalm:  Unreal... I love the part regarding their "pirate plan". Wow. This should be interesting to watch as it unfolds.
 
Via Reuters, shared in accordance with the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright  Act:
The United States is looking at new strategies to fight pirates off Somalia, who last month killed four Americans and represent a growing threat to sea traffic, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday.

"I'm fed up with it," Clinton said in testimony to the Senate appropriations committee. "We need to do more, and make it clear that the entire world better get behind what we do and get this scourge resolved."

(....)

Clinton said that existing efforts to stop the piracy, which include naval patrols by a number of nations, had failed to significantly dent pirate operations which are increasingly distorting world fuel trade due to higher insurance premiums.

"We have put together an international coalition, but frankly we're not in my view getting enough out of it ... we're looking at a lot of different options," Clinton said, saying the problem demanded a "much more comprehensive approach" by agencies including the Defense Department.

Clinton declined to say what options were under consideration, but did outline factors she said would have to be addressed including a willingness by some shipping companies to sidestep the issue.

"One of our big problems is that a lot of major shipping companies in the world think it's the price of doing business," Clinton said. "They pay a ransom and they just go on their merry way. That has been a huge problem."

Clinton said many foreign naval vessels now patrolling the area were not effective -- "when push comes to shove they're not really producing" -- and not enough was being done go after the pirates' safe-haven ports on the Somali coast.

Clinton said there was no question of U.S. military operations in mainland Somalia, where the United States withdrew after the killing of U.S. troops in late 1993 depicted in the movie "Black Hawk Down."

But she said the piracy issue was moving up Washington's priority list as attacks continued unabated.
 
"But she said the piracy issue was moving up Washington's priority list as attacks continued unabated"

Awesome! we just need to wait until it becomes an important issue in Washington... This is going to sound really bad, the pirates will probably get a smackdown sooner if they murder those Dutch folks :facepalm:
 
Serious people (like the Russians and Chinese):

Indian navy captures 61 pirates in Arabian Sea
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PIRACY?SITE=TXNEW

NEW DELHI (AP) -- The Indian navy captured 61 pirates who jumped into the Arabian Sea to flee a gunfight and fire on the hijacked ship from which they had staged several attacks, a navy statement said Monday.

Two Indian navy ships also rescued 13 crew members from the fishing boat Sunday night, nearly 695 miles (1,100 kilometers) off Kochi in southern India, the statement said.

The pirates had hijacked the Mozambique-flagged Vega 5 in December and had used it as a mother ship - a base from which they staged several attacks in the vast waters between East Africa and India.

A patrol aircraft spotted the mother ship Friday while responding to another vessel reporting a pirate attack, the Indian navy said. The pirates aborted the hijacking attempt and tried to escape in the mother ship.

When the Indian ships closed in Sunday night, the pirates fired on them. The hijacked vessel caught fire when the Indian navy returned fire, the navy said.

The pirates as well as the crew members jumped into the sea from the burning vessel, but were taken out by Indian sailors, the statement said...

The navy was checking whether the pirates were from Somalia or Yemen. They were being taken to Mumbai, India's financial capital, to be prosecuted for attacking the Indian ships [emphasis added]...

The Indian navy's third anti-piracy operation this year followed the capture of 28 Somali pirates last month and another 15 in January. Both groups also are to be prosecuted in Mumbai...

Mark
Ottawa
 
http://inmovies.ca/home/tom_hanks_to_fight_pirates/53dbde2a

Tom Hanks To Fight Pirates

Real-life adventure on the high seas for Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks will be doing battle with pirates in his next picture, but that doesn't mean he'll be tangling with the likes of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Instead, the Hollywood veteran will be dueling with a more modern form of high seas bandit, as Hanks will star as real-life Captain Richard Philips, who was kidnapped by Somali pirates in 2009.

Deadline reports that the movie will be based on Philips' own account of the tale in his memoir A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs and Dangerous Days at Sea.

Philips was captain of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama when it was captured by Somali pirates. To save his crew, he offered himself up as a hostage, only to be saved three days later by a platoon on U.S. Navy SEALs.

Scott Rudin, Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti and Kevin Spacey, the producing team behind The Social Network, are also the gang behind Duty. Hanks has already been working recently with Rudin on the upcoming adaptation of the Jonathan Safran Foer 9/11 drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

No director or script are in place for Duty just yet, but expect those elements to come together quickly now that Hanks is attached to st
 
link


UAE forces storm hijacked ship, detain pirates

By Firouz Sedarat | Reuters – 1 hour 33 minutes ago
DUBAI (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates special forces stormed a cargo ship hijacked in the Arabian Sea, freeing the crew and detaining the pirates on Saturday, the official news agency WAM said.

