The Threat of Modern Piracy- A Merged Thread

[CougarKing]

Pirates are seen on a speed boat near the enclave of Eyl, Somalia in a framegrab from footage taken November 24, 2008.
(Reuters TV/Reuters)

Pirates on speedboat approach one of their mother boats docked near Eyl, Somalia in this framegrab made from November 24, 2008 TV footage.
(Reuters TV/Reuters)

Pirates on speedboat approach one of their mother boats docked near Eyl, Somalia in this framegrab made from a November 24, 2008 TV footage.
REUTERS/Reuters TV/Files

The MV Centauri, a Greek vessel, sails at the Kenyan port of Mombasa, December 3, 2008. MV Centauri which was freed by Somali pirates last week arrived in Mombasa on Wednesday carrying salt. It was hijacked in September but was released on November 28. There have been nearly 100 attacks in Somali waters this year, despite the presence of several foreign warships. The sea gangs are holding about a dozen ships and nearly 300 crew.
REUTERS/Joseph Okanga (KENYA)

Joland Besana, one of 26 crew members, sails aboard a Greek vessel MV Centauri at the Kenyan port of Mombasa, December 3, 2008. MV Centauri which was freed by Somali pirates last week arrived in Mombasa on Wednesday carrying salt.
(Joseph Okanga/Reuters)

Unidentified crew members rest as they sail aboard Greek vessel MV Centauri at the Kenyan port of Mombasa, December 3, 2008. MV Centauri which was freed by Somali pirates last week arrived in Mombasa on Wednesday carrying salt. It was hijacked in September but was released on November 28. (Joseph Okanga/Reuters)

 

[CougarKing]

French marine commandos carry out an anti-piracy drill. Somali pirates have freed a Yemeni cargo ship captured 10 days ago, a minister in the country's breakaway Puntland region said Wednesday. (AFP/File/Gerard Julien)

A photo released by French Navy shows a German military helicopter fishing out three crewmen of "the Biscaglia", a Liberia-flagged oil and chemical tanker, after they jumped overboard to escape Somali pirates who hijacked the boat, on November 28, 2008, in the Gulf of Aden. (AFP/Marine Nationale/File/Sm. Sabat)

Three crew of a Liberia-flagged oil and chemical tanker who jumped overboard to escape Somali pirates, board a helicopter after being rescued in the Gulf of Aden November 28. (AFP/File/Eric Cabanis)

The French warship Nivose escorts a convoy of commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden. The UN Security Council has passed a resolution expressing its support for a European naval mission to begin December 8 aimed at ending increased piracy off the coast of Somalia. (AFP/Eric Cabanis)

The French warship Nivose escorts commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden. Somali pirates dodged an increased foreign naval presence in the Gulf of Aden to seize another ship as the deadline ticked down for a Saudi tanker held to ransom.
(AFP/Eric Cabanis)

View from the French warship Nivose as it protects commercial ships off the coast of Djibouti. Somali pirates who have been holding the Saudi super-tanker for more than two weeks told AFP they are still ready to negotiate its release.
(AFP/Eric Cabanis)

 

[1feral1]

None of these pics can be viewed (at least for me).

Cheers,

OWDU

 

[CougarKing]

None of these pics can be viewed (at least for me).

Cheers,

OWDU

Is it a problem with just your PC at home or the one at work? I hope no one else has the same problem...I'd rather not have to find another hosting site for these pics.

Anyways, here is another update:

UNITED NATIONS -- The UN Security Council has passed a resolution permitting member countries to enter the territorial waters of Somalia to fight piracy.

The U.S.-sponsored resolution, passed unanimously by the Security Council on Dec. 2, is valid for 12 months. It welcomes the recent initiatives taken by countries like India, Canada, France, Russia, Britain and the U.S. to counter piracy off Somali coast.

The Security Council resolution is expected to come as a big help to countries like India that are fighting Somali pirates.

Under international laws, naval ships are free to patrol international waters.

Indian naval vessels and those from the other countries were constrained so far to enter the territorial waters of Somalia, a situation the pirates have taken full advantage of.

