Safety Parent

The most effective proven deterrent to piracy In April 2010, there were no successful pirate attacks in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), which is the route patrolled by the Counter-Piracy Task Force. Although elsewhere in the region there were 19 attacks and three vessels successfully pirated, this is a significantly reduced number compared to the corresponding period last year.While the efforts of naval task forces in the area have helped combat piracy, the military alone cannot prevent all pirate attacks, and commercial vessels must not depend solely upon military intervention to ensure their safe passage. The commercial shipping industry is now demonstrating that the most effective proven deterrent to piracy is by their actions.Merchant vessels that have adopted industry recommended "Best Management Practices" and that have registered with the Maritime Security Centre - Horn of Africa and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization, Dubai (e-mail: [email protected]) reduce the likelihood of their becoming victims of piracy. This advice is not based on theoretical data but on proven statistics. Best Management Practices that were adopted by the last three vessels to avoid a successful pirate attack in April 2010 included the use of fire hoses; increased speed; evasive manoeuvres and the...

The European Union is making a push for African trials of suspected Somali pirates after Kenya indicated it no longer wants to shoulder that burden. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is expected to travel to Africa shortly to make a strong case for trying suspected Somali pirates on their home continent. The Associated Press reports her trip will includes stops in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and the Seychelles.The question of where and how to bring the suspects to justice is a long-standing headache. Somalia lacks a functioning government, so a number of trials have instead taken place in nearby Kenya. But Nairobi recently stopped accepting suspects, saying they were straining its already congested justice system.In rare cases, Western nations have agreed to bring the suspected pirates to trial in their own countries. Germany, for example, is waiting to receive half a dozen alleged pirates.But Africa analyst at the Chatham House policy center in London, Roger Middleton, says that is the exception.There has been a reluctance to take them back, although they have the legal ability to do that, to the U.K. or America or whatever it is, said Middleton. I think partly because they are worried about pirates claiming...

Pirates expand area of operations Somali pirates were responsible for 35 of the 67 piracy incidents reported worldwide during the first quarter of the year, the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported.The number of incidents represents a sharp drop from the 102 attacks reported during the first quarter of last year.This marked reduction can be attributed to the continued presence and success of the navies in the Gulf of Aden along with the robust anti piracy measures adopted by the merchant navy fleet, the report said. Twenty-six vessels were boarded during the first quarter of 2010, with 18 ships fired upon, 12 suffering from attempted attacks, and 11 vessels hijacked. A total of 194 crew members were taken hostage, 12 of whom were injured.The east and south coast of Somalia recorded 18 incidents including five vessels hijacked and 11 fired upon in the first quarter of 2010 compared with 21 incidents including four vessels hijacked and 11fired upon for the corresponding period in 2009. Within the Gulf of Aden and in the adjacent Red and Arabian Seas 17 incidents were reported, including the hijacking of four vessels, compared with 41 incidents, including five hijacked vessels, in the first quarter of...

EU NAVFOR Force Commander welcomes Greek Ship Elli to its anti piracy operation On 20th April 2010, a week after joining EU NAVFORs anti piracy operation off the coast of Somalia, the Greek frigate ELLI was officially welcomed to the task group with a visit from Force Commander Rear Admiral (LH) Jan Thörnqvist. Taking the opportunity to visit HS ELLI when his own Command Ship, HSwMS CARLSKRONA, met HS ELLI during tasking in the Gulf of Aden, Force Commander Jan Thörnqvist said the arrival of the Greek Ship was a most welcome contribution to the EU NAVFOR anti piracy operation and expressed his delight that so many of the crew of HS ELLI are experienced in operating in the waters around the Horn of Africa. HS ELLI is a good reinforcement to our task force.During the visit, Commander Christos Deyannis, Captain of HS ELLI, was able to show his newly refitted ship to the Force Commander. She is a very capable vessel with a built-in armament of guns, torpedoes and missiles. She has an Agusta-Bell 212 helicopter and a highly capable Boarding Team. She also has modern state of the art; radars, sensors, sonars and combat data systems.HS ELLI joined...

Attacks Down, Distance Up There have been fewer attacks by Somali pirates during the first quarter of this year than during the same time period last year, according to a report by the International Maritime Bureau.Thats the good news. The bad news?The pirates reach is extending far beyond the waters of the Gulf of Aden, as European and American Naval patrols force Somali pirates to venture further afield for ships to hijack.Consider this past week, where Somali pirates have gone on a hijacking spree, capturing three Thai ships far out in the Indian Ocean and a Liberian-owned cargo ship off the coast of Oman. The capture of the Thai ships set a new record, at 1,200 nautical miles from the Somali coast.This weeks attacks underline a weakness in the increased militarization of the seas, showing that naval patrols alone wont stop piracy.Their territory is growing, and as the naval patrols lock down the Gulf of Aden, are going farther out into the Indian Ocean, says Roger Middleton, an expert on Somali piracy with Chatham House in London. The thing is, its not as easy to patrol as large an area as the Indian Ocean. The Gulf of Aden concentrates shipping,...

