Piracy – Save our Seafarers Campaign
The campaign has six key priorities
Several leading shipping industry organisations, including the International Group of P&I Clubs, are supporting the Save our Seafarers campaign which urges governments to take a tougher stance against piracy in the Gulf of Aden, Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean.
The campaign has six key priorities:
• Reducing the effectiveness of the easily identifiable mother ships
• Authorising naval forces to hold pirates and deliver them for prosecution and punishment
• Fully criminalising all acts of piracy and intent to commit piracy under national laws, in accordance with their mandatory duty to co-operate to suppress piracy under international conventions
• Increasing naval assets available in the affected areas
• Providing greater protection and support for seafarers
• Tracing and criminalising the organisers and financiers behind the criminal networks
Operators and Industry staff are encouraged to visit the Save our Seafarers website and express their support by using the facility for interested parties to send a letter to their governments regarding the need for action.
Source: Save Our Seafarers
NATO Shipping Centre weekly piracy assessment
13-19 May 2011
Overview
During the reporting period (13-19 May 2011) pirate activities occurred throughout the AOR. Although no successful act of piracy has been committed, there have been seven attacks, two approaches and two suspicious incidents in total.One approach reported in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) this period is the first reported pirate act within the GOA/IRTC area since April. It is assessed that sporadic acts of piracy will continue in this area. The majority of the incidents were concentrated within the Arabian Sea in an area between 10 and 25N and 55 and 70E, with the exception of two attacks near the coast of Tanzania and one attack off the coast of India.
Activities executed by coalition warships along the Somali Coast near pirate staging areas and the Arabian Sea/Greater Somali Basin resulted in five disruptions. Four dhows were retaken from pirate control. Jelbut 33, while currently unable to conduct pirate operations, is still in pirate control and has returned to the Somali Coast. FV Prantalay 12 is still considered under pirate control and not been released yet, but she is no longer considered seaworthy. Based on recent incidents, a whaler PAG is likely operating within an area 05 to 10S and 40 to 45E.
Gulf of Aden/Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC)
Although only one incident was observed in the central GOA within the past week, we continue to assess that the IRTC continues to be a high threat area. The judgement that pirate skiffs may blend into local traffic and commence an attack at any time without any warnings remains valid.
Arabian Sea/Greater Somali Basin
The activities shown during the last week highlight that the Arabian Sea still remains a high threat area, however we do not assess that any pirate controlled dhow is currently operating within the area. With the onset of the South Westerly monsoon, imminent the weather window for continued dhow PAG/mother ship operations is rapidly closing.
Indian seafarers threaten to boycott water of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean
Foreign governments have to take measures for piracy
Indian seafarers are threatening to refuse to sail to the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean if foreign governments fail to halt the increasing violent attacks on seafarers.
The statement from Abdul Gani Serang, general-secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI), follows growing concern in India about the risks to Indian seafarers.
There have been nationwide protests following the continued kidnap of seven Indian crew members of the Asphalt Venture, who Somali pirates still hold captive despite the payment of a ransom to release the ship and eight other crew members. Somali pirates currently hold captive about 50 Indian seafarers.
Abdul Gani Serang commented that: “They are kidnapped, taken hostage and going through terrible psychological trauma, and even their families suffer in silence. But little attention is given by international governments.”
Meanwhile, naval forces operating in the Gulf of Aden and other danger waters are continuing to take action to prevent attacks and rescue victims. In an operation in the Gulf of Oman on 16 May, naval forces are reported to have killed four pirates attacking the German-owned, Panama-flagged supertanker Artemis Glory.
On 13 May, a French warship disrupted a hijacked dhow that was being used as a pirate mothership with the original crew still on board as hostages. The naval ship fired warning shots on the armed dhow, which then turned to head back to Somalia.
The warship took no further action because of concerns for the safety of the hostages, but ordered the suspected pirates to abandon their skiffs, which they did.
On 12 May, the Royal Danish Navy freed 16 Iranian hostages from a pirate mothership in an operation off the Somali coast that resulted in four pirates being killed and 10 wounded after the warship responded to pirate fire.
In other recent attacks – in advance of the forthcoming monsoon season – the Maersk Glory tanker came under rocket-propelled fire on 14 May and the Gulf Muttrah was also attacked off the coast of Oman later that day.
Both pirate attacks were unsuccessful. Crew on board the MSC Ayala also saw off an attempted attack on 15 May off the Gulf of Aden after they fired flares at a pirate skiff.
However, there was concerning news from West Africa that a Filipino seafarer had been killed in a pirate attack on the Greek chemical tanker Sea King off the coast of Benin on 7 May. The pirates, armed with guns, had boarded the tanker and ransacked equipment and personal belongings.