The resolution also makes very clear the support for the European Union mission that is about to be launched and welcomes the North Atlantic Treaty Organization initiative to escort World Food Programme shipments until the EU mission is up and running.

Pirates free Yemeni cargo ship, no ransom paid Somali pirates have freed a Yemeni cargo ship they seized last week after successful talks between regional authorities, local clan elders and the gunmen.

The MV Amani, owned by Yemeni shipping firm Abu Talal, has seven sailors on board.

It was seized on November 25 as it carried 507 tonnes of steel from Yemen's Mukalla port to Socotra Island.


© Copyright 2008 Mclatchy -Tribune News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Excellent!

Let the hunt begin!   :threat:

"http://www.military.com/news/article/un-strips-pirates-of-somali-haven.html?col=1186032310810&wh=wh"

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

I have no problems viewing the pics at work.

 

[geo]

viewing pics from home on my personal PC.... OK

viewing pics from home on a DND laptop - thru a VPNI connection.... OK

 

[PantsMcFist]

This post should not be construed as a defense of the pirates, merely curiosity.

There are a lot of reports of ships and crew captured, but are there any which cite a number of people killed by the pirates?

 

[geo]

The pirates have little if any interset in killing their captives.
Aparently, they look after the crews very well - the ransom depends on it

Most sailors to have died while in captivity have died from coronaries.

 

[Blackadder1916]

One source that analyses the level and type of violence towards crew members by pirates is the ICC International Maritime Bureau.  Their report "Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships - Report For The Period 1 January - 30 September 2008" details worldwide piracy activities for the first three quarters of this year.  The following table is extracted from that report.

The one (1) reported killed for Somalia is probably the master of the FAINA  (who reportedly died of a heart attack) which is identified in the report.  The one (1) reported for Gulf of Aden is not further identified in the report and a review of all the individual piracy incidents (in the report) for GofA does not indicate any deaths.  Since 30 Sep there have been (in any media reports that I found) no reported deaths of ships crew directly at the hands of Somali pirates, but the entire crew (save one) of the Thai fishing vessel EKWATANAVA 5 appears to have been lost following the Indian navy interventation.

The report may be requested from the IMB who will send it as a (large) PDF attachment via email.  The pdf file is security locked so as to prevent cutting and pasting of extracts.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Danish navy blows up 'pirate' ship

Joanna Sugden From Times Online December 5, 2008

Danish forces have scuppered a vessel belonging to Somali pirates after rescuing its crew in a storm.

The Danish navy said today that it responded last night to a distress signal from the vessel which was floundering in heavy seas in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast.

The Naval Operational Command said its forces were bound by international law to help the men. They recovered a number of weapons onboard the vessel, which was similar to those used in pirate attacks on merchant ships.

The Danish officers – who were patrolling the waters in a warship as part of a Nato task force - shot up the vessel after it had been cleared of all those aboard, setting off a series of loud explosions before it sank.

“Due to the weather, it was not possible to take the troubled ship in tow and it was destroyed in the interest of shipping safety,” the navy said in a statement.

The rescued men were later handed into the authorities in Yemen.

Pirates have attacked about 100 ships off the Somali coast this year and collected about $30 million in ransoms.

The officers were on board the Danish warship HDMS Absalon which is part of a task force deployed in the Gulf of Aden to combat the increasing problem of piracy.

They were under instruction to gather biometric data including fingerprints and confiscated any weapons on board the pirate boat.

Pirates are currently holding 14 ships, along with more than 250 crew members, according to maritime officials.

Bandits have become increasingly bold in the scale of their attacks in the Gulf of Aden. Among the captured vessels is Ukraine’s MV Faina with a cargo of tanks.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, and pirates have taken advantage of the country's lawlessness to launch attacks on foreign shipping from the Somali coast.

Danish navy sinks suspected pirate boat

Associated Press (5 Dec 2008) 6 hours ago

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Danish navy says it has intercepted and sunk a suspected pirate vessel drifting off Somalia.

Navy spokesman Lt. Capt. Jesper Lynge says the frigate Absalon evacuated the seven-man crew and seized a stash of weapons before opening fire on the small boat.