Worldwide hijackings rise as pirates expand area of operation Somali pirates were responsible for 35 of the 67 piracy incidents reported worldwide during the first quarter of the year, the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported today. The number of incidents represents a sharp drop from the 102 attacks reported during the first quarter of last year. This marked reduction can be attributed to the continued presence and success of the navies in the Gulf of Aden along with the robust anti piracy measures adopted by the merchant navy fleet, the report said.Twenty-six vessels were boarded during the first quarter of 2010, with 18 ships fired upon, 12 suffering from attempted attacks, and 11 vessels hijacked. A total of 194 crew members were taken hostage, 12 of whom were injured.The east and south coast of Somalia recorded 18 incidents including five vessels hijacked and 11 fired upon in the first quarter of 2010 compared with 21 incidents including four vessels hijacked and 11fired upon for the corresponding period in 2009. Within the Gulf of Aden and in the adjacent Red and Arabian Seas 17 incidents were reported, including the hijacking of four vessels, compared with 41 incidents, including five hijacked...

Liberian owned M/V VOC DAISY hijacked south of Oman On the morning of 21April 2010, the Panamanian Flagged (Liberian owned) M/V VOC DAISY, a bulk carrier of 47,183 dead weight tonnes, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden, 190 nautical miles East South East of Salalah, Oman. At the time of the attack, the MV VOC DAISY, owned by Middleburg Properties Ltd, Liberia, and operated by the Greek company Samartzis Maritime Enterprises, was heading west from Ruwais, U.A.E, making for the eastern rendezvous point of the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), for onward transit through the Suez Canal. She was 280 miles from the IRTC when she was hijacked.MV VOC DAISY was registered with Maritime Security Centre Horn Of Africa (MSCHOA) and was able to raise the alarm before the four armed pirates, carrying three AK47s and one RPG, stormed onboard and cut their lines of communication.EU NAVFOR is monitoring the situation and can confirm that all the 21 Philippino crew of the MV VOC DAISY are safe.EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTAs main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program (WFP) and vessels of African Union Mission for Somalia AMISOM, and to protect...

Somali pirate attacks closing in on Indian coast, warns IMB Somali pirate attacks are closing in on the south and west coasts of India the International Maritime Bureau is warning shipping. Recent attacks (have) indicated that pirates are moving closer towards the eastern part of the Indian Ocean approaching closer to the Indian west and south coast, Lakshadweep/Minicoy islands, and Northern Maladives, warned an alert sent to ships earlier today by the IMBs piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur. The alert listed six recent attacks in the eastern Indian Ocean, including hijackings and vessels that had been fired upon, ranging from 60 degrees east to 69 degrees east. Vessels were advised to exercise extreme caution, and for strict anti-piracy measures to be maintained by vessels sailing in the western, central, eastern and northern parts of the Indian Ocean. The IMB has written to the authorities in India and the Maldives appealing to them to step up patrols. If the attacks go unchecked Noel Choong, head of the piracy reporting centre said the pirates could move to attack ships closer to the two countrys coastlines.Source:eunavfor

Pirates attack French Navy ship Some Somali pirates have learned the perils of making night attacks. Last night they picked the wrong target. Mistaking the French Navy command and replenishment ship Somme for a commercial ship, they opened fire on her from two skiffs.The Somme, which was 400 nautical miles off the Somali coast to replenish anti-piracy forces, fired warning shots.The pirates took flight. The Somme took up the chase and detected a further pirate vessel -- the mother ship. The Somme intercepted it within an hour and found two suspects on board along with fuel, munitions and other piracy paraphenalia.The Somme took the two suspects on board and destroyed the mother vessel. It resumed its pursuit and a few hours later intercepted a skiff with four suspects on board.The skiff and all six pirate suspects are now on board the Somme.On October 7, 2009 another group of pirates mistook the Somme for a merchant vessel. That time five of them were captured.Source:marinelog

The worlds largest marine Emissions Control Area (ECA) has been approved by the International Maritime Organization Ships operating in waters off the North American coasts will be forced to use dramatically cleaner fuel and technology. The move is likely to make it easier for the EU to designate ECAs in European waters.The IMOs decision last month to approve the ECA proposal came in the shortest possible time, just one year since it was first proposed. It means ships visiting American and Canadian ports will have to use fuels with a sulphur content of no more than 1,000 parts per million from 2012, and be fitted with advanced emissions control technologies starting in 2016.If properly enforced, the new rules are expected to reduce sulphur content in fuel by 98%, which in turn will reduce particulate matter emissions by 85% and nitrogen oxides by 80%.The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the benefits will extend hundreds of kilometres inland, bringing nearly five million people relief from acute breathing problems by 2020, and avoiding 8,300 premature deaths each year. This is a change that will benefit millions of people and set in motion new innovations for the shipping industry, said Lisa Jackson of...