U.S. destroyer pursues pirates

[waltky]

Argh...

October 29, 2007 -- U.S. destroyer has entered Somali territorial waters to pursue ship; Pirates hijack ship carrying benzene off Somalia; benzene is highly flammable; U.S. destroyer working with permission of Somalia government

A U.S. destroyer has entered Somali territorial waters in pursuit of a Japanese-owned ship loaded with benzene that was hijacked by pirates over the weekend, military officials said Monday. The guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke entered Somali waters with the permission of the troubled transitional government in Mogadishu, U.S. officials said. In recent years, warships have stayed outside the 12-mile limit when chasing pirates.

The ongoing operation was confirmed to CNN by two military officials familiar with the details. Gunmen aboard two skiffs hijacked the Panamanian-flagged Golden Mori off the Socotra archipelago, near the Horn of Africa, said Andrew Mwangura, a spokesman for Kenya's Seafarers' Assistance Programme.

The Golden Mori radioed for help Sunday night. The Burke's sister ship, the USS Porter, opened fire and sank the pirate skiffs tied to its stern before the Burke took over shadowing the hijacked vessel. When the shots were fired, it was not known the ship was filled with highly flammable benzene. U.S. military officials indicate there is a great deal of concern about the cargo because it is so sensitive.

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Pirate attacks increase worldwide
October 17, 2007 -- Pirate attacks rise 14 percent in the first nine months of this year; Waters of Somalia and Nigeria see highest rise in attacks; Indonesia is worst piracy hotspot with 37 attacks in first nine months of 2007

Pirate attacks worldwide jumped 14 percent in the first nine months of 2007, with the biggest increases off the poorly policed waters of Somalia and Nigeria, an international watchdog reported Tuesday. Reported attacks in Somalia rose rapidly to 26 up from eight a year earlier, the London-based International Maritime Bureau said through its piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. And some of those hijackings have turned deadly. "The seafaring industry is very concerned about this," said Cyrus Mody, a senior analyst with IMB. "There is absolutely no regard for law in that area. Not only is it not good for business in Africa, but it blocks humanitarian aid and is bad for the general stability of the continent."

The political instability in Somalia gave pirates "totally free rein without any sort of deterrence from the law," Mody said. "They've got a free hand right now." Somalia has had 16 years of violence and anarchy, and is now led by a government battling to establish authority even in the capital. Its coasts are virtually unpoliced. Piracy off Somalia increased this year after Ethiopian forces backing Somali government troops ousted an Islamic militia in December, said Andrew Mwangura, program coordinator of the Seafarers Assistance Program which independently monitors piracy in the region.

During the six months that the Council of Islamic Courts ruled most of southern Somalia, where Somali pirates are based, piracy abated, Mwangura said. At one point, the Islamic group said it was sending scores of fighters to crack down on pirates there. Islamic fighters even stormed a hijacked UAE-registered ship and recaptured it after a gunbattle in which pirates -- but no crew members -- were reportedly wounded. In May, pirates complaining their demands had not been met killed a crew member a month after seizing a Taiwan-flagged fishing vessel off Somalia's northeastern coast.

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Avast and ahoy!...

U.S. Navy Triumphs Over Pirates on the High Seas
November 05, 2007 - The U.S. Navy says it helped regain control of three vessels over the weekend that had been under the control of Somali pirates for almost five months.

In all three cases, the pirates were persuaded by the Navy to leave the ships. The destroyer USS James E. Williams aided the crew of the Taiwanese ship, M/V Ching Fong Hwa, regain control earlier today. After the pirates returned to shore, the destroyer escorted the Taiwanese ship out of Somali waters and provided needed supplies and medical assistance.

The U.S. Navy aided two South Korean vessels – both hijacked in May – in retaking their ships after ship-to-ship communications on Sunday. Those ships – Mavuno 1 and Mavuno 2 -- are now safe in Yemenese waters. The three rescued vessels cap off a busy week for the Navy.