Lynge says the boat could not be towed because of bad weather and it is standard procedure to destroy boats in such circumstances because they could pose a danger to other ships.

The boat drifted for several days without working engines before the Absalon intercepted it on Thursday.

Lynge said Friday there were rocket-propelled grenade launchers and AK-47 assault rifles on the boat. He said the men were handed over to authorities in Yemen but were not immediately suspected of any crime.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Piracy off the east coast of Africa has apparently moved further south.

Pirates attack Dutch ship off Tanzania

The Australian December 08, 2008 Article from:  Agence France-Presse

HEAVILY-ARMED pirates attacked a Dutch container ship with 19 crew off Tanzania, sparking a fire on board but failing to take over the vessel, a global maritime watchdog said overnight.

The fresh attack yesterday came as the European Union prepared to launch its first-ever naval operation, patrolling pirate-infested seas near the Horn of Africa with six warships and three surveillance planes.

"Pirates believed to be from Somalia fired semi-automatic weapons and fired a rocket from a RPG at the Dutch-operated vessel," said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"The ship caught fire but the captain successfully took evasive action to prevent a hijack. The ship sustained damage but managed to continue its voyage," he said.

Mr Choong said the ship, flying a Hong Kong flag, was attacked by eight pirates in two speedboats.

The incident happened 450 nautical miles east of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, and 350 nautical miles west of the Seychelles, he said.

Mr Choong urged seafarers to be on alert when plying the African coast.

"Pirate attacks are spreading to a wider area down south from the Somalia coast. This is not a good sign. Pirates have become bolder and more dangerous. They are also firing automatic weapons and rockets indiscriminately," he said.

Mr Choong said the ship's captain noticed a fishing boat believed to the pirates' mother ship near the scene of the attack.

More than a dozen foreign merchant vessels and their crew are currently being held by gunmen in the area where the north-east tip of the Somali coast juts into the Indian Ocean.

The pirates, heavily armed and using high-powered speedboats, prey there on a key maritime route leading to the Suez Canal, through which an estimated 30 per cent of the world's oil transits.

They hold ships for weeks at at time in a bid to secure large ransoms from governments or owners.

 

[CougarKing]

Looks like at least one cruise ship line is not taking their chances.

Somali pirates threat force cruise ship evacuation

By PATRICK McGROARTY – 1 hour ago

BERLIN (AP) — A cruise ship will evacuate passengers before sailing through waters off the Somali coast and fly them to the next port of call to protect them from possible pirate attacks, German cruise operator Hapag-Lloyd said Tuesday.

An official with the European Union's anti-piracy mission said separately that the force would station armed guards on vulnerable cargo ships in the Gulf of Aden.

The MS Columbus cruise ship will drop off its 246 passengers before the ship and some of its crew sail through the Gulf on Wednesday, the Hamburg-based company said in a statement, without saying exactly where they would disembark. It said the passengers would take a charter flight Wednesday to Dubai and spend three days at a five-star hotel waiting to rejoin the 150-meter (490-foot) vessel in the southern Oman port of Salalah for the remainder of a round-the-world tour that began in Italy.

The company said it was sending its passengers on the detour as a "precautionary measure," given rampant piracy off the coast of lawless Somalia that recently has targeted cruise ships as well as commercial vessels, including a Saudi oil tanker and a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and other weapons.

Last week, pirates fired upon the M/S Nautica, a cruise liner carrying 650 passengers and 400 crew members, but the massive ship quickly outran its assailants. Other ships have not been so lucky. Pirates have attacked 32 vessels and hijacked 12 of them since NATO deployed a four-vessel flotilla on Oct. 24 to escort cargo ships and conduct anti-piracy patrols.

An EU anti-piracy mission — which takes over for the NATO ships on Monday — may also involve stationing armed guards on the most vulnerable cargo ships in high-risk areas, the British naval commander in charge of the EU mission said Tuesday.