According to the latest figures compiled by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), Somali pirates continue to hold about 26 vessels and 518 hostages.
Recent incidents reported to the IMB’s worldwide Piracy Reporting Centre include:
• Five pirates attempted to attack a fishing vessel 160 nautical miles off Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 17 May but abandoned their attack after the onboard security team fired warning shots.
• Four pirates chased and fired on a vehicle carrier off Comoros, between Mozambique and Madagascar, on 17 May but abandoned their attack after the captain increased speed and took evasive manoeuvres.
• Armed pirates boarded a chemical tanker off Cotonou, Benin on 15 May, hijacked it and then left it on 16 May taking stolen ship’s properties, crew belongings and some cargo.
• Robbers boarded a bulk carrier anchored at Samarinda, Indonesia on 15 May and escaped with ship’s stores.
• Two robbers boarded a chemical tanker anchored at Belawan, Indonesia on 15 May but escaped empty-handed after the alarm was raised.
• About five armed pirates chased and fired on a tanker 340 nautical miles west of Minicoy island, India on 14 May but abandoned their attack after the ship increased speed and took evasive manoeuvres.
• A pirate skiff approached a cargo ship 220 nautical miles off Socotra island, Yemen on 14 May. The alarm was raised, the onboard security team alerted and the crew went to the citadel. The skiff continued to approach the ship despite warning shots from the security team but eventually abandoned the attack and returned to their mothership.
• Pirates approached a container ship in the Gulf of Aden on 13 May but abandoned their attempt to board it after the onboard security team fired two shots into their skiff when it was 30 metres away.
Royal Thai Navi ready to supress piracy off the coast of Africa
Chinese made proposal of army invasion
In a little more than a month, the Royal Thai Navy is to rejoin the mostly ineffective international flotilla trying to suppress piracy off the coast of Africa and the Arab countries.
On their second deployment, the HTMS Pattani and the HTMS Similan will take along elite commando forces. The decision to step up the lethal force is timely and welcome.
A proposal to widen the anti-piracy battle came from an unlikely source last week. A senior Chinese general has recommended that the international military force join hands and ”crash the pirate bases” inside Somalia. The plan has strong merit and deserves serious consideration.
Gen Chen Bingde, chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, is deadly serious about his proposal. He made it in Washington, in a public speech, on the sidelines of talks with US Navy counterparts.
It took many by surprise. China has long held a position of non-intervention. It has vetoed or refused to vote on United Nations resolutions authorising military action, such as the recent, popular decision to act against Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Gen Chen’s proposal goes against a Chinese foreign policy which almost always opposes any sort of international action against other countries.
The general’s carefully nuanced position is that Somalia, home base of the pirates, no longer qualifies as a sovereign state. It has not had a central government with national authority for at least two decades.
Warlords of various nasty stripes control territory, but provide almost no government-type services. The warlords recognise no national or international laws. The pirates who prey on shipping in the Indian Ocean and Gulf Aden use the country as their own, unchallenged by any central authority.
Gen Chen claims another point, entirely credibly.
The pirates ”earn” tens of millions of dollars in ransoms, including from Thai shipping and fishing companies. But the ransoms and captured materials obviously go somewhere else, with the actual pirates receiving only a small part. In essence, the pirates are hired hands for a much bigger operation. Gen Chen believes that most or all of the pirates are hired guns for international terrorist organisations. His comments are in perfect sync, but even more aggressive than those of one of his US counterparts, Vice Adm Mark Fox.
He believes piracy proceeds go to terrorists, and recommended using anti-terrorist financing tactics against the pirates. The Chinese general’s words should be considered seriously, especially by the Royal Thai Navy. The armed forces command is about to dispatch two ships, 369 sailors and 60 special warfare troops back to the pirate-infested areas.
The same vessels, minus the Seals and recon Marines, were recalled after more than four months on station. The mission was particularly embarrassed by the seizure of a Thai cargo ship and 27 crewmen, who had to be ransomed for a significant sum after the Thai navy had left for home.
The current international effort against the Somalia-based pirates has long been a failure. Occasionally, a single effort by a naval vessel has scored a success. Sailors of the Indian navy thwarted a pirate attack on a Chinese cargo ship early this month.
That attack on the merchant vessel Fucheng may have been the tipping point for Gen Chen and his officers in Beijing.Passive patrols have failed to halt or even intimidate the Somalia-based pirates.
Military attacks to destroy their land bases would devastate the cross-border criminal enterprise. Gen Chen has made a proposal that deserves serious consideration.
