The Threat of Modern Piracy- A Merged Thread

[Yrys]

Chasing the Somali piracy money trail, 24 May 2009

Hands up if you want ransom money - but the spoils spread further
than pirates

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has made many people very rich.

A new economy has developed both within Somalia and further afield, as security companies,
lawyers and negotiators reap huge profits from their involvement. But finding out what happens
to the money delivered as ransom payments is doubly difficult, first because piracy is a
transnational crime, and second because Somalia is a country without rules, regulations
or a functioning government.

There have been various reports that piracy in Somalia is attracting big-time criminals from
all over the world; that it is being orchestrated from London; that the ship owners themselves
are involved. But little evidence has been provided to back up these claims.

It has also been reported that much of the estimated $80m (£50m) paid out in ransoms so far
this year has been laundered by organised syndicates in Dubai and other Gulf states. But this
has been strenuously denied by officials in the Gulf, and people working in maritime intelligence
say they have no real proof that the money laundering or any other large scale international
crime is happening.

"There's been a lot of inventive reporting on very slim evidence," says Christopher Ledger,
chairman of the maritime security company Idarat. "What happens to the money is exceedingly
opaque, partly because of the way Somalis communicate with each other, and also because of
the impenetrable way their finance system works."

Established security experts have also suggested that some of those cashing in on the new growth
industry of Somali piracy are exaggerating its international criminal dimensions in order to drum
up business for themselves. The experts say that with a decreasing demand for private security and
intelligence in places like Iraq, some companies and newly-formed "piracy consultants" are trying to
sell Somalia as the new frontier for their operations, basing much of their information on speculation
rather than fact.

In a sense, Somalis do not need to launder the money they make from piracy because their unique
financial system operates on trust and honour, bypassing banks and other financial institutions.

Verbal transactions

As the system - known as "hawala" - often does not involve documentation, with most transactions
done verbally, there is no paper trail. This makes it almost impossible to find out what happens to
money made from ransom payments or any other transaction in Somalia. The fact that most ransoms
are paid in cash means they simply disappear into the Somali community, rather than ending up in
banks or other financial bodies. Although hawala companies in the West and the Arab world have
become more regulated in recent years, it is very difficult to track the money once it gets to Somalia.

It has been possible to find out something about how the ransom money is distributed.

One thing is clear: the small groups of pirates who take to sea in speedboats to hijack huge ships
do not get all the money. "They are the foot soldiers," says Andrew Mwangura, who heads the East
African Seafarers' Assistance Programme and negotiates frequently with pirates. "They are young
men, often teenagers, and they certainly don't end up with all the money."

'Compensation' scheme

Pirates interviewed by the BBC have been reluctant to say exactly how much money they make from
a successful hijacking, but reports indicate they make tens of thousands of dollars rather than millions.

This is because piracy has developed into a mini-economy, employing hundreds of people in north-eastern
and central Somalia, all of whom need their share of the ransom. Although there is no universal set of rules,
a UN report based on information gathered from pirates based in the north-eastern village of Eyl, reveals
some interesting information about how the ransom spoils are divided:

• Maritime militia, pirates involved in actual hijacking - 30%

• Ground militia (armed groups who control the territory where the pirates are based) - 10%

• Local community (elders and local officials) - 10%

• Financier - 20%

• Sponsor - 30%


The UN report found the payments are shared virtually equally between the maritime militia, although the
first pirate to board the ship gets a double share or a vehicle. And compensation is paid to the family of
any pirate killed during the operation. The breakdown shows how ransom money trickles down to many
sections of Somali society. Government officials and the armed groups that control different parts of the
country all get their share too.

Yemen link

Some analysts - such as the Kenyan-based security consultant Bruno Schiemsky - say pirates have given
as much as 50% of their revenue to the Islamist al-Shabab militia in the areas it controls. However,
al-Shabab has stated that it opposes piracy.

There have been consistent reports that officials in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland - the heartland
of Somali piracy - have been getting cuts. Several officials, including a deputy chief of police, have been
sacked for involvement in piracy.

With so many people receiving a share of the ransom payments - which average between $1m to $3m
(£1.9m) - Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, of Dryad Maritime Intelligence, says Somali piracy is unlikely to attract
the involvement of major international crime syndicates. "When you look at the way ransoms are distributed,
there's simply not enough money for big time gangs to be interested," he says. However, if piracy continues
to grow, there's a possibility that it will start to attract major criminal elements.

Maritime security expert Christopher Ledger says: "It's similar to the South American drugs trade in the
1970s, which started off as a relatively small-time operation, and grew into a huge global crime."

One country that does seem to be involved in Somali piracy is Yemen. Maritime security experts say the
'mother ships' from which pirate attacks are launched are often refuelled, resupplied and even armed in
Yemen. A UN report said: "Members of the Harardhere pirate group have been linked to the trafficking of
arms from Yemen to (the Somali towns of) Harardhere and Hobyo, which have long been two of the main
points of entry for arms shipments destined for armed opposition groups in Somalia and Ethiopia."

It's likely that the truth about all the money made from piracy will never be uncovered. What is clear is that
several elements in Somali society are benefiting, and that piracy will remain an attractive career option as
long as the country remains without central authority.