British Vice-Admiral Philip Jones said the guards could be placed on some ships transporting food aid to Somalia. The EU mission will also includes four ships and two maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

In addition to the EU vessels, about a dozen other warships from the U.S. 5th Fleet based in Bahrain, as well as from India, Russia and Malaysia and other nations are patrolling in the area.

The Russian navy will soon replace its warship in the region with another from a different fleet, navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said Tuesday in Moscow.

The missile frigate Neustrashimy, or Intrepid — deployed from Russia's Northern Fleet after pirates seized the Ukrainian ship carrying tanks in September — has escorted freighters through the Gulf and helped thwart at least two pirate attacks, the navy said.

The Intrepid will remain in the region through December and be replaced by a ship from Russia's Pacific Fleet.

Associated Press Writer Slobodan Lekic contributed to this report from Brussels, Belgium.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...I4-H2wD94V6QAG0

 

[Blackadder1916]

Somali pirates free Greek ship - maritime official
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL988677.html
Tue 9 Dec 2008, 14:51 GMT

NAIROBI, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Somali pirates have released a Greek freighter, the MV Capt Stephanos, which they hijacked in September, a regional maritime organisation said on Tuesday.

A surge in attacks at sea this year in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean off Somalia has pushed up insurance costs, brought the gangs tens of millions of dollars in ransoms, and prompted foreign warships to rush to the area.

The Stephanos was seized on Sept. 21 by gunmen from the Horn of Africa nation. It was flying the Bahamas flag, carrying coal and had 17 Filipinos, one Chinese and a Ukrainian on board.

"The crew members' state of health is estimated as satisfactory," the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said in a statement, adding that the ship was heading to Italy.

The group said the vessel was released late on Monday.

There have been nearly 100 attacks in Somali waters this year, despite the presence of several foreign warships. The sea gangs are holding about a dozen ships and nearly 300 crew.

Among the captured vessels are a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million of crude oil, the Sirius Star, and a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying some 30 Soviet-era tanks, the MV Faina.

The 27-member European Union agreed on Monday to launch an anti-piracy naval operation off Somalia involving warships and aircraft from several nations.

The first such naval operation by the EU will initially involve three warships -- from Greece, Britain and France, and two maritime surveillance aircraft from France and Spain. (Reporting by Daniel Wallis)

 

[Old Sweat]

I keep having a nagging feeling that the broken window theory of law enforcement applies here. I mean that if you let some punk get away with tossing a rock through a window for fun, all his pals will want to do it. And once they find they can do it unscathed, they will notch the vandalism up a notch.

Notice how the incidents are spreading.

My gut reaction is stomp it out. My reasoned reaction is that lawyers will do what lawyers do best - debate and hassle and obsfucate depending on their part in all this. The international community had best grow a pair before this brigandage on the high seas takes off.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Looks like at least one cruise ship line is not taking their chances.

Perhaps the following articles provide a bit more insight into why a German cruise line company is taking this action at this time.  However, there may be more such rerouting and transferring of passengers in the coming months as European based cruise lines are coming into their high season for travelling that part of the world and some of the other major lines (US based) offering around the world voyages usually venture past that region in the first quarter of the year.

German Navy Thwarts Pirate Attack on Cruise Ship
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3851593,00.html

Deutsche Welle 05.12.2008

The German Navy warded off a suspected piracy attack on a German cruise ship in the Gulf of Aden, a spokesman for the mission commando has confirmed . Germany has troops in the area to combat piracy.

The Navy's Mecklenburg-Vorpommern frigate chased off two suspicious speed boats with warning shots last week, the Transocean Tours in Bremen, which was operating the cruise ship, confirmed on Thursday, Dec. 5. Transocean said the 492 guests and crew on board the MS Astor had not noticed the incident. The boat also had not asked for help.

The suspicious boats disappeared quickly into Yemen's territorial waters, the report said.

Transocean said the speed boats had approached about 3 sea miles distant, and the frigate intercepted them before they got to the cruise ship. The cruise ship was bound for Dubai, where it arrived on Tuesday.

Some 63 incidents of piracy have been recorded in waters off the Somali Coast and the Gulf of Aden in the first nine months of this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Germany is considering contributing up to 1,400 military personnel to a European Union security mission to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, according to a report in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine this week.