Iranian Navy thwarted an attempt by pirates to hijack a Maltese-flagged cargo ship
Pirates intended to attack the Dandle with light weapons and RPG’s from different sides
The Iranian Navy has thwarted an attempt by pirates to hijack a Maltese-flagged cargo ship on its way to Iran in the Sea of Oman. The Iranian Naval forces saved the “Dandle” cargo ship when it was attacked by four speedboats of pirates, said Deputy Commander of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Gholam-Reza Khadem Bigham.
The Iranian Navy commander added that the pirates intended to attack the Dandle with light weapons and RPG’s from different sides but given the vigilance of the Iranian fleet, they were forced to flee, a statement by the Iranian Navy said.
Saturday’s incident brings to 10 the number of the Iranian Navy’s confrontations with Somali pirates since the start of the new Persian Year on March 21.
Rear Admiral Bigham also said that, following the Iranian Navy’s successful attempts in fighting piracy, the Navy has increased the number of its forces in the northern Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.
Earlier, Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced that Iran’s Navy is ready to provide protection for foreign ships that may be targeted by pirates in international waters.
He stressed that all Iranian and foreign ships that are under the escort of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s naval fleet will safely pass through the region.
In line with international anti-piracy efforts, Iran’s Navy has been conducting patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008.
The Gulf of Aden — which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea — is an important energy corridor, particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West through the Suez Canal.
In May, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) hailed Iran’s anti-piracy efforts as “effective.”
20% of ships operating in high risk areas will have armed guards by 2013 An increase of 12%
Around 20% of ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, the epicentres of piracy, will carry armed guards by 2013, according to the Security Association for the Maritime Industry.This is an increase from 12% at present.
The Security Association for the Maritime Industry represents a fifth of private security firms offering services to shipping companies in the area off the coast of Somalia, according to spokesman Peter Cook. He was speaking at a presentation in London this week.
“There is a wish by some shipowners to have armed guards on board and you can’t dispute the fact they are successful,” Andrew Bardot, secretary and executive officer of the International Group of P&I Clubs, which insures 90 percent of the world fleet against liability claims, told Bloomberg.
In February the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) changed its policy on private armed guards, and accepted that operators must be able to defend their ships against rising pirate attacks, Reuters reports. The ICS represents around 80 percent of the world’s merchant fleet, and until recently discouraged the use of armed guards on ships.
“ICS has had to acknowledge that the decision to engage armed guards, whether military or private, is a decision to be made by the ship operator after due consideration of all of the risks, and subject to the approval of the vessel’s flag state and insurers,” the Chairman of the London-based ICS, Spyros M Polemis said in a statement.
There have been no successful hijackings on ships with armed guards, according to Bloomberg. According to Cook, shipowners are paying around US$100 million a year to have three to five security guards on board. He said that tere are between 50 and 80 four-person security teams on ships at any one time.
According to the International Maritime Organization, Somali pirates have attacked 145 ships and captured 22 so far this year. Diverting ships to avoid pirate attacks cost US$2.4 billion last year, according to One Earth. The ICS estimates piracy costs the global economy between US$7-12 billion a year.
Earlier this month Abdul Gani Serang, general-secretary of Mumbai-based National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) told Bernama that Indian seafarers may refuse to sail through the Gulf of Aden if nothing is done to halt pirate attacks. Around 200 000 Indian seafarers work on merchant vessels.
“We may boycott the Gulf of Aden. We are in touch with other labour-supplying countries in the region, we have no other choice. It is hurting seafarers,” Serang said. Nearly 50 Indian crewmen are still held by Somali pirates, according to Indian government.
According to the International Maritime Bureau, there have been four attempted hijackings by Somali pirates in the last week. The Bureau adds that as of April 28, Somali pirates have launched 117 attacks and captured 20 vessels, taking 338 hostages this year and killing seven sailors in the process.
Pirate attacks are on the increase, with a total of 97 attacks being recorded in the first three months of 2011, compared to only 35 over the same period last year. Somali pirates are currently holding nearly 30 ships and 520 hostages.
IMO Adopts interim guidance on use of privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships
Approved on Maritime Safety Committee 89th session – 11 to 20 May 2011
The MSC approved an MSC Circular on Interim guidance to shipowners, ship operators, and shipmasters on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships in the High Risk Area, and Interim recommendations for flag States on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships in the High Risk Area. Both sets of guidance are aimed at addressing the complex issue of the employment of private, armed security on board ships.
The guidance to shipowners notes that flag State jurisdiction and any laws and regulations imposed by the flag State concerning the use of private security companies apply to their vessels. Port and coastal States’ laws may also apply to such vessels.