Earlier, Navy corpsmen boarded a North Korean cargo ship to provide medical assistance to the crew after they had overpowered their hijackers. And another U.S. Navy destroyer had fired on pirate skiffs attached to Japan's Golden Nori in Somali waters, as previously reported on the Blotter.

The Golden Nori continues to be under pirate control as does the Al Marjan, a cargo ship registered in Comoros. "We continue to encourage the pirates to leave the ships," Cmdr. Lydia Robertson said in Bahrain. "We have bridge-to-bridge communications with the pirates aboard the remaining two ships encouraging them to leave the vessels."

The U.S. Navy patrols the seas as part of the Combined Maritime Forces, based in Manama, Bahrain. Along with naval forces from Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Pakistan and the U.K., the U.S. Navy patrols "more than 2.5 million square miles of international waters to conduct both integrated and coordinated operations...to preserve the free and secure the world’s oceans by legitimate mariners," according to the Navy.

The Blotter: U.S. Navy Triumphs Over Pirates on the High Seas

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Sailors Look Forward To Seeing Families After Capture By Somali Pirates
November 5, 2007 - The wives of two of four South Korean sailors held by kidnappers in Somalia hailed the release of their loved ones on Sunday after 174 days in captivity. South Korea's foreign ministry announced on Sunday the release of 24 sailors of two fishing vessels hijacked by Somali pirates on May 15.

Kim Jeong-shim, wife of captain Han Seok-ho, said she was relieved to know that her husband is coming home at last. Cho Tae-soon, wife of chief engineer Yang Chil-tae, said she hopes to see her husband right away.

The wives, together with families of the sailors, also thanked the local media and other people who supported and sympathized with them during a press conference in Busan on Monday. At the same conference, the sailors' families criticized their government's alleged priority to help free kidnapped aid workers in Afghanistan over those kidnapped in Somalia.

Han and Yang were among 22 Asian crew members of two South Korean fishing vessels hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of Somalia on May 15. The Hankyoreh said the ships named Mavuno 1 and Mavuno 2 are owned by the Daechang Fishing Co. and were manned by two other South Korean crews when hijacked.

Update: Sailors Look Forward To Seeing Families After Capture By Somali Pirates | November 5, 2007 | AHN

[waltky]

Another ship taken...

Concern grows for ship seized by pirates off Somalia
Monday, November 19, 2007 -- Communication has been lost with a Comoran-flagged cargo ship captured by pirates off the Somali coast last month, raising fears of the crew safety, a maritime monitoring group said on Saturday.

The MV Al Marjan, with 22 mostly Asian crew members on board, was seized on Oct. 19 as it sailed to Mogadishu port from the United Arab Emirates port of Dubai. "We are worried that the ship has cut communication with the owner and the rest of the world," said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan branch of the Seafarers' Assistance Program. "This is the second week since it cut communication, which means there are no negotiations going. This is a very bad indicator on the fate of the crew," he said. The freighter is owned by Shahmir Maritime of Saint Vincent and Grenadines, but operated by Dubai-based Biyat International.

Mwangura explained that "cutting communication" between the pirated vessels and the outside world in the past has been an indication that "something bad" has happened onboard. "When pirates killed a sailor in Ching Fong Hwa 168, they cut communication. That is why we are worried this time round," he said. Ching Fong Hwa 168 was a Taiwanese-flagged ship seized by pirates in June before being released on Nov. 5. One crew member was killed and another injured.

Mwangura said negotiations were underway to free Japanese tanker, Golden Nori -- believed to be carrying benzene -- that was kidnapped on Oct. 28 with 23 crew members from Myanmar, Philippines and South Korea. Their condition is unknown. The vessel was sailing from Singapore to Israel when its was seized. "I expect that the pirates will ask for ransom of more than a million dollars to free the tanker," he told AFP.

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Kidnapped for ransom...