UN mandate to end

The newspaper said 500 naval personnel would crew a frigate patrolling the Horn of Africa and the remainder would be commandos providing security on German-owned merchant vessels in the region, the report said.

The current United Nations mandate for anti-piracy operations in the region expires on December 2.

The UN Security Council is close to passing a new resolution that authorizes a European Union fleet to fight piracy, according to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier this week.

DW staff (th)

Piracy Fears Force Evacuation of German Cruise Ship
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3860356,00.html

Deutsche Welle09.12.2008

It's (almost) all hands off deck, as a German vacation company decides sailing through the Gulf of Aden is too risky. And many are questioning why luxury liners are in dangerous waters in the first place.

The Hapag-Lloyd cruise companies announced on Tuesday, December 9 that the 246 passengers and most of the crew aboard the MS Columbus would disembark and be flown on Wednesday via chartered plane to Dubai.

The Columbus is on a round-the-world cruise and will pick up passengers in Sallalah, Oman after sailing through the Gulf of Aden with only a skeleton crew on board.

Hapag-Lloyd said the decision was unavoidable.

"The reason for this precautionary measure is the political situation in the Gulf of Aden," the company said in its official statement. "Against the backdrop of the German Foreign Ministry's travel advisory for the region, Hapag Lloyd Cruises…is not allowing any ships with passengers on board to sail through the Gulf of Aden."

The company said that it had asked the German Navy for an armed escort but that its request had been denied.

The passengers will spend three days in Dubai before continuing their journey.

Brussels to the Rescue

Tuesday also saw the official start of the European Union's "Operation Atalanta," which will send warships from the bloc's member states to the Horn of Africa to protect ships from piracy.

Germany's governing cabinet is expected to request permission to participate in the mission on Wednesday, with the German parliament scheduled to debate the deployment next week.

Last week, the German Navy said it had foiled an attempted pirate attack on the cruise ship MS Astor in the Gulf of Aden, after firing warning shots at the pirates' vessel.

Instances of piracy have increased dramatically in the Gulf of Aden of the coast of Somalia in recent weeks. Pirates currently hold around a dozen ships, including Saudi Arabian oil supertanker, under their control.

Operation Atalanta is the first time the EU has taken joint naval action.

Pensioner Problem?

Public opinion in Germany is divided as to whether the German Navy is doing enough, or indeed should be doing anything at all, to protect cruise ships in this region.

Some bloggers have mocked last week's anti-piracy activities.

"Warning shots…that probably so impressed the pirates that they'll never do it again," wrote one user on the web site of the German newspaper Die Welt. "The right thing to do would have been to sink their ship, but this country will never be able to bring itself to do that."

Other users said that state funds should not be used to protect people on luxury vacations.

"The tax payer is financing military escorts for decadent, cruise-ship pensioners," complained another Welt blogger. "There are calmer seas. Why must Grandma and Grandpa be shipped around through pirate waters?"

Readers of other newspapers concurred.

"Commercial vessels should be protected because they supply our country," wrote one user of the on-line edition of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "But someone has to show me first that cruise ships are of any use of at all."

The German Navy's presence on the Horn of Africa was originally intended to fight terrorism. But it says it has also taken action against seven suspected pirate vessels this year.

On Monday, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that warships used as part of Operation Atalanta would be allowed to shoot at pirates.

Jefferson Chase

 

[CougarKing]

A speedboat with Dutch special forces, right, guards the MV Ibn Batouta anchored outside the port of Mogadishu, Somalia on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008. The Ibn Batouta is carrying 7,000 tonnes of sorghum the UN World Food Program will distribute in Somalia It took four days to reach Mogadishu, from the Kenyan port of Mombasa. The Dutch warship De Ruyter escorted the cargo ship to prevent any pirate attacks.
(AP Photo/Tom Maliti)

A speed boat of Dutch special forces, right, guards the MV Ibn Batouta anchored outside the port of Mogadishu, Somalia on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.  (AP Photo/Tom Maliti)