But it is wrong to transfer theories about money laundering and international crime onto Somali piracy. The
problem is unique, the country is unique, and speculation will lead to misguided policies which are likely to
prolong the dangers facing any ship that sails along the long unruly coast of Somalia.

 

[CougarKing]

And JMSDF has been busy as well.

Japan navy aids Singapore ship off Somalia:govt

A Japanese destroyer, on an anti-piracy mission off Somalia has given emergency protection to a Singapore-registered ship by chasing four suspicious boats, the defence ministry said Saturday.

The 4,650-tonne Sazanami, deployed to protect Japanese-registered vessels in and around the Gulf of Aden Noun 1. Gulf of Aden - arm of the Indian Ocean at the entrance to the Red Sea, received a radio call for help from the Singaporean ship at around 1740 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) See UTC. GMT - Universal Time 1  on Friday, the ministry said.

The warship warship, issued a verbal warning through loudspeakers and beamed a searchlight at the four suspicious boats, which had been pursuing the Singaporean ship, a defence ministry spokeswoman said.

The four boats -- one "sizable" vessel and three small boats -- then left the area, the spokeswoman said, adding that neither side used weapons and that the four suspicious vessel were not identified.

The incident was Japan's first action against suspected pirates off Somalia since the Sazanami and the 4,550-tonne Samidare were dispatched to join an anti-piracy mission there last month.

The nation's armed forces could face combat abroad for the first time since World War II in the rare mission.

Japan's major past overseas missions -- including in Iraq, near Afghanistan, and as UN peacekeepers -- have been largely for logistical and support purposes such as refuelling

Under the pacifist constitution Japan adopted after World War II, the mission will allow its soldiers to use force only for self-defence and to protect Japanese interests, defined as its nationals, ships and cargo.

The ministry spokeswoman said the Japanese navy's action fell under the law of the sea which calls on any ships to assist vessels in distress.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Japan+navy+a...vt-a01611835912

 

[Yrys]

Warship stops pirate boat in Gulf

One of the seized boats was destroyed
by HMS Portland

Devonport-based warship HMS Portland has intercepted two suspected pirate boats
in the Gulf of Aden. The two boats were equipped with extra fuel, grappling hooks,
rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and ammunition.

Ten people on board them were released "due to insufficient evidence to directly
link the group to a specific attack", the Ministry of Defence said.

HMS Portland is part of a multi-national anti-piracy operation in the Gulf off the
east coast of Africa. Cmdr Tim Lowe, Deputy Commander, Combined Maritime
Forces (CMF), said: "This is an excellent example of international co-ordination.
"This international collaboration cannot be understated and as more countries
join the fight, we will continue to work together to help deter, disrupt and
thwart criminal acts of piracy in the maritime environment."

Portland's boarding team of Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel, were
supported by a Lynx helicopter, equipped with a machine gun and snipers
in the operation off the coast of Somalia. HMS Portland destroyed one of
the boats and confiscated all their weapons.

The CMF said that since August 2008, its forces had intercepted 27 pirate
vessels, seized 190 small arms and 39 rocket-propelled grenades.

 

[Yrys]

Inside story of Somali pirate attack

As he looked at the radar screen Captain Andrey Nozhkin immediately feared the worst.
A small vessel was closing fast from the stern.

"It was like a firecracker had gone off inside my head," he recalled. The Danish-owned
merchant ship, the CEC Future, had been on high alert since it entered the Gulf of Aden,
the narrow strip of water between Somalia and Yemen. Fire hoses had been made ready
to help repel a possible attack by pirates who infest the area. The crew were maintaining
constant contact with coalition naval forces.

Then within minutes the suspicious vessel was visible: a speedboat, crammed with armed
men trailing a wake of white foam. "We knew it was pirates. They were coming towards us
at an angle so we accelerated, and changed direction to make it harder for them to catch up,"
said Capt Nozhkin. But then a rocket-propelled grenade zipped across the CEC Future's bows.
Capt Nozhkin looked down and saw the pirates re-loading.

"They were now aiming directly at us in the bridge."He knew further resistance was pointless.
This was 7 November last year. It was the start of a two-month ordeal for the 13 crew
members. The full details of what happened to the ship and the story of the pirate gang that
hijacked it are now emerging.

Crew threatened

Once the pirates were on board, they directed the captain to head to Eyl, the now notorious
Somali pirate port. The ship's owners could do nothing but sit and wait.

"Sure enough, Monday morning the ship drops anchor at Eyl and we had our first contact from
pirates. He called one of my colleagues, and introduced himself as 'Mr Ali', and would we please
pay $7m (£4.27m)," said Per Gullestrup, CEO of Clipper Projects, the ship's owners. "Mr Ali" was
recruited by the pirates as a translator and negotiator because of his fluent English, the result of
living for 29 years in America, before returning to Somalia.

I managed to contact him and he agreed to meet me in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. He
told me his real name is Ali Mohamed Ali. "For 36 hours we did not get any feedback from the
company so we sent them a fax. The pirates were saying if we don't get an answer from you
within a few hours we will be forced to capsize the ship," he said.

The company responded with an offer of $300,000 (£183,000). The pirates countered with $5m
(£3.05m), but refused to come any lower. "We decided it wasn't going anywhere. We told the
pirates we didn't see any point continuing discussing. They could call us back when they decided
to go below $2m (£1.22m)," said Mr Gullestrup.