The guidance notes that the use of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) should not be considered as an alternative to the Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy off the Coast of Somalia and in the Arabian Sea area (BMP) and other protective measures. Placing armed guards on board as a means to secure and protect the vessel and its crew should only be considered after a risk assessment has been carried out. It is also important to involve the Master in the decision making process.
The guidance includes sections on risk assessment, selection criteria, insurance cover, command and control, management and use of weapons and ammunition at all times when on board and rules for the use of force as agreed between the shipowner, the private maritime security company and the Master.
The interim recommendations for flag States recommend that flag States should have in place a policy on whether or not the use of PCASP will be authorized and, if so, under which conditions. A Flag State should take into account the possible escalation of violence which could result from the use of firearms and carriage of armed personnel on board ships when deciding on its policy.
The recommendations are not intended to endorse or institutionalize the use of PCASP and do not address all the legal issues that might be associated with their use onboard ships.
An intersessional meeting of the Working Group on Maritime Security and Piracy will meet in the week commencing 12 September 2011, to develop recommendations to Governments (flag, port and coastal States) on the use of PCASP; review the interim guidance to shipowners, ship operators and shipmasters on the use of PCASP for any consequential amendments; agree an MSC circular for the promulgation of the recommendations to Governments on the use of PCASP; if necessary, agree a revised MSC circular on Guidance to shipowners, ship operators and shipmasters on the use of PCASP; and identify any necessary consequential amendments to the Recommendations to Governments for preventing and suppressing piracy and armed robbery against ships (MSC.1/Circ.1333) and the Guidance to shipowners and ship operators, shipmasters and crews on preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships (MSC.1/Circ.1334).
The MSC also adopted an MSC resolution on Implementation of Best Management Practice guidance, which strongly urges all parties concerned to take action to ensure better implementation of these important measures, recognising the urgent need for merchant shipping to take every possible measure to protect itself from pirate attack and that effective self-protection is the key to avoiding, evading and deterring pirate attacks.
The resolution strongly urges all those concerned to take action to ensure that as a minimum and as recommended in the Best Management Practices: ships’ masters receive updated information before and during sailing through the defined High Risk Area; ships register with the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa and report to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Dubai; and ships effectively implement all recommended preventive, evasive and defensive measures.
The MSC also agreed Guidelines to assist in the investigation of the crimes of piracy and armed robbery against ships, which are intended to be used in conjunction with resolution A.1025(26) Code of Practice for the Investigation of the Crimes of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships.
The guidelines are intended to assist an investigator to collect evidence, including forensic evidence, to support the submission of written reports which may assist in the subsequent identification, arrest and prosecution of the pirates that held the vessel and crew captive. Formats for crew statements and logging of evidence are included, as well as guidelines on recovery and packaging of exhibits such as blood, clothing and weapons.
IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos welcomed the progress made by the Committee in addressing the piracy issue.
“I am pleased with the progress the Committee was able to make on all the piracy related items it had set out to consider during the session and, in particular, on the development of guidance to the industry and recommendations to flag States on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on ships scheduled to sail through Indian Ocean areas exploited by pirates launching their operations from Somalia or mother ships.
The decision of the Committee to convene an intersessional working group in September to draft guidance to flag, port and coastal States shows its determination to deal with this sensitive issue in the most expeditious and effective manner,” he said.
“I also welcome the Committee’s decision to promote wider compliance of merchant ships with the industry Best Management Practice guidance, as I believe that their diligent implementation will contribute substantially to keeping pirates at bay,” Mr. Mitropoulos said
The number of acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships reported to the Organization and which occurred in 2010 was 489, against 406 during the previous year, an increase of 20.4% from the figure for 2009. The areas most affected (i.e. five incidents reported or more) in 2010 were East Africa and the Indian Ocean followed by the Far East and, in particular, the South China Sea, West Africa, South America and the Caribbean.
During the year, it was reported that two crew members were killed and 30 crew members were reportedly injured/assaulted, while 1,027 crew members were reportedly taken hostage or kidnapped. Fifty-seven vessels were reportedly hijacked, with one vessel reportedly still unaccounted for.
In the first four months of 2011, 214 incidents were reported to the Organization.
Marshall Islands Oil Record Book Guidelines
Marine Guideline by the Republic of the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands Administration has issued the following attached Marine Guideline (MG), which concerns Oil Record Book Guidelines.
The purpose of this Marine Guideline is to provide shipowners, ship operators, Masters and officers of Marshall Islands flagged vessels with guidance on the proper maintenance and keeping of an official Oil Record Book as required by MARPOL Annex I.
