Pirates...

January 13, 2009 Gulf of Aden update

The below info is from the Office of Naval Security...

A merchant vessel reported coming under fire while underway in position
12:24.5 N - 044:57.7 E at 0810 UTC on 13 Jan 2009, approximately 21 NM SSW of Aden, Yemen. Attack skiff was described as black zodiac-type approximately 6 meters in length with 6 persons onboard. Two rocket propelled grenades were fired at the vessel. Vessel increased to maximum speed and took evasive maneuvers. Attack skiff followed for 30 minutes without further shots fired before moving away. Assistance was offered by two warships who were last reported in pursuit of the pirates.

ONI Comment: Somali pirates have recently released multiple vessels after receiving ransom payments. Past reporting suggests efforts to hijack additional vessels increase as previously hijacked vessels are released. Past reporting also suggests efforts to hijack vessels increase as wind speeds decrease. Pirates appear to be most active and successful when average wind speeds are between 0 to 10 knots. Activity is also reported when winds are between 10 to 15 knots but pirates appear to be less successful under these conditions. Little to no incidents are reported when winds average between 15 to 20+ knots. This time of year, when prevailing monsoon winds are out of the Northeast, wind speeds are lower and more conducive to piracy operations closer to the Yemeni coast and less favorable in the central Gulf of Aden. Wind forecasts for the Gulf of Aden and east coast of Somalia can be found
here: http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/marine/weather?01&CONT=afri&LANG=en

January 16, 2009 Gulf of Aden Piracy Update

From the Office of Naval Intelligence

1. GULF OF ADEN: Russian navy foils attack on vessel, 13 Jan 09. Russian forces helped
stop an attempted hijacking of the container ship (NEDLLOYD BARENTSZ) by pirates in the
Gulf of Aden, according to a spokesman for the company that owns the vessel. The spokesman
said the crew of the (NEDLLOYD BARENTSZ) sent out an alarm signal, in which a Russian
frigate responded to by dispatching a helicopter. The helicopter opened fire on the pirates after
the ship had sped away from the hijackers. The frigate abandoned the chase when the pirates
entered Yemeni territorial waters (LL, Reuters).
.
2. UN/GULF OF ADEN: An anti-piracy group held its first meeting on 14 Jan 08 at the
United Nations to discuss best management practices for ships plying the Gulf of Aden and
waters near the Horn of Africa if they are attacked or seized by Somali pirates. The one-day
meeting at UN headquarters in New York was organized by the Contact Group on Somali Piracy,
which was chaired by US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, Mark T.
Kimmitt. Practices suggested to ships, tankers, or passengers in pirate- infested waters call on
ship masters and crews to 'offer no resistance' when boarded by pirates because it could lead to
unnecessary violence and harm to the crew. The document offers steps to deal with action taken
by military personnel to fight the pirates. It calls on the hostage crew to place their hands above
their heads and not make sudden movement. The hands must be visible and not holding
anything. 'It is expected that these best management practices will be periodically updated based
upon operational experience and lessons learned,' the document said. The contact group is
mandated by the UN Security Council, which has imposed sanctions, including travel bans and
freeze of assets, on some individuals or groups in Somalia. The group called on states and
organizations to use the practices in dealing with piracy. An initial 24 countries and five
international organizations took part in the discussion in New York. Those countries include the
US, Djibouti, Egypt, Japan, South Korea, Japan, India, and Russia. The African Union, the
International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, the International Maritime Bureau, the
Joint War Committee, and the Baltic and International Maritime Council took part in the debate.
The contact group said over one-third of attempted seizures of ships in the Gulf of Aden had
succeeded, but it said measures adopted by ships to repel the pirates have been positive (DOS,
AllAfrica.com).

1. GULF OF ADEN: Container ship (NEDLLOYD BARENTSZ) fired upon 13 Jan 09 at
0810 UTC while underway in position 12:24N – 044:57E. A small boat with 6 men onboard
fired two RPGs at the vessel. The master increased speed and conducted evasive maneuvers.
The boat followed for approximately 30 minutes with no further attacks reported. The Russian
frigate (ADMIRAL VINOGRADOV) was in the vicinity and sent a helicopter to render
assistance. The helicopter opened fire on the pirates’ boat, wounding three, who were later
captured and turned over to Yemeni authorities (Operator, IMB, LL).
.
2. GULF OF ADEN: Tanker reported suspicious approach 14 Jan 09 at 1645 local time
while underway in position 13:02N – 046:41E. One fishing boat was detected on starboard bow
towing a small skiff with a speed of 7 kts. The fishing boat reduced speed and the duty officer
noticed a number of men in the fishing boat transferring to the skiff. Both boats then increased
speed to about 15-20 kts and approached the tanker forward of the starboard beam. At
approximately 150 meters away, the master could see six men in the skiff, two of them armed,
and two more men in the fishing boat. The master conducted evasive maneuvering, a distress
call was sent out on VHF, and a security alert was issued onboard. A warship in the vicinity
established contact on VHF, preparing to send a helicopter for assistance. A British security
team was embarked on the tanker and took position on the bridge, using fire axes, pretending to
be fire arms. Seeing this, the two suspicious boats slowed down and abandoned their pursuit.
The distress call was cancelled and the warship informed that further assistance was not required
(Operator, IMB).

Keep some weapons to protect yourself

I have many friends who sail all over the world. They normally keep some kind of weapons to protect yourself on their boats.

If you look back through this thread and some others you'll find lengthy discussions on that subject. Way to much to go back into.

Where does a watch dog go #2 or even #1? Or does this put literal meaning to the poop deck all over again? Lap dog's can go on a piddle pad, Yeah I know from experience. We should re-name them Pirate Pads.

http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/sc...p-on-ship-hijacked-by-pirates-78057-21088889/

Hi,

Just caught this on the BBC World News.