'Jokes are finished'

The pirates then began to threaten the crew. Clipper Projects have given the BBC access to the
recordings of the conversations they held with the pirates and the crew during the hijack. At one
point all 13 crew members are crammed together on the bridge in a space a few metres wide,
and held there for 24 hours. Then the Russian captain is forced to call the company. He says:
"Very soon the pirates plan to remove us to the shore... that means the jokes are finished, please,
please I ask you please, let's do something."

The strain in the captain's voice is clear, and close by another voice can be heard, prompting him
what to say. "The crew are foremost for us, so when we heard the captain's distress it was difficult,"
said Mr Gullestrup. But the private security company retained by Clipper advised the company this
was a standard part of the pirates' operating procedure, and the crew were unlikely to be harmed.

Then finally, after two months, with the crew close to breaking point, an unexpected development
occurred. "I was having a cup of tea at home with my wife when my mobile phone goes, and it was
Ali introducing himself," said Mr Gullestrup. Up to this point, Clipper's CEO had been advised not to
become directly involved in the negotiations.

Most dangerous phase

"I said to him: 'Nothing's happening, I want you and me to do the deal,'" said Mr Ali, remembering
the call. The pirates were ready to reduce their demands and within days a deal was reached. The
company will say only that the figure was somewhere between $1m (£610,000) to $2m (£1.22m).

With the help of the private security company, the money was parachuted to the ship from a light
aircraft, sealed in a watertight container. For the crew, there was relief at finally seeing the ransom
float towards them. They did not realise the most dangerous phase of the hijack was about to begin.

"It was very hot, 10 in morning. All of the pirates came into the captain's cabin. Everybody with a
gun," said Ali Mohamed. Dozens more people from the port of Eyl had also crowded onto the ship,
shopkeepers, businessmen and creditors.

Knife fights

They had been supplying the ship for the past two months and now wanted to be paid. But in return
for providing everything on credit they were charging inflated prices and bitter arguments broke out.
"There was total chaos," said Capt Nozhkin. "Those accused of trying to take too much had their hands
slammed in doors as a punishment. Then some of the pirates started shooting, some were fighting
with knives.

"Then other boats started arriving trying to get on board and people on the boat began shooting at
them." Sixteen hours later, the shopkeepers and money lenders left, between them several hundred
thousand dollars richer. Then the pirates divided the rest of the ransom and after 68 days finally
disembarked from the ship.

Mr Ali, the pirates' negotiator and translator, is now back in his home town of Hargeisa. Over hot,
sweet Somali tea in his favourite cafe, he told me more about how the pirates are organized.

'Wannabes need not apply'

It is "investors" who play a crucial role, he said.

In the case of the CEC Future, two men put up the initial seed money."It costs up to $6,000 (£3,600)
to send a team," he said. "It goes on buying food, ammunition, fuel. Then RPGs and speedboats
can be rented. Mother boats are also very important." Investors have to be prepared to fund several
failed attempts and to wait weeks until the team succeeds. But Mr Ali says they can expect to take
about 30% of the ransom money. "That's a return which does not happen anywhere."

But good investors also have to know who to recruit. "A seasoned veteran is much better than a
'wannabe'." 'Good for the CV'. The most skilled pirates, the ones who prove themselves by being
the first to board a hijacked ship, are paid more, and are more in demand.

"That guy doing the jumping, he gets $5,000 (£3,050) extra because he's taken the risk of getting
hit by anything coming from the crew. And it's something good for his CV, to show to other
investors."

Mr Ali maintains that he only agreed to work for the pirates because he wanted to learn more about
how they operate and then explain it to the world. It is difficult for me to believe that this was his
only motivation. As we finish talking he tells me something else. The two leaders of the pirates that
hijacked the CEC Future have since been killed. One of them was shot dead by his own men as soon
as he reached the shore in a battle over the ransom money.

But with such huge rewards on offer, others will already have taken their place.

 

[CougarKing]

More details on the pirate attack intercepted by HMS PORTLAND, as described two posts above and posted by Yrys:

We surrender!
The moment Royal Navy captured Somali pirate gang - and then blew up their boat

By Matthew Hickley

Last updated at 12:29 AM on 04th June 2009

This was the moment a group of heavily-armed pirates learned it isn't wise to tangle with the Royal Navy.

The gang - carrying machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades - were found prowling for victims in the seas off the Somali coast.

But as these dramatic pictures show they won't be doing much terrorising for a while.

Hands up: Royal Navy sailors board one of the skiffs and take the crew into custody after pursuing the boat through the Gulf of Aden

After their arrest, the pirates found the crew of frigate HMS Portland blasting one of their boats to pieces.

The drama began when a Spanish patrol aircraft spotted two suspicious skiffs in the Gulf of Aden.

The area is plagued by highly-organised pirates operating out of Somalia who seize merchant ships and hold them to ransom.

HMS Portland gave chase and used its Lynx helicopter - equipped with machine guns and snipers - and inflatable launches to corner the vessels.

Faced with superior firepower and a boarding party of sailors and Royal Marines, the pirates quickly surrendered.