Anti-terrorism forces acting in coordination with the U.S. Fifth Fleet were involved in the operation, which led to the surrender of the pirates, the agency said.


"Arrilah 1 with all its crew is now heading toward the UAE coast, and the pirates are held under guard and will be handed over to the Interior Ministry," a UAE military official said.

The 37,000-tonne bulk carrier had been sailing from Australia to Jebel Ali, in the emirate of Dubai, when it was attacked by pirates early on Friday.

The vessel was operated by shipping arms of the government-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

The UAE, the world's third largest oil exporter, includes the emirate of Dubai.

Somalia has lacked an effective central government for two decades and is awash with weapons. The chaos on land has allowed piracy to boom in the strategic waterways off its shores linking Europe to Asia and Africa.

Despite successful efforts to stem attacks in the Gulf of Aden, international navies have been unable to contain piracy in the Indian Ocean owing to the vast distances involved, and the mostly Somali pirate gangs are making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms.

(Reporting by Firouz Sedarat; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
 
Dutch marines kill Somali pirates, Iranian boat freed
4 April 2011 Last updated at 12:23 ET
Article Link

Dutch marines have killed two suspected Somali pirates and captured 16 others, the Dutch defence ministry says.

The alleged pirates were captured in an operation to free a hijacked Iranian fishing boat off the coast of Somalia.

The marines came under fire when they approached the fishing boat, the ministry said.

The suspected pirates are being questioned on board a Dutch warship which is taking part in a Nato anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.

Ten suspected pirates were caught as they tried to escape in a high-speed vessel and six were detained on the fishing boat.

It is unclear whether the captives will stand trial anywhere.

"Prosecutors will have to decide," Dutch Defence Ministry spokeswoman Marloes Visser told news agency AP.

He said the bodies had been "entrusted to the water" saying it was not practical to keep them on board the warship because of the high temperatures.

In the absence of a stable government, piracy can be highly lucrative in Somalia.

Gangs often receive millions of dollars in ransoms.

Many of the vessels targeted are cargo ships sailing near the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

They have also expanded their field of operations to much of the Indian Ocean.
More on link
 
2 out of 16 is a good start.  I'm sure they could do better though.
 
jollyjacktar said:
2 out of 16 is a good start.  I'm sure they could do better though.

"I'm not sure what happened, sir. One minute they were there, the next they were overboard and full of lead. Very curious indeed sir."
 
Shared with the usual caveats.

Sea piracy attacks hit a record high
The Associated Press

A global maritime watchdog says sea piracy worldwide hit a record high of 142 attacks in the first quarter this year as Somalian pirates become more violent and aggressive.

The International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, says 97 of the attacks occurred off the coast of Somalia, up sharply from 35 in the same period last year.

It says attackers seized 18 vessels worldwide, including three big tankers, in the January-March period and captured 344 crew members. Pirates also murdered seven crew members and injured 34 during the quarter.

The Kuala Lumpur-based centre's director Pottengal Mukundan said Thursday that there was a "dramatic increase in the violence and techniques" used by Somali pirates to counter increased patrols by international navies.

© The Associated Press, 2011

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/04/14/piracy-increase-somalia.html
 
Shared in accordance with the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright  Act
The Japanese government has set up its first full-scale, overseas base in Djibouti to be used by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force as its antipiracy mission off Somalia is expected to be prolonged, defense ministry officials said Wednesday.

It is the first time Japan has set up such a full-scale base outside Japan.

In the 12-hectare base located on the northern side of Djibouti’s international airport, the government built, at a cost of around 4.7 billion yen, the headquarters’ building, dormitories, P-3C patrol plane maintenance hanger and a gymnasium for MSDF members.

The MSDF had previously used a part of the U.S. military base located to the south of the airport. Since 2009, the MSDF has deployed two destroyers and two P-3C aircraft, used for surveillance activities.

Chief of Staff Adm. Masahiko Sugimoto said the new base allows the MSDF to operate efficiently. “It is not an outlying base where the SDF would be permanently stationed,” he added, in regard to the war-renouncing Constitution of Japan that limits the use of force abroad.
Source

Also, news releases on some of their recent ops in the area here (Japan SDF site)
 
Robotic Subs Threatened By Somali Pirates
July 21, 2011
  Article Link

The Somali pirates, who now prowl most of the Indian Ocean (west of India) have not only interfered with merchant shipping, but with oceanographic research as well. For example, an international effort to distribute and maintain 3,000 instruments into the world's oceans is now under attack off Somalia. The scientists use these 3,000 buoys and robotic mini-submarines to assist in predicting the weather and gaining a better understanding of the oceans in general. But the scientists can no longer travel into the western Indian Ocean, because of the risk. The small research ships have already had a few close calls with pirates. So the task of dropping off (and sometimes picking up) these robotic research devices will be carried out by some of the warships operating off Somalia, and points east.

