Piracy Report PIRACY REPORT FEBRUARY Piracy and Acts of Armed Robbery of Ships

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1 Piracy Report Independent Global Incident Analysis PIRACY REPORT FEBRUARY 2016 Piracy and Acts of Armed Robbery of Ships For Monthly Reports Please contact Lydelle Joubert Copyright L. Joubert 1

2 Analysis The 2016 heatmap indicates that West Africa and Kandla Anchorages in India are the areas most affected by piracy and acts of armed robbery of vessels in the first two months of While incidents are more serious in West Africa, incidents in India could be described as petty theft. Two tanker hijackings were reported in West Africa in January and February During both incidents crew were kidnapped. The five crew members of the Leon Dias kidnapped in January 2016 have since been released. Two crew members of the hijacked tanker Maximus are still unaccounted for. Two local speedboats with 12 passengers onboard were also hijacked in Bayelsa, Nigeria in January The passengers have been released in January. Two incidents of kidnappings off a fishing trawler and a tug were reported in West Africa this year. The captain and first engineer of the trawler were kidnapped. Two crew members, a Russian and a Nigerian were kidnapped from the Tug, Bourbon Liberty 251 off Brass, Nigeria in February No information on the status of the victims in the two kidnappings are currently available. More kidnappings in West Africa are likely in the foreseeable future. At Kandla Anchorage, India, ships stores and equipment are stolen in the hours of darkness by groups of robbers arriving in small boats. Seven incidents were reported at the Kandla Anchorages in Incidents remain the same or are lower in all regions in February 2016, compared to January Incidents in Southeast Asia are considerable lower in 2016 compared to the preceding two years as several arrests of maritime criminals were made in this region in the last few months. Further arrests of suspects of the MT Joaquim hijacking were made by Indonesian authorities in February 2016 after a three month long intelligence operation. Incidents 2016 Incidents February 2016 Incidents Incidents in India are higher than the corresponding months in mainly due to petty theft at Kandla anchorages. Copyright L. Joubert 2

3 Incidents of Piracy and Robbery of Vessels: 2014 to SE Asia Linear (2014) Linear () JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC West Africa Linear (2014) Linear () JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Indian Sub-Continent JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Linear (2014) Linear () Copyright L. Joubert 3

4 35 Incidents by Region February to February FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN 2016 FEB 2016 Copyright L. Joubert 4

5 Incidents 2016: Type of Ship Attacked Type Vessel Code 6 Barge Bulk Carrier Cargo ship Coast Guard/ Patrol Boat Container Dhow Ferry Fishing Boat Fishing Trawler Offshore Supply Vessel Passenger Boat Roll-on-Roll-off Cargo Ship Tanker Tug Yacht B BC CS PB C D F FB FV OSV PMB Ro-Ro MT TB SY B BC CS PB C D F FB FV OSV PMB Ro- Ro MT TB SY Americas Indian Sub Continent SE Asia West Africa East Africa/Arabian Gulf 2 Copyright L. Joubert 5