Dutch frigate De Ruyter sails ahead of cargo ship MV Ibn Batouta in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008. The Ibn Batouta is carrying 7,000 tonnes of sorghum, food aid the UN World Food Program intends to distribute in Somalia. The cargo ship is being escorted by the Dutch naval vessel to prevent any pirate attacks. (AP Photo/Tom Maliti)

Dutch warship De Ruyter sails in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008.  (AP Photo/Tom Maliti)

Yemeni coast guards patrol the Gulf of Aden Friday, Dec. 5, 2008. The Yemen coast guard said seven Somali suspected pirates have been arrested Friday, Dec. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Mohammed al-Qadhi)

Yemen coast guards inspect a ship carrying goats from Somalia while patrolling coastal waters off Aden, Yemen, Friday, Dec. 5, 2008. Yemen coast guard said seven Somali suspected pirates have been arrested Friday, Dec. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Mohammed al-Qadhi)

A Yemeni coast guard mans a weapon, as his boat patrols the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. The U.N. Security Council has extended for another year its authorization for countries to enter Somalia's territorial waters, with advance notice, and use 'all necessary means' to stop acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea. Diplomats said the 15-nation council's unanimous resolution Tuesday is needed to stop the piracy off Somalia that threatens humanitarian efforts and regional security, and seems to be growing ever more audacious and technologically sophisticated each week.. (AP Photo/Mohammed al-Qadhi)

Armed Puntland coastguard forces leave Bassaso port, Puntland, Somalia Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008, to hunt down pirates who hijack ships in the gulf of Aden. A Somali minister in the semiautonomous northern region of Puntland says pirates have freed a Yemeni cargo ship and its eight crew members without receiving any ransom. Pirates have reportedly demanded a $2 million ransom to release the ship and three Yemenis, three Somalis and two Panamanians crew members. The ship was seized last month in the Arabian Sea. (AP Photo)

 

[old medic]

US leads UN push to hunt, punish Somali pirates
By John Heilprin and Robert Burns
Associated Press Writers

UNITED NATIONS—The United States sought international authorization Wednesday to hunt Somali pirates on land with the cooperation of Somalia's weak U.N.-backed government in one of the Bush administration's last major foreign policy initiatives.

The U.S. circulated a draft United Nations Security Council resolution proposing that all nations and regional groups cooperating with Somalia's government in the fight against piracy and armed robbery "may take all necessary measures ashore in Somalia," including its airspace.

If the U.S. military gets involved, it would mark a dramatic turnabout from the U.S. experience in Somalia in 1992-1993 that culminated in a deadly military clash in Mogadishu followed by a humiliating withdrawal of American forces.

Piracy off Somalia has intensified in recent months, with more attacks against a wider range of targets. There was an unsuccessful assault on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Aden, which links the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. In September, pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter loaded with 33 battle tanks and on Nov. 15 they seized a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million worth of crude.

The U.S. resolution is to be presented at a session on Somalia Tuesday with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

It proposes that for a year, nations "may take all necessary measures ashore in Somalia, including in its airspace, to interdict those who are using Somali territory to plan, facilitate or undertake acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea and to otherwise prevent those activities."

The draft also says Somalia's government -- whose president wrote the U.N. twice this month already seeking help -- suffers from a "lack of capacity, domestic legislation, and clarity about how to dispose of pirates after their capture."

The resolution is aimed at taking measures to stabilize the long-violent and lawless Somalia, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about it on the record. Though a number of countries have sent naval forces and taken other steps to stop the piracy, the efforts have been considered "very uncoordinated' so far, a second U.S. official also said privately.

Earlier this month, the Security Council extended authorization for another year for countries to enter Somalia's territorial waters, with advance notice, and to use "all necessary means" to stop acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.

Nations entering Somali waters to fight piracy and armed robbery along the country's 1,880-mile coastline, the continent's longest, must first obtain approval from the Somali government and give advance notice to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

But now the U.S. believes the fight must go ashore.

Other international forces, however, have fared poorly in the past trying to help Somalia, whose latest government was formed in 2004, with the help of the U.N., and is backed by Ethiopia.