This global use of robotic sensors has been growing more extensive and important, over the last decade. Much of the progress was made possible by the development of highly efficient AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). The U.S. Navy developed one of these nearly a decade ago for monitoring the underwater "weather". This SeaGlider is a two meter (six foot) long, 52 kg (114 pound) device that looks like a torpedo with wings. It can stay at sea for up to six months (before needing a battery recharge) and glides through the water at up to 20-25 kilometers a day. The AUV is propelled by a system of shifting weights (the battery pack) an air tank that is emptied and filled to adjust depth, and a pair of wings that provide lift, as wings do for an aircraft in the air. The SeaGlider moves forward by diving, and comes back up in a forward glide as well, collecting data all the way.

SeaGlider's main mission is to measure of the water, and use its built in satellite phone, every four hours or so, to send the information to anyone in the navy that needs it. SeaGlider also uses the satellite phone to get new orders, and has a built in GPS and other navigation sensors to enable it to find its way to areas it has been ordered to monitor. SeaGlider also collects information on currents, and uses that to help it glide from place to place.

SeaGlider was not built to help with weather prediction, but to improve American anti-submarine capability. The composition (temperature, salinity, oxygen content, quantities of biomatter, and so on) of the water in oceans changes slowly. Those characteristics influence the effectiveness of sonars (both active and passive.) If you can monitor the water composition more accurately, your sonars will be more accurate. SeaGlider can be dropped by aircraft or helicopter and spend days, weeks, or months collecting water information (at depths of up to 3,000 feet) before friendly subs show up for action.

At $100,000 each, SeaGlider was a cheap way to keep an eye on large chunks of the ocean. SeaGlider works because its onboard electronics draw very little power, as does its movement mechanism. SeaGlider isn't fast, but it has that most prized UAV/AUV characteristic; persistence. SeaGlider can hang around for a long time, waiting for the enemy to show up. This was a mission submarines were originally designed for. But manned subs were too expensive to put enough of them out there to cover large areas of the ocean. SeaGlider is cheap, efficient, patient and never has to worry about crew morale. What the navy is not discussing is a future version of SeaGlider that wanders around an area looking for hostile submarines as well.

Meanwhile, devices similar to SeaGlider are being used on an even larger scale to monitor a larger number of ocean characteristics. Apparently the Somali pirates have not captured and held for ransom one of these robotic subs, but they may have simply shot some to pieces as it surfaced near them (to transmit data). The scientists will continue to drop off and pick up their stationary and self-propelled sensors near pirate-infested waters. But in pirate territory, only warships will perform what is now a dangerous duty.
end
 
The Sound Of Panic
July 27, 2011
Article Link

Despite one well publicized failure, the sonic cannon (or LRAD, for Long Range Acoustic Device) is increasingly popular for security conscious merchant ships travelling in the Indian Ocean (between western India and Africa). This vast area has become the hunting grounds for Somali pirates (using seagoing fishing boats or small cargo ships as mother ships.) The pirate vessels have two or more speed boats in tow, and these are turned loose, with half a dozen of more armed pirates each, when a likely target is spotted. Attacking at dusk or dawn, the speedboats can often get close enough, without being spotted, for the pirates to board.

But most merchant ships in the area now have better security. The ships navigation radar is set to alert the crew is anything resembling a pirate mother ship shows up. More sailors are posted as lookouts (because the radar cannot detect the small speedboats), and if speedboats are spotted, an increasing number of ships repel boarding attempts using a sonic cannon (LRAD). Even cruise ships have successfully used LRAD to chase off pirates.

In most cases, the pirates simply drop their weapons, cover their ears (which doesn't help) and turn away. In one case, there was minimal damage to a cruise ship (several bullet holes, one passenger cabin damaged by an RPG rocket and one injured crewman). If it's a night attack, or one at dawn, the cruise ship passengers often never know that the pirates where sent away with focused sound. In one case, however, a passenger was up at dawn to take a walk, and spotted two speedboats approaching. Before he could alert the crew, he saw the pirates drop their weapons, with some of them covering their ears, as the speedboats turned away. The passenger later found that his cruise ship was equipped with an LRAD (which looks more like a radar dish on a pole, mounted on the deck somewhere that only the crew has access to.)