Dramatic: Once the crew were removed, one of the boats was destroyed with gunfire to prevent it being used again (above and below)

The British crew found the pirates were equipped with barrels of fuel, grappling hooks, ladders and a cache of weapons that included rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and ammunition.

The men were arrested and taken aboard the frigate, while the sailors enjoyed a brief period of target practice, quickly sending one of the skiffs to the bottom of the sea.

However, in a sign of the legal difficulties which hamper the battle against piracy, the Royal Navy had to release the men.

Because the pirates were not caught red-handed attacking a ship, the crew had to let them go in their remaining boat, minus their weapons.

HMS Portland is serving as part of a multinational task force against piracy.

Commander Tim Henry said: 'HMS Portland has once again demonstrated the coalition and Royal Navy's commitment to keeping the sea lanes open and making this key waterway safe for international trade.'

Air support: The Somali suspects are guarded by sailors after being seized

HMS Portland (below) has been in the Gulf of Aden to disrupt the gangs of pirates: In an earlier raid, officers used a Lynx helicopter to tackle a suspect dhow (above)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/...-blew-boat.html

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

From Janes Navy International:

It was bound to happen sooner or later, I am just surprised it took this long.

Date Posted: 03-Jun-2009


Jane's Navy International


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malaysia co-opts container ship for anti-piracy role
Dzirhan Mahadzir

The container ship Bunga Mas Lima was operationalised as a Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) auxiliary vessel on 1 June following modification for counter-piracy escort duties off Somalia.

Owned by Malaysia International Shipping Corporation (MISC), the 699 TEU container ship has been fitted with a helicopter deck, small-boat facilities, light weapon mounts, military-standard communication systems and a medical centre.

The work - which also included a repaint in RMN colours - was carried out by MISC's heavy engineering arm, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering, in Pasir Gudang.

Although the navy has escorted MISC shipping in the Gulf of Aden since two of the company's vessels were hijacked there in 2008, senior naval officers have been pushing for MISC to provide a ship for this task.

The RMN was concerned about the financial cost of the escort missions, which totalled MYR48.5 million (USD13.91 million), and wear and tear on warships that rotated between Malaysia and the Gulf for deployments lasting a month at a time.

Navy chief Admiral Dato' Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar told Jane's that the Bunga Mas Lima would leave for the Gulf on 3 June and is expected to operate in the area for three months.

The ship's company consists of 21 MISC employees and 36 RMN personnel. The former have undergone naval training and are now part of the RMN Volunteer Reserve, while the latter consist of naval special operations personnel and an aviation detachment, which will operate the embarked Super Lynx helicopter. A Malaysian armed forces medical team is also embarked.

 

[CougarKing]

090602-N-0743B-062 GULF OF ADEN (June 2, 2009) Members of a visit, board, search and seizure team and members of U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team 91112, embarked aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64), respond to a suspect vessel while operating in the Combined Maritime Forces area of responsibility as part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151. Gettysburg is serving as the flagship for CTF 151, a Turkish-led task force commanded by Turkish Navy Rear Adm. Caner Bener. The task force was established to conduct counter-piracy operations under a mission-based mandate throughout the Combined Maritime Forces area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric L. Beauregard/Released)

090602-N-0743B-031 GULF OF ADEN (June 2, 2009) Members of the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team and members of U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety and security Team 91112 conduct maritime security operations. The team inspected a dhow that was later deemed not suspect. Gettysburg is serving as the flagship for Combined Task Force (CTF)151, a Turkish-led task force commanded by Turkish Rear Adm. Caner Bener. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric L. Beauregard/Released)

 

[Xiang]

Somali Pirates Selecting Targets With Help of British Informants

Somali pirates attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are reportedly selecting their targets with the help of a team of "consultants" based in London.

According to a European military intelligence document cited by a Spanish radio station, "well-placed informers" are in constant contact with control centers in Somalia. The control centers give the pirates information about ships in the area including their routes and cargoes, the Guardian reported.

Cadena SER radio said that in some cases, hijackers even had details on the layout of ships, their ports of call and the nationalities of those on board, the Guardian reported.

The document said pirates seem to be avoiding British ships and those from a few other nations, the paper reported.

The network of informants allegedly extends to Yemen, Dubai and the Suez Canal 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519850,00.html

 

[CougarKing]

Seems the Indian Navy hasn't let up on their antipiracy efforts since we last heard from them.

Indian navy staves off attack by Somali pirates

3 days ago

LJUBLJANA (AFP) — The Indian navy on Thursday stopped Somali pirates from attacking a cargo ship registered in Slovenia, the Slovenian STA news agency reported, quoting state Radio Slovenija.

The pirates on board three fast motorboats targetted the freighter Postojna, but fled after warning shots were fired from the Indian naval vessel escorting a convoy. Nobody was hurt in the incident, Radio Slovenija said.

The Postojna, en route from South Korea, was headed for Saudi Arabia.

Since the beginning of the year, pirates have attacked or tried to attack more than 100 ships off the coast of lawless Somalia on the Horn of Africa and vessels from several navies are in the region to protect shipping.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic...BXvh8tfo6e4gPNg

 

 

[CougarKing]

More updates:

NATO warship picks 14 Indian sailors released by Somali pirates

Fourteen Indian sailors, taken hostage by Somali pirates, were rescued by a NATO warship after their dhow was released. The dhow was carrying a shipment of charcoal from Brava, south of Mogadishu, to Sharjah in the UAE, when it was attacked by pirates on June 3.