This Guideline should also be used by Recognized Organizations when conducting statutory verification surveys.
Tank entry guidelines when using nitrogen as an inerting medium
Guidelines on tank entry for tankers using nitrogen
The IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 99), in considering the approval of the revised ‘Recommendations for entering enclosed spaces aboard ships’ as completed by the Sub-committee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC), also considered the circular on ‘Guidelines on tank entry for tankers using nitrogen as an inerting medium’ developed by the Sub-committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG).
The Committee considered two documents, MSC 89/11/2 by Argentina and MSC 89/11/3 by Norway, INTERTANKO, OCIMF, IFSMA, ITF, NI and BIMCO which essentially proposed that these guidelines should be combined into one single guideline.
It was proposed, in MSC 89/11/3, that the use of nitrogen in this context is not exclusive to tankers (it is also used on bulk carriers, gas carriers and offshore supply vessels) and therefore combining the guidelines into one guideline would ensure the widest possible availability and applicability, and would not be lost on seafarers who do not serve on tankers.
It was also proposed that the principal issue should be that of precautions before entering enclosed spaces, and not what is within the enclosed space, as the latter would give the impression that some enclosed spaces could be more dangerous than other enclosed spaces.
The Committee, taking into account that the majority of the delegations spoke in support of the decision of the BLG Sub-committee, approved for adoption the draft Assembly Resolution on the adoption of the revised ‘Recommendations for entering enclosed spaces aboard ships’ as well as approving the publication of an MSC Circular on the ‘Guidelines on tank entry for tankers using nitrogen as an inerting medium’, both to be issued as separate documents.
‘Revised recommendations for entering enclosed spaces aboard ships’, as approved for adoption, can be accessed
Draft MSC Circular ‘Guidelines on tank entry for tankers using nitrogen as an inerting medium’, as approved for publication, can be accesses.
Paris MOU claims success for introduction of new inspection regime
44th Committee meeting in Naples
The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) announced at its 44th Committee meeting in Naples, Italy (2-6 May 2011) that the introduction of its new inspection regime (NIR) on 1 January 2011 was completed successfully. A significant contribution was made by the member authorities, the European Commission, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the Paris MoU Secretariat.
The NIR is a risk-based targeting mechanism which rewards quality shipping with a reduced inspection burden, and concentrates efforts on high-risk ships. The NIR makes use of company performance and the Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme (VIMSAS) for identifying the risk profile of ships, together with the performance of the flag state and the recognised organisation (RO). The inspection history of the ship as well as the ship’s age and ship type influences the targeting.
The Committee also agreed on guidelines for port state control officers, accepted Montenegro as a co-operating member, and discussed on how to deal with the effects of acts of piracy in the framework of port state control. It was agreed that these items should only be considered within the existing conventions relevant to the Paris MoU.
Commission requests 7 Member States to comply with new EU Port State Control regime
Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom
The European Commission yesterday asked Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom to adopt national legislation to implement the new port state control regime to comply with European Union law.
The Commission’s request takes the form of a reasoned opinion under EU infringement procedures. If these Member States fail to inform the Commission within two months of the measures they have taken to ensure full compliance with EU law, the Commission could refer the case to the EU Court of Justice.
The EU rules
Following the “Erika” and “Prestige” accidents off the European coasts, EU legislation on port state control was adopted in 2009 under the third maritime safety package.This directive reinforces as of 1 January 2011, Member States’ obligations to inspect vessels calling at their ports. The new law requires more frequent inspections on ships posing a higher risk and extends the ban on substandard ships.
The reason for action
Cyprus, Estonia, and Portugal have failed to notify the Commission of the measures taken to enforce the new directive on port state control although required to do so by 31 December 2010. Belgium, France, Poland and the United Kingdom have notified the Commission only of partial measures of implementation.
The practical effect of non-implementation
Non-implementation by some Member States lowers the level of security at sea and in the ports. It may also distort competition. The directive on port state control brings about major improvements in the elimination of substandard shipping from EU ports. To be fully effective, it requires joint efforts from all Member States. Indeed, with the new regime, the target for individual EU member countries to inspect 25% of foreign ships calling at their ports is replaced by a collective target for Europe as a whole to inspect 100% of ships calling at EU ports.
The frequency of inspections depends on the ship risk profile. High-risk ships have to be inspected every six months, average-risk ships every twelve months and low-risk ships every three years, wherever they choose to call. Unless all Member States join in, this objective of checking 100% of ships cannot be achieved, thus posing a potential risk to shipping and to the environment.
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