LRAD is basically a focused beam of sound. Originally, it was designed to emit a very loud sound. Anyone whose head was touched by this beam, heard a painfully loud sound. Anyone standing next to them heard nothing. But those hit by the beam promptly fled, or fell to the ground in pain. Permanent hearing loss is possible if the beam is kept on a person for several seconds, but given the effect the sound usually has on people (they move, quickly), that is unlikely to happen. LRAD works. And on a speedboat, you have nowhere to run. The LRAD operator targets the guy operating the outboard engine, and anyone else who tries to keep the speedboat headed for the target.

But there has been one exception. Three years ago, the pirates simply took the pain, kept on coming, and got aboard the chemical tanker. The three man security team, sensing that the pirates might behave violently when they got their hands on the people who were operating the sonic cannon, decided to jump overboard. Fortunately, the helicopter from a nearby (but not close enough) warship that the security people had also called, arrived in time to haul the three security men out of the water. The pirates had already moved away with their newly captured tanker. It appears that the LRAD in question may have been operating at the wrong sound setting, because of an operator error, or equipment failure. In any event, there have been no other incidents of the pirates ignoring the sonic pain.

Some U.S. Navy ships also carry it, but not just to repel attacking suicide bombers, or whatever. No, the system was sold to the navy for a much gentler application. LRAD can also broadcast speech for up to 300 meters. The navy planned to use LRAD to warn ships to get out of the way. This was needed in places like the crowded coastal waters of the northern Persian Gulf, which the U.S. Navy patrols. Many small fishing and cargo boats ply these waters, and it's often hard to get the attention of the crews. With LRAD, you just aim it at a member of the crew, and have an interpreter "speak" to the sailor. It was noted that the guy on the receiving end was sometimes terrified, even after he realized it was that large American destroyer that was talking to him. This apparently gave the army guys some ideas, for there are now rumors in Iraq of a devilish American weapon that makes people believe they are hearing voices in their heads.
end
 
'Piracy soars' off coast of Benin
Article Link
11 August 2011 Last updated at 16:43 ET

Piracy has become more common off the coast of West Africa the International Maritime Bureau has said.

The head of the bureau, Capt Pottengal Mukundan, said there were 15 attacks off the coast of Benin in the first half of the year.

He said pirates often sailed hijacked tankers to an area where another tanker waited to collect its siphoned fuel.

The mode of attack, he said, was similar to that used by pirates operating off the coast of Nigeria.

"The vessels are taken over by the armed pirates and then forced to sail to an unknown destination, where the cargo is discharged into a smaller tanker," Capt Mukundan told the BBC.

"And then the vessel is brought back and released. In some case, two or three crew members have been kidnapped and are taken ashore and are held until a ransom is paid."

Escalation

He said the crew, although often roughed up, was usually freed, rather than being ransomed.

Piracy is more prevalent off Somalia in East Africa where the crews of hijacked vessels are often ransomed. According to the bureau, there were 163 attacks by Somali pirates in the first half of 2011, up from 100 in the first six months of 2010. Piracy has become more common off the coast of West Africa the International Maritime Bureau has said.

The head of the bureau, Capt Pottengal Mukundan, said there were 15 attacks off the coast of Benin in the first half of the year.

He said pirates often sailed hijacked tankers to an area where another tanker waited to collect its siphoned fuel.

The mode of attack, he said, was similar to that used by pirates operating off the coast of Nigeria.

"The vessels are taken over by the armed pirates and then forced to sail to an unknown destination, where the cargo is discharged into a smaller tanker," Capt Mukundan told the BBC.

"And then the vessel is brought back and released. In some case, two or three crew members have been kidnapped and are taken ashore and are held until a ransom is paid."
More on link
 
Wanted by EU NAVFOR:  "pirate cultural advisor"
The EUNAVFOR Operation Headquarters (OHQ) is currently recruiting a pirate cultural advisor. Please see below for further details including the principal duties the post-holder will fulfil and the experience required for the role. Instructions for those wishing to submit an application can also be found here. Applications are to be received by the OHQ before close of business on 24 August 2011.

Post Description: To provide the Operation Commander (OpCdr) and OHQ staff with pirate cultural and religious advice and in particular to advise on pirate trends and weaknesses, including their perceived role in Somalia.

Principal Duties:
1. Advisor to the OpCdr on pirate culture, business model and modus operandi in the Indian Ocean.
2. In conjunction with the Overseas Support Group garner information on negotiations for ships being held by pirates.
2. Provide and/or prepare written and verbal advice.
3. Provide guidance to the OHQ and EU on pirate culture.

Additional Duties:
1. Work with Specialist Staff and the intelligence team in order to develop possible pirate cases for prosecution (in the region or through a Member State).

Professional Experience: Military or ex-military who has worked with the CP Forces and/or other parties involved in CP (industry/insurers/negotiators).
Education: NA
Security Clearance: EU Secret

Desirable:
• Professional Experience:  Working in Maritime Operations
(....)
Source:  Wired.com Danger Room blog, 12 Aug 11
 
A Somali man was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for his role in the hijacking of a yacht off the coast of Africa that left all four Americans on board dead, telling a federal judge that he never meant for anyone to get hurt.

“I’d like to express my regret and sorrow to the victims’ families,” Ali Abdi Mohamed said through an interpreter.

Mohamed is the first of 11 men who have pleaded guilty to piracy in the case to be sentenced. Each of the men face mandatory life sentences, although that could eventually be reduced as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors. A second Somali was expected to be sentenced later in the day.

The owners of the Quest, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., along with friends Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle, were shot to death in February several days after being taken hostage several hundred miles south of Oman. They were the first Americans to be killed in a wave of piracy that has plagued the Indian Ocean in recent years ....
Marine Corps Times, 22 Aug 11
 
Germans Run Out Of Fuel Off Somalia
September 25, 2011
Article Link

A trade union dispute in Germany has led to reduced German participation in the anti-piracy patrol off Somalia. The problem arose when the union that represented the civilian sailors who manned the navy's four tankers, refused to renew a deal while allowed tanker sailors to work 65 hours a week while off the Somali coast. This amount of hours was needed to run the tankers while on the high seas, and the tanker sailors received extra paid leave, when they returned home, for the hours above the 48 a week their basic contract calls for.

Without the 65 hour week, the tankers cannot operate off Somalia, so German warships there have to pull into a port to refuel, which reduces their time at sea by up to 30 percent (depending on how much time they spend moving at high speed in the pursuit of pirates.) The navy continues to negotiate with the union, but does not have much room to maneuver, as budgets are being cut. Refueling at sea requires specially trained tanker crews, and these tankers are always in short supply. German warships can depend on navy tankers from other countries in an emergency, but not for regular refueling.
end
 
http://www.marinelink.com/news/government-guards-should340646.aspx

Hiring Armed Guards Should be Left to Government

Wednesday, September 28, 2011


In the wake of an independent report recommending the Netherlands government to provide Dutch shipowners with better levels of protection against piracy, including the hiring of armed guards, Netherlands law firm AKD says that shipowners who directly hire armed personnel themselves could face criminal prosecution.

The so-called De Wijckerslooth Committee report was designed to assess the desirability and possibility of deploying private sector armed security to help protect Dutch ships from the threat of attack by (mainly Somali) pirates. It recommends that the Dutch government moves towards a higher level of protection of its merchant fleet including, “if necessary”, the use of armed private security guards. The report, however, cautions that such security guards should only be hired by the government, and should only perform their security duties as soldiers under the full authority of the Ministry of Defence. The authors of the report add that, under the current circumstances, it is not desirable that shipowners privately hire armed private security guards, an option which should only be considered “in case of special conditions”.

The committee argues that, if the government uses its own resources, or engages reservists or hires armed private security guards who will temporarily be given military status, this will not constitute privatisation of security duties. By creating additional defence capacity in this way, no amendment of legislation and regulations will be required.

It is envisaged that the recommendations of the committee could lead, relatively quickly, to providing the level of protection against piracy considered necessary for merchant vessels. The alternative - whereby shipowners themselves hire private security guards (an approach endorsed by the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners) - entails “several problems”, according to the committee, and would require drastic amendment of Dutch legislation and regulations, which under normal circumstances could take “several years”.

Jan Kromhout, a partner with AKD in Rotterdam, says, “Clearly, it is the duty of government to do its utmost to protect the merchant fleet from attacks by pirates. In the event that the government is not able to fulfil its duties, for whatever reason, it will have to employ outside help. It is not desirable that privately owned companies hire armed protection to perform the duties which are the responsibility of government, which should retain its monopoly of force. Furthermore, the cost of providing protection against piracy should be borne by the state. Shipowners should only be allowed to hire private armed guards in special situations, in the event that the government is not able to fulfil its duties.

“In the event that Dutch shipowners do hire armed personnel, or provide weapons to those on board, those directly involved, as well as shore-based personnel (including the ultimate management of the company) could face criminal prosecution. Furthermore, shipowners could be faced with local legislation covering the import and export of weapons in the event that the vessel has weapons on board and enters the jurisdiction of another country.”
 
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