Ismail Abdurehman, the captain of Vishvakalyan said six pirates, armed with AK-47 rifles and a rocket propelled grenade launcher, forced the vessel to stop. Two more skiffs with a dozen more pirates joined in. Once on board, the pirates beat up the sailors, and forced them to steer to somewhere near Hobyo, north of Mogadishu, where they were kept as prisoners for 10 days.

The pirates stole all food on the dhow and robbed them of all their belongings.

On Friday night though, they released the dhow, which was picked up on radar by NATO’s Portuguese warship 'NRP Corte-Real' early on Saturday morning, some 20 nautical miles south-east of Hobyo. The crew could not call for help as the pirates had damaged the VHF radio.

Sonia Pereira, the doctor on board the warship, said the men were suffering from bruises, dehydration, diarrhoea and respiratory illnesses. One even had a dental abscess.

“They hit the crew all over, on the head, everywhere,” said Alison Bevege, an Australian journalist on board the warship, quoting Abdurehman.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/NATO-war...-pirates/476456

Somali pirates also preying on African refugees
2009-06-14 11:22

ADEN (AFP) - Somali pirates scouting for prey in the Gulf of Aden are using African refugees as human shields in a bid to fool patrolling international warships, according to humanitarian agencies.

The phenomenon first surfaced at the beginning of the year, when the international community boosted its naval presence in the vital maritime shipping lane in response to increasing pirate attacks on commercial vessels.

"What is new is the use of refugee boats as human shields," said Francisco Otero Villar, who heads the Spanish section of Doctors without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSF).

Some pirates now resort to tying up their skiffs alongside boats ferrying refugees from Somalia to Yemen, and then hiding themselves among the helpless and hapless would-be migrants.

The people traffickers, who are also Somali and reportedly in cahoots with the pirates, then keep a keen lookout for isolated ships vulnerable to attack instead of heading with their human cargo directly towards refuge in Yemen.

Once they locate a likely victim, the pirates board their fast and manoeuvrable skiffs and press home their attack.

"It's a deal between the smugglers and the pirates," Otero Villar said, adding that four such cases have been reported since the start of 2009.

In such situations, the boats carrying refugees act like a "mother ship" for the pirates.

As a result, the refugees' voyage to Yemen from the port of Bosasso -- the economic capital of the Somali breakaway region of Puntland -- which on average takes two days, stretches for much longer, exposing them to even greater risk.

Refugees have reported these incidents to the Spanish section of MSF and other aid agencies, as well as to UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) workers who take care of them after they make landfall in southern Yemen.

"It is difficult to fathom the links between the pirates and the smugglers" who transport desperate refugees in old and ill-equipped boats, said Claire Bourgeois, the UNHCR representative in Yemen.

"One day they're smugglers, the next they're pirates," she told AFP.

The pirates also take advantage of the lack of a clearly defined code of conduct for the warships on dealing with refugee boats.

"There is a vacuum regarding what a warship should do when it comes across refugees," Bourgeois said.

"What is a warship supposed to do with refugees when she intercepts pirates" among refugees. "Can she approach the Yemeni coast to help refugees reach Yemen?"

The situation is legally very delicate since foreign warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden are not allowed to enter Yemeni territorial waters.

However one rare case of this was reported in March, and involved a French warship from the European Union's Atalante operation.

According to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to AFP, an exception was made and the naval vessel was allowed to tow a boat carrying about 80 refugees, mostly Ethiopians, to the Yemeni port of Aden.

But, they said, the operation ended in tragedy when the boat capsized in the harbour as the Ethiopian refugees, who were seated at one side of the boat, all stood up at once when told to disembark. Eight refugees drowned in the incident.

The pirates' new human shield tactics are merely the latest risk facing migrants on an already dangerous journey across the Gulf of Aden.

For many refugees seeking to escape continuing unrest and the threat of death in lawless Somalia, their flight can end in a watery grave long before they reach their destination.

On April 22, 35 Ethiopian and Somali refugees drowned after their boat capsized as it neared Yemen's shores, according to the Spanish section of MSF.

Some survivors reported that Somali pirates had stopped their boat with the intention of robbing them and throwing them overboard in the middle of the ocean, before changing their minds after negotiating with the smugglers.

As of May 27, 142 refugees had died and 66 others were reported missing since the beginning of the year, according to UNHCR figures released in early June.

Somali pirates have carried out 126 attacks so far this year, including 44 successful sea-jackings, according to environmentalist group Ecoterra International, which monitors illegal marine activity in the region.