Pirates threaten to kill hostages
10 Dec. 2007 - Somali pirates asking for a $1 million ransom for 22 hostages; Hostages from Japanese tanker held six weeks; The Golden Nori's crew is from the Philippines, South Korea and Myanmar; Chemical tanker loaded with up to 40,000 tons of highly explosive benzene

Somali pirates who seized a Japanese tanker six weeks ago have threatened to kill the 22 crew members unless a $1 million ransom is paid, a maritime official said Monday. The Golden Nori is carrying crew from the Philippines, South Korea and Myanmar. "Somali pirates holding the Japanese ship are demanding $1 million," said Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenya-based East Africa Seafarers' Assistance Program. "They are also saying we are going to kill the crew if our demands are not met."

Deaths are rare during such hijackings. The chemical tanker was anchored in Somali waters and carrying up to 40,000 tons of highly explosive benzene. The U.S. Navy in late October came to the aid of the vessel, with the guided missile destroyer USS Porter at one point opening fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied to it. The pirates, though, remained aboard the tanker. The U.S. military has recently intervened several times to help ships hijacked by Somali pirates.

Somali pirates are trained fighters, in some cases linked to powerful Somali clans, outfitted with sophisticated arms and equipment. They have seized merchant ships, ships carrying aid, and once even a cruise ship. Somalia has not had an effective central government since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Now the weak transitional government and its Ethiopian allies are battling an Iraq-style Islamic insurgency. The chaos means that pirate ships can cruise the ragged coastline with relative impunity.

Source

[waltky]

Global Pirate Attacks Up 10 Pct. in '07...

Global Pirate Attacks Up 10 Percent in 2007, Says Maritime Watchdog
Jan 9, 2008 - Global pirate attacks rose by 10 percent in 2007, marking the first increase in three years as sea robbers made a strong comeback in Nigeria and Somalia, an international maritime watchdog said Wednesday.

Last year, there were 269 attacks on ships, up from 239 in 2006 and reversing a downtrend seen since 2003, the International Maritime Bureau said in its annual report released by its piracy reporting center in Malaysia. "The significant increase in the (2007) numbers can be directly attributed to the increase in the incidents in Nigeria and Somalia," IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said in a statement.

Attacks in Nigeria surged to 42 from 12 cases in 2006, he said. Somalia reported a threefold increase of 31 cases, from 10 in 2006. The IMB report said pirates were better armed and more violent in 2007, with 18 vessels hijacked worldwide, 292 crew members taken hostage, five killed and three still missing.

Guns were used in 72 attacks, up 35 percent from 2006. It said 64 crew members were assaulted and injured, compared to only 17 in 2006, with majority of the incidents occurring off Somalia's coast. The report said pirates used rocket propelled grenade launchers and automatic weapons as well as mother vessels to launch smaller craft to attack ships further away from Somali's coast.

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Nigerian Navy not doing enough...

Nigerian Navy comes under fire for failure to prevent rise in piracy
11 January 2008 - The IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre recorded 263 attacks on commercial shipping in 2007, 10 per cent up on the previous year

The director of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has criticised the Nigerian Navy over its failure to prevent a significant rise in the number of pirate attacks in Lagos and the Niger Delta region. Globally, the number of reported robberies and hijackings against commercial shipping increased by 10 per cent in 2007. The level of violence used also went up, according to the IMB.

In its annual report, published on 9 January 2008, the IMB says that its Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur recorded a total of 263 attacks worldwide during the previous 12 months, compared with 239 in 2006. The report states: "At the same time, pirates and robbers boarding vessels were better armed and more brazen in assaulting and injuring crew members, with a 35 per cent increase reported in the number of incidents involving guns." Sixty-four crew were injured or assaulted, compared with 17 in 2006.

Captain Pottengal Mukundan, the IMB's director, said the worsening global situation was "directly attributable" to the increase in piracy in Nigeria and Somalia, where there was a "lack of proper law enforcement". In Nigeria, a total of 42 incidents were reported in 2007 - three and a half times more than the year before. Many attacks were staged by heavily armed groups with political grievances.

Nigerian Navy comes under fire for failure to prevent rise in piracy - Jane's Defence News

[waltky]

Sacre bleu! Sarkozy not gonna be happy `bout this one, maybe he'll send troops to Somalia...

Pirates Seize French Cruise Ship
Friday, Apr. 04, 2008 — Pirates seized control of a French cruise ship Friday off the coast of Somalia, France's Foreign Ministry said.