Somalia has been without an effective government for nearly 20 years. The United States sent troops in 1993 to back a massive U.N. relief operation for thousands of civilians left starving by fighting.

But the U.S. attacked the home of a warlord, killing scores of civilians including women and children. Somali militiamen retaliated, bringing down two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters and killing 18 American servicemen whose bodies were dragged through the streets. That experience precipitating the U.S. withdrawal was portrayed in the 2001 movie "Black Hawk Down."

Ethiopian troops, the region's strongest force, have been regularly attacked since arriving two years ago. They largely have been confined to urban bases, as have the 2,600 African Union peacekeepers sent as part of an approved 8,000-member AU mission.

The push for a broader international accord on how to suppress piracy in waters off Somalia's lawless coast is one of President George W. Bush's final foreign policy initiatives, officials say.

Without committing more U.S. Navy ships, the administration wants to tap into what officials see as a growing enthusiasm in Europe and elsewhere for more effective coordinated action against the Somali pirates. Administration officials view the current effort as lacking coherence, as pirates score more and bigger shipping prizes.

Spearheading the administration's case, Rice intends to make a pitch at the U.N.'s anti-piracy meeting in New York on Tuesday with her counterparts from a number of nations with a stake in solving the problem.

"I expect in the coming weeks we will work within the U.N. to give the international system better policy tools to more effectively address the problem and its root causes," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

That includes pressing for an international peacekeeping force in Somalia to replace the Ethiopian-led force that is to depart soon, he said. The pirates are Somalis based in camps near coastal port villages. The U.S. says they have links to an Islamic extremist group that has taken control of much of the country.

About 100 attacks on ships have been reported off the Somali coast this year. Forty vessels have been hijacked, with 14 still remaining in the hands of pirates along with more than 250 crew members, according to maritime officials.

Pirates have attacked 32 vessels and hijacked 12 since NATO sent four ships to the region Oct. 24 to escort cargo ships and conduct anti-piracy patrols. Ships still being held for huge ransoms include the Saudi oil tanker and the Ukrainian ship.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Some progress has been made with regards to the proscecution of pirates taken into custody at sea.

Britain, Kenya sign deal on piracy

Independant Online December 11 2008 at 02:18PM 
 
Nairobi - Britain and Kenya on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the arrest, transfer and prosecution of Somali pirates detained by British naval vessels.

"This MoU is very important," said Britain's under-secretary of state for security and counter-terrorism, Lord West of Spithead, on the sidelines of an international conference on combating Somali maritime piracy.

"Kenya is a step ahead of the rest in doing this," the retired admiral told reporters.

"This fits in well with the EU force that has just been established," he added.

The deal will provide legal support for Britain to hand over to Kenya suspected pirates whom its naval fleet may detain during operations in the Gulf of Aden or Indian Ocean.

On November 18, the British navy handed over eight suspected pirates captured a week earlier during an incident at sea. They are now facing trial in the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

According to an AFP reporter there, resident magistrate Lilian Mtende denied the eight bail on Thursday and said more time was needed to study their case, which will next be heard on January 14.

The absence of a legal framework allowing for tight cooperation between the nations represented in the naval coalitions patrolling pirate-infested zones and coastal nations had been one of the main obstacls to tougher action.

Providing a broader agreement between coalition countries and coastal nations such as Kenya, Tanzania, Djibouti and Yemen is one of the main proposals on the agenda at the Nairobi conference.

The 140 delegates taking part in the two-day meeting have been discussing a document drafted by the UN Office for Drugs and Crime which proposes a six-month $1,3-million programme for enhanced legal co-operation.

 

UK, Kenya sign agreement to prosecute pirates

Associated Press By KATHARINE HOURELD – 9 hours ago (11 December 2008)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Britain agreed Thursday to hand over any suspected pirates captured on the high seas, removing a key legal obstacle to prosecuting suspects in a growing menace off Somalia's lawless coast, a British diplomat said Thursday at a U.N.-organized piracy conference.

The agreement calls for Britain to hand over suspects to Kenya, as Somalia has no effective central government or legal system, Lord West said. In the past, foreign navies patrolling the pirate-infested Somali coast have been reluctant to detain suspects because of legal uncertainties over where they would face trial. Kenya is to put the suspects on trial.

"Nations are very wary of taking pirates onboard their ships," said West, British undersecretary of state for security and counterterrorism. "It is extremely difficult — where can you put them — if you're not going back to your home country, and even going back to your home country causes immense problems in terms of legal prosecutions."

Britain does not have any detained suspects now. But in the past some suspects have been released by other members of the international naval coalition despite being found with weapons and boarding equipment such as ladders and grappling hooks. West said the U.S. Navy once had a suspect aboard one of its ships for seven months due to confusion over where he would be prosecuted and logistical problems transporting him from the ship.

West said he hoped other East African nations, in addition to Kenya, would also be willing to try suspected pirates.

Representatives from 40 countries are meeting about how to stop the rampant banditry off Somalia's lawless coast. They are expected to address the media after the close of the two-day meeting Thursday.

Somali pirates have taken in an estimated $30 million in ransom this year.

The pirates' focus has been the Gulf of Aden, between Somalia and Yemen, where 20,000 merchant ships a year pass on the way in and out of the Suez Canal, the quickest route from Asia to Europe and the Americas.

 

[Blackadder1916]

NATO Shipping Centre  - SOMALIA PIRACY UPDATE 11 December 2008       
http://www.shipping.nato.int/
UNCLAS as at 111147Z DEC 2008 

2 December - a cluster of possibly co-ordinated approaches made to 5 merchant vessels in Gulf of Aden, successfully repelled by Italian destroyer, Luigi Durand de la Penne
MV CENTAURI was released 27 November (ransom payment amount not known)
MV MAERSK REGENSBURG was attacked approximately 450n miles east of Dar es Salaam (350nm west of Seychelles). Two pirate skiffs made two attempts to board the vessel and used small arms and 3x RPGs in the attack causing small fire on board. This is the most southerly incidence of piracy yet reported.
The last successful hijack was of MV BISCAGLIA 28 Nov
MV CAPTAIN STEFANOS was released 7 December; tbe vessel is now on route to Suez (ransom payment amount not known).
13 vessels remain hijacked comprising 11 merchant ships 1 fishing vessel and tug boat Yenegoa Ocean

The current slide displays last known position of hijacked vessels.

Over 200 merchant seamen are still held by pirates. The use of mother-ships seems to be on the rise, and potentially, vessels are hijacked with the sole intention of using them as such.

In short, the trends in latest piracy incidents are as follows:

Targeting larger cargo / oil / gas / chemical tankers
Approaches / attacks conducted from 2-3 small speedboats with 3-5 armed persons each. The number of boats involved in each incident seems to be increasing.


Edit: Attechment removed

 

[CougarKing]

New Delhi: In another successful anti-piracy operation, Navy warship on Saturday repulsed an attack on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden and nabbed 23 Somali and Yemeni sea brigands, in a show of resolve to weed out the menace that affected maritime trade in the region.

The pirates on two speed boats had surrounded the merchant vessel flying the Ethiopian flag around noon, when INS Mysore warship intervened and warded off the attack, Navy spokesperson said.

The pirates had fired at the merchant vessel with their small arms, when it sent out a rescue call and the Indian warship, which was sailing nearby moved its Marine Commandos on a helicopter to help the distressed cargo vessel, he said.

The attack took place about 150 nautical miles off Aden and INS Mysore was about 13 nautical miles away from the merchant vessel when it picked up the SOS call.

The Navy flew its Marine Commandos on helicopters to the scene of the pirate attack and rescued the ship. MV Gibe was later escorted to safety, he added.

The Naval commandos also boarded the pirates' boats and seized seven AK-47 assault rifles, two other rifles, a grenade launcher and 13 fully loaded magazines of ammunition from the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni pirates on board the two pirate boats.

Another BZ for the Indian Navy   
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/indian-navy-repulses-attack-arrests-23-pirates/398079/