During the whole of 2008, 49 ships fell victim to pirates in the region.

http://www.mysinchew.com/node/25913

 

[CougarKing]

Kenyan police officers stand guard as the USS Gettysburg (CG 64) guided missile cruiser carrying suspected Somali pirates sails into the coastal city of Mombasa, June 10, 2009. REUTERS/Joseph Okanga

The American naval warship Frigate MV Gettysburg as it docks at the Kilindini port of Mombasa, Wednesday June 10, 2009 with seventeen suspected Somali pirates on board who were arrested by the American naval officers. The suspected Somali pirates were arrested on May 13, 2009 as they attempted to hijack a merchant cargo ship which was headed to Alexandria port in Egypt. The pirates were armed with six AK47s, one pistol, one Somali sword and one rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launcher at the time of arrest. They will be charged in a court in Malindi town, 120km north of Mombasa.
(AP Photo)

Escorted by US officers one of the seventeen suspected Somali pirate is disembarked from the American naval warship MV Frigate Gettysburg soon after the ship docked at the port of Mombasa, Wednesday June 10, 2009 following their apprehension by American naval officers in the dangerous waters off Yemen. The suspected Somali pirates were arrested on May 13, 2009 as they attempted to hijack a merchant cargo ship which was headed to Alexandria port in Egypt. The pirates were armed with six AK47s, one pistol, one Somali sword and one rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launcher at the time of arrest. They will be charged in a court in Malindi town, 120km north of Mombasa. (AP Photo)

(AP Photo)

Some of the seventeen suspected Somali pirates outside the Port police station in Mombasa, Kenya, after they had been disembarked from an American naval warship the MV Frigate Gettysburg Wednesday June 10, 2009, following their apprehension by American naval officers in the dangerous waters off Yemen. The suspected Somali pirates were arrested on May 13, 2009 as they attempted to hijack a merchant cargo ship which was headed to Alexandria port in Egypt. The pirates were armed with six AK47s, one pistol, one Somali sword and one rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launcher at the time of arrest. They will be charged in a court in Malindi town, 120km north of Mombasa. (AP Photo)

The seventeen suspected Somali pirates charged with piracy are seen in a magistrate's court Thursday, June 11, 2009 in Mombasa, Kenya. All the seventeen suspects who were handed over to the Kenyan authorities by American marine officers who arrested them along the Gulf of Eden in the act of hijacking a cargo ship, which was headed to the port of Alexandria in Egypt, denied the piracy charges against them and were remanded at the Shimo la Tewa GK Prison. The hearing of their case will start on June 24 and 25 2009. (AP Photo)

 

[The Bread Guy]

The shifting tide and focus - shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act - link to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre here for the latest.

"A maritime watchdog June 18 warned seafarers that Somali pirates were targeting ships at the southern end of the Red Sea and off Oman due to bad weather and the absence of naval warships.

"The two new areas are at Bab al Mandab, southern Red Sea, and the Arabian Sea, off Oman," said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.

Choong said the IMB had recorded eight attacks in the past two weeks in the two areas, adding that pirates were staging raids under the cover of darkness.

"Pirates are expanding their attacks from the Gulf of Aden. Bad weather conditions in the east coast of Somalia due to the southwest monsoon are pushing them to launch attacks in the two new areas," he said.

Choong also said the international flotilla of warships was concentrated in the Gulf of Aden, forcing pirates to expand their attack areas to ensure successful hijackings.

The world's naval powers have deployed dozens of warships to the lawless waters off Somalia over the past year to curb attacks by pirates threatening one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes.

At the last count, 14 ships were still being held by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, together with more than 200 seamen, almost a quarter of them Filipinos."

 

[CougarKing]

Another update:

Japan 'can fire' on Somali pirates

Japan joined an international operation in March against pirates in the Gulf of Aden [GALLO/GETTY]

Japan's parliament has passed a law allowing the nation's forces to open fire on pirates operating off the coast of Somalia.

The new law will allow Japan's maritime forces to attack pirate ships that approach other vessels in the Gulf of Aden, a key shipping route.

Yasukazu Hamada, Japan's defence minister, issued an order on Friday to prepare for "an immediate and appropriate implementation" of the navy's new mission after the law takes effect in late July, the AFP news agency reported.

The law will also allow Japanese forces to protect any commercial ships threatened by pirates, and not just those sailing under Japan's flag or carrying Japanese cargo.

Piracy 'threat'

"Japan can take action more effectively against piracy, in co-operation with other countries," Taro Aso, Japan's prime minister, said in a statement.

"Piracy is a threat not only to Japan, but to the international community and a challenge Japan should proactively deal with," he said.

The constitutionally pacifist nation joined the US, China and more than 20 other countries in March in an international operation against pirates who have attacked ships in the Gulf of Aden.

As part of its assistance, Japanese officials deployed two destroyers and two maritime surveillance aircraft to the region.

But the destroyers had no mandate to use force except in self-defence.

The military mission is unprecedented for Japan, which imposed constitutional limits to prohibit the use of force to resolve international disputes after the second world war.

But the country's more powerful lower house of parliament voted the bill into law on Friday after the upper house rejected it.

Opposing parliament members said the move could erode the nation's pacifist constitution.

Despite international piracy efforts, the International Maritime Bureau has said that more ships have been attacked off Somalia in the first six months of 2009 than in all of last year.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pac...4944697820.html

 

[Yrys]

Somalia's text message insurgency
Somali justice - Islamist-style
Somali rage at grave desecration
Somali journalist: 'I saw my boss shot dead'

Somali appeal for foreign troops

Militants have been battling pro-
government forces for three years

The speaker of Somalia's parliament has called for neighbouring states to send troops
to the country within 24 hours.

Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur made the appeal as fierce fighting that has spread to the
north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, continued for a second day. Islamist forces
battling the country's transitional government briefly took over a police station and
other key buildings in Karan district. Thousands are fleeing the area, previously a
refuge for the displaced.

"The government is weakened by the rebel forces," AFP news agency quoted Sheikh
Aden Mohamed Nur as saying. "We ask neighbouring countries - including Kenya,
Djibouti, Ethiopia and Yemen - to send troops to Somalia within 24 hours."

Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991. Its UN-backed,
transitional government controls only parts of Mogadishu, and little of the rest
of the country.


High-profile killings

Several thousand Ethiopian troops left Somalia in January after a two-year
intervention in support of the transitional government. There are some 4,300
African Union troops deployed in Mogadishu, but they lack any mandate to
pursue the insurgents. Reuters news agency quoted a spokesman for militant
Islamist group al-Shabab as warning Kenya not to intervene.

"If it tries to, we will attack Kenya and destroy the tall buildings of Nairobi,"
Sheik Hasan Yacqub told reporters in southern Somalia. Kenya had said it
would not stand by and let the situation in Somalia deteriorate further because
it would destabilise the region, Reuters reported.

Pro-government forces have been fighting radical Islamist guerrillas in the capital
since 7 May. On Friday, gunmen killed Mohamed Hussein Addow, a politician who
represented Karan. It was the third killing of a high-profile public figure in as many
days.

Somalia's security minister - an outspoken critic of the militant Islamist group al-
Shabab - was killed in a suicide attack in the northern town of Beledweyne, and
Mogadishu's police commander was also killed this week.

Militant groups including al-Shabab, which is accused of links to al-Qaeda, have
been trying to topple Somalia's government for three years. A moderate Islamist
president took office in Somalia in January but even his introduction of Sharia law
to the strongly Muslim country has not appeased the guerrillas.

Some four million people in Somalia - or about one-third of the population - need
food aid, according to aid agencies.

 

[Yrys]

Japan expands anti-piracy mission

Two Japanese destroyers are patrolling in the Gulf of Aden

Japan's parliament has passed a law allowing its navy wider powers
to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia. The new law allows Japanese
warships to protect all commercial vessels in the area and to fire at
pirate vessels, but not at pirates themselves.

Japan has sent two destroyers and two surveillance planes to join the
navies of more than 20 countries fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
Japan's post-WWII pacifist constitution tightly restricts its military.

The bill was approved by the lower house of parliament in April. On
Friday,  the opposition-controlled upper house rejected it over concerns
about expanding the role of Japan's military. Just hours later, the lower
house used its capacity to overrule the upper house and voted the bill
into law with more than a two-thirds majority.

Previously, the Japanese force was only allowed to escort Japanese vessels,
or those with Japanese cargoes or crews, and use weapons only for self-
defence. They will now be able to escort any ship and have more leeway to
fire, such as at suspected pirate vessels which fail to heed warnings not to
approach commercial vessels.

Pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean near Somalia have attacked
shipping in what is one of the world's busiest sea lanes, capturing vessels and
crews to hold for ransom.

 

[CougarKing]

Good job to the Portuguese and the Turks:

Portuguese warship foils Somalia pirate attack

15 hours ago

LISBON (AFP) — A Portuguese frigate foiled a pirate attack on a container vessel in the Gulf of Aden Monday and captured eight pirates after firing shots at their boat, the armed forces command in Lisbon said.

The eight were freed after consultation with the Portuguese government, in line with the procedure for warships serving under NATO command, but their weapons were confiscated, a military statement said.

The Corte Real, operating with NATO forces in the region, was escorting a Pakistani merchant ship, the Bolan, when it received a distress call from the Singapore-flagged Maersk Phoenix, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

A Lusa correspondent on the Corte Real said the frigate sped to rescue the container ship, which was some four nautical miles away, and opened fire at a pirate boat.

Several shots were fired across the boat's bows before the pirates surrendered, the report added. A boarding party of Portuguese marines confiscated four assault rifles, a grenade-launcher, grenades and explosives.

A Turkish warship, the Gaziantep, also went to the scene and took over the escort of the Bolan and Maersk Phoenix, Lusa said.

F-490 TCG Gaziantep

The world's naval powers have deployed dozens of warships to the lawless waters off Somalia over the past year to curb attacks by pirates threatening one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes.

At the last count 14 ships were still being held for ranson by Somali pirates, together with more than 200 seamen.

Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, said last week that the concentration of international warships in the Gulf of Aden was forcing pirates to expand their attack areas to ensure success.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic...5-jLoJuLhxAeTZA

 

[Shec]

Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, said last week that the concentration of international warships in the Gulf of Aden was forcing pirates to expand their attack areas to ensure success

.

Perhaps the time has come to re-surrect the Q-Ship (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_ship) to counter pirates although there is probably some bleeding heart legislation against such using such a devious entrapment against poor disadvantaged fellow human beings who are obviously crying for help.

 

[CougarKing]

And the pirates scuttle one of the captured ships.

Somali pirates destroy abandoned Seychelles ship

19 hours ago

NAIROBI (AFP) — Pirates torched a Seychelles vessel off the coast of Somalia after releasing its seven crew members for a ransom, two members of the pirate group said Wednesday.