Seems that the Pirates are now ranging freely up to 700 km off Somalia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7966320.stm

I have been following these reports for about 6yrs now... Some things are just not adding up.

700KM is a long long way for a fast attack to get you. I have heard all about the mother ships and what not... Have been through the GOA in the last 90days doing security work and Threat assestments of the area...

I have a lot of questions for some ship owners and none have returned my calls. Plus, were are the after action reports from the crews? None of these have been made public from my understanding.

As someone stated earlier in the thread... the security people I have come across in this matter have never worked on the civi side of the house in the Maritime ind. Nor do they have any understanding of how most of the ships work and function.

I would feel better seeing a ships crew learning how to repel boarders. I see too many security groups that "THINK" since they did corigraphed takedowns in the service they know how to repel boarders...

This is an easy fix. People with small margins want to run the risk of getting the boats taken. Once the insurance gets to high for the ship owners to make a profit, or there is no more insurance for the ships... The ships owners will go around the Horn and back up North. A more secure route... This would put the pirates out of business, because you move the business to another part of the world.

Maersk Alabama

Congratulations to the crew of the Maersk Alabama for recapturing their ship and hats off to their brave captain who gave himself to be hostage. Current situation is that the pirates and the captain are in a lifeboat with no fuel floating in front of a U.S. destroyer.
I heard a "security expert" today say that the pirates "hold all the cards". What's that about? If they kill the captain you drop a shell on the lifeboat. If they hurt the captain you break their legs as you take them into custody. If you supply them with no food or water I suspect that the captain will be the last one standing. Why negotiate? This seems very simple. If you want to live drop you guns overboard & surrender. If you want to ever walk again make sure the captain is kept very healthy. Oh,BTW we're in the process of sinking your mothership and are about to make your home port disappear (simple enough to track their run through satellite imagery). Would you like to give up now so you'll be on time for lunch in the brig?

This particular incident gives me the creeps as it comes a bit too close to home. My "Chief Mate" just got off another Maersk ship on that same run. She said they took all the usual precautions in that area and were lucky, they had no problems. I shudder to think what the capatain's family must be feeling.

As I have stated many times before, make any promise it takes to get the hostages back then utterly destroy the pirates and their ports. Make it a fact that when they decide to go pirating, that first voyage will be their last.

Destroy the ports from which they sail or take their plunder. Make it so miserable for anyone within miles of these scum that their own countrymen deal with them in their own way in order to save their own lives.

Marmot, I'll give you credit for being smarter than me, but even I could figure that one out. hell, the pirates lied to get their guy back. What's with the big brains in the security field. Are they looking for job security? Since when is piracy not a death penalty case? "Remember the Maine!"

Now THAT was funny Cap!

There is now another destroyer on scene. Evidently there is chatter amongst other pirates about going to the aid of their comrades. Sounds like a wonderful idea to me.

There must be no "give up" they must know that piracy carries fatal consequences. No quarter given, no surrender accepted. They should be destroyed on sight. If they take a ship, pay the ransom, make any promise it takes to get the crew back then vaporize the port and anyone within a mile of the place the pirates landed.

When the local residents see a captured vessel arriving in their port that will be fair warning that before it can dock the port will be destroyed. Any vessel at sea that is found to be carrying offensive weapons will be sunk and the crew can choose to go down with it or swim. It really is a simple matter to deal with. They have the choice to be found unarmed and harmless or they can choose to hang onto a raft. If nothing else the next generation will learn to stay within paddling distance of land.

Life boats tend to have emergency rations of a few days worth of food and a bit of water, I'll bet they took care of themselves first, so the captain is probably not set up to out last them. I would imagine that resupplying them with food with a bit of something to make them groggy would do the trick.

There may be a silver lining to the attempted capture of an American flagged vessel, as this may trigger a decisive and permanent response in dealing with the problem which has been tolerated through Piracy insurance thus far.
I foresee some drone action soon, say goodbye to those flat-screen TV’s and new pick up trucks.

Maybe we can send those guys a couple of gallons of Prune Juice.
They're guaranteed to surrender within a few minutes, just so they can use ANY RESTROOM! Even if it is in the BRIG on a U.S. warship.

It will be interesting to see where and how this issue progresses in the future.
The point in which it is now is gross. Pirates take over a ship, get their ransom, and move on to the next boat.

While a monumental overtaking to get all parties on the same page, I believe that brute force is the step in which people start to understand this is totally and completely unacceptable.

Does the issue need to get to the point in which ships arm their bows with sniper rifles and shoot to kill upon any threat of ill will?

I don't know the answer, but something certainly needs to be done, political agendas need to be put aside, and the industry needs to examine a different approach than the current, "passive / pay them off", which obviously doesn't work.

I see where the non-lethal methods (acoustical devices, fire hoses, bright lights, waving fists, etc.) have been tried as methods of repelling these maggots but haven't proven to effective thus far.

This may be totally un-doable but what about some kind of electric charge applied to a grid on the side of the ship. Obviously somehow insulated from the hull and only charged on demand.

I grew up on a dairy farm and we had electric fences everywhere. I can see a low voltage charge on the guys climbing up the side scaring the bejeesus out of them and causing them to fall.

(I also envision a high enough voltage where it would just fry the *******s right there, but that wouldn't be humane i guess.)

On another note, I'm guessing these freighters all have foam capabilities on their fire hoses/water cannons. Instead of the foam solution being drawn into the water supply, why not inject some kind of caustic substance which would cause great discomfort (or worse) to the attackers skin?

I'm sure the Engineer types here can come up with some ingeniously clever means of keeping these attackers at bay. (I personally vote for training and arming a small contingent of the crew and just shooting back when they start attacking, but what do I know?)

ROCK