A ministry official said details about the attack were scarce, and it was not clear how many crew members were on board the ship or if there were any passengers. The ship is in the high seas in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean. The official declined to identify the vessel or its owner.

The ministry has set up a crisis center to deal with the situation, said the official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Pirates seized more than two dozen ships off the Somali coast last year. The U.S. Navy has led international patrols to try to combat piracy in the region. Last year, the guided missile destroyer USS Porter opened fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied to a Japanese tanker.

Wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have its own navy and a transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to assert control. The International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy, said in its annual report earlier this year that global pirate attacks rose by 10 percent in 2007, marking the first increase in three years.

Source

[waltky]

Sarkozy kickin' pirate butt...

Pirates killed in Somali yacht rescue
Friday 11th April, 2008 - 30 crew members from a French sailing ship which was taken from the coast of Somalia last week, have been released.

In a statement, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the hostages from the French yacht Le Ponant, were released without incident. Nevertheless, it is believed the pirates only gave up after a battle with French troops, in which three pirates were killed. According to a regional governor in northeastern Somalia, an operation against the pirates involved ground troops and helicopters.

He confirmed that three bodies had been found and collected. Eight others were wounded while eight others were taken by the French. He said the raid occurred in Jariban village, some 25 kilometres from Garaad hamlet, where the French luxury yacht, Le Ponant, was held by pirates. The eight who were arrested have been placed on board a French navy ship that had been sent to the scene of the kidnapping.

The yacht, Le Ponant, was seized by pirates last week between the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen. The pirates then sailed the yacht to the Somali coast and began negotiations with the French government, as most of crew were French. It is believed the owner of the yacht paid some two million dollars for the release of the crew members. Sources say French special forces handled the negotiations between the yacht owner and the pirates.

Pirates killed in Somali yacht rescue

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France: Pirates Captured, Hostages Freed
April 11, 2008 - 6 Pirates Apprehended After They Release 30 Crew Members They Held On Yacht Off Somalia

Helicopter-borne French troops swooped in on Somali pirates Friday after they freed 30 hostages from a yacht, seizing six of the hijackers and recovering sacks of money — apparently ransom paid by the ship's owners. The pirates boarded the 288-foot French luxury yacht Le Ponant a week ago, capturing its crew — 22 of whom were French — off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden. Pirates seized more than two dozen vessels off the Somali coast last year, mostly in hopes of securing ransoms.

Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, the chief of staff of France's armed forces, said the pirates released the hostages after negotiations with the ship's owner. That phase of the operation was calm, with no weapons fired, he said. The hostages were brought smoothly to safely and the pirates went ashore. Once the pirates were on Somali territory, a French attack helicopter chased a vehicle carrying some of them, firing to destroy its engine, the general said.

There were conflicting reports about what happened next. Dahir Abdulqadir, a Somali governor in the region near where the yacht was held, said officials had heard "reports over VHF radio that at least eight people were killed." But the office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy denied any pirates died in the raid. Georgelin said six pirates — out of a dozen hostage-takers — were taken into custody and would be tried in French courts. All six "gave themselves up without too much difficulty," he added. While insisting France did not pay a ransom, the general indicated the yacht's owners did.

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How the French Beat Back Somali Pirates...

Real-Life Pirates Can't Match 'Capt. Jack Sparrow'
Sunday, April 13, 2008 : Bandits Nabbed, Yacht Hostages Rescued in Somalian High-Seas Adventure

A seaborne hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia in East Africa has ended with at least six pirates captured and all the ship's 30 crew members safe. A local Somali governor in the region where the yacht was held said officials had initially heard "reports over VHF radio that at least eight people were killed." But the office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy "categorically denied" that any pirates died in the raid.

The drama began April 4 when a dozen buccaneers stormed aboard the 288-foot French luxury yacht Ponant in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia, capturing its crew, 22 of whom were French and the rest from Asia and other regions. The French government quickly mobilized, sending a seaborne amphibious assault unit. Ransom demands were made. But the Somali government, long besieged by such piracy off its shores, urged the French not to give in.

Precisely how and why the hostages were freed is not yet entirely clear, but a French government official strongly hinted that the ship's owners cut a deal. Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, the chief of staff of France's armed forces, said the pirates released the hostages Friday after negotiations with the owners. That phase of the operation was calm, with no weapons fired and the hostages brought smoothly to safety, the general said.

The pirates "gave themselves up without too much difficulty," he said. "Naturally," he added, "absolutely no public money was paid in this affair. … Check with the ship owner. In capturing the pirates, we also recovered some interesting bags. ... We recovered part of the ransom that was probably paid."

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Nigeria: Pirate Capital Of The World...

Nigeria Overtakes Indonesia in Piracy
Apr 16, 2008 - Global Pirate Attacks Climb As Nigeria Overtakes Indonesia As Top Hotspot

Pirate attacks rose worldwide in the first quarter of the year, with Nigeria overtaking Indonesia as the country worst plagued by sea bandits, a global maritime watchdog said Wednesday. Seafarers suffered 49 attacks between January and March around the world, up 20 percent from the 41 in the same period last year, the International Maritime Bureau said in a report by its piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

Nigeria ranked as the No. 1 hotspot amid a lack of effective law enforcement, with its 10 reported attacks — mostly off its main city of Lagos — accounting for one-fifth of the global total, the London-based bureau said. Myriad armed groups roam the Niger Delta, where violence has slashed oil production and helped propel oil prices to new highs. Nigeria produces about 2.1 million barrels of oil a day, the largest output in Africa.

"Violence in the waters off Nigeria is spiraling out of control," the report said, adding that the true number of incidents could be even higher because many attacks in the oil sector are believed to go unreported. India and the Gulf of Aden off the north coast of Somalia tied for second place among pirate-troubled territories, with both reporting five incidents apiece. Those in India were low-key attacks aimed at theft, while the Gulf of Aden was prone to hijackings.

More ABC News: Nigeria: Pirate Capital Of The World

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Strife in Nigerian drivin' up the price of oil...

Nigerian Oil Region in Turmoil as Militants Threaten More Attacks
19 April 2008 : Western-based oil company Royal Dutch Shell says it hopes to quickly repair and resume production in an oil pipeline in Nigeria's Niger Delta region that was attacked by militants Friday.

Pressure groups in Nigeria's Niger Delta warn Friday's attack could ignite another round of violence in the volatile region. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group that claimed responsibility for the blast, says it plans more attacks. Several issues are driving tensions in the region. Henry Okah, a leader of The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, is being tried in a secret court for treason. Militants are also blaming the military for the destruction of some 20 houses in the Opuama community of Delta State, the alleged consequence of a failed attack on a Chevron oil facility in the area. Meanwhile, Ijaws, the dominant ethnic group in the delta, are locked in a dispute with the state governor over the election of local officials.

Udengs Eradiri of the Ijaw Youth Council, a leading pressure group in the delta, says the military is being used to settle political scores in the delta's creeks. "The Joint Task Force that has been deployed in the Niger Delta to quell the situation in the region; what government officials or politicians do these days is that when you are agitating for your rights, they will send them [soldiers] and say you are a militant. You [governor] sent JTF [Joint Task Force] to burn down our villagers. Opuama was burnt, people killed. Today there is a crisis in the area, the Ijaws are mobilizing to go there and see how they can help their brothers. We are saying we want to be included in the political dynamics of Delta state," he said.

Militant attacks have already cut one quarter of the normal two-point-five million barrels per day oil output in Africa's largest producer of crude. Militants say they are fighting for control of the region's oil wealth, but their fight is intertwined with communal and ethnic rivalries in the delta, where kidnapping for ransom, extortion and oil theft are widespread. The main militant group declared a truce after the inauguration of President Umaru Yar'Adua in May, who promised to resolve the crisis. MEND announced in September it would resume attacks following Okah's arrest and extradition from Angola.

VOA News - Nigerian Oil Region in Turmoil as Militants Threaten More Attacks