The Indian Ocean Explorer, a maritime research ship from the Seychelle islands, was captured by Somali pirates between March 28 and 31 in the Indian Ocean.

Indian Ocean Explorer


The seven crew members were released without the ship and they returned home on Tuesday.

"We set fire to it three nights ago," said Abdullahi Qaaray, a member of the pirate group who acted as an interpreter during the ransom negotiations.

"We had asked the owners for a million dollars but in the end he paid us only 450,000 dollars," he told AFP by phone from a village near Haradhere.

"We said we would burn the ship because he was refusing to pay all the ransom. And the owner told us that we could sink it or burn it... We used some fuel and set it on fire, the ship is sunk now, you cannot even see it anymore."

Qaaray insisted that destroying the ship was not a condition set by the owner for the payment of the ransom but only a decision made by the pirates to ensure the valuable marine exploration vessel could not be recovered.

Abdi Ganey, one of the gunmen in the pirate group, also confirmed the ship was destroyed.

"We released the hostages after an agreement was reached but the owners were really reluctant to negotiate," he told AFP. "They paid us a small amount and there was no way they were getting the ship, it had to go."

Officials in Somalia confirmed that the ship was destroyed.

According to Ecoterra International, an environmentalist NGO monitoring illegal marine activities in the region, Somali pirates have carried out 140 attacks so far this year, including 46 successful sea-jackings.

Last year, another 49 ships were captured by the pirates but the marauding sea-bandits, who have turned Somalia's waters into the world's most dangerous, had not been in the habit off destroying their bounty.

The release of the ship and the crew is generally negotiated as a whole.

The Indian Ocean Explorer's destruction means that at least 13 ships are still in pirate hands, as well as more than 200 crew members.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic...M_dr1TU5KLtvClw

 

[CougarKing]

Some good news.

Somali pirates release Belgian ship's crew
AP


By AOIFE WHITE, Associated Press Writer Aoife White, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jun 28, 7:58 am ET

BRUSSELS – Somali pirates have released the entire crew of a Belgian ship seized 10 weeks ago after a ransom was paid, the Belgian government said Sunday.

The 10-member crew of the Pompei dredger was in good health and sailing the ship to an unidentified harbor where it will arrive in a few days, the government said. The crew members will then fly home to their families.

Defense Minister Pieter De Crem told a news conference that the ship's owners paid a ransom to release the ship and crew. He declined to say how much, but said pirates had demanded $8 million.

A plane dropped the money into the sea near the Belgian vessel Saturday, De Crem said. About 10 pirates on board abandoned the ship early Sunday.

The ship, its Dutch captain and crew of two Belgians, three Filipinos and four Croatians were seized April 18 a few hundred miles north of the Seychelles islands as they were sailing from Dubai to South Africa.

The pirates took the ship to the Somali coast where they and the crew stayed on board.

Belgian officials said the ship's owners negotiated the release with a middleman who sometimes passed on messages from the captain.

The pirates even contacted the crew's family members once to prove that they were still alive.

De Crem said the government had considered military intervention to seize the ship, but decided that it was "not desirable" because it could endanger the crew.

Despite international navy patrols, piracy has exploded in the Gulf of Aden and around Somalia's 1,900-mile (3,060-kilometer) coastline. Pirates are able to operate freely because Somalia has had no effective central government in nearly 20 years.

Seasonal monsoons have hampered pirate activity recently and the relative lull is expected to continue until at least the end of August, when the rough weather subsides, according to the London-based International Maritime Bureau.

Belgian prosecutors said an attack on a Belgian ship in international waters was a crime that they would investigate. Belgian police will interview the crew and check the ship for forensic and DNA evidence when it reaches harbor, they said.

"We think there is a chance" that some of the pirates might be caught and brought to justice, federal prosecutor Johan Delmulle told reporters. They could face up to 30 years in jail.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090628/ap_on_re_af/piracy

 

[GAP]

NATO flotilla takes over anti-piracy patrols off Somalia
By: Slobodan Lekic, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 29/06/2009
Article Link

CORFU, Greece - NATO has replaced the flotilla conducting anti-piracy patrols off Somalia for the past three months with a new force that will continue the operation "indefinitely," a spokesman said Monday.

Last month, NATO defence ministers met in Brussels to consider ways of tackling the problem of combatting piracy in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. They ordered the long-term deployment of a naval squadron - known as Standing Naval Maritime Group 2 - to the region.

The new force will continue to operate in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, where international patrols involving warships from NATO, the European Union and other nations have been working to reduce attacks on merchant ships by Somali pirates.

"The transition was seamless and clearly demonstrates NATO's resolve to combat the evils of 21st-century piracy," said Chris Davis, spokesman for NATO's anti-piracy effort.

The new task force will consist of five warships from Britain, the United States, Greece, Italy and Turkey. It will be commanded by a British officer, Commodore Steve Chick, from his flagship, HMS Cornwall.

"By rotating the (naval forces) through the region, a powerful NATO presence can be maintained in the Gulf of Aden and around the Horn of Africa indefinitely," Davis said in a telephone interview from NATO's anti-piracy headquarters in Northwood, near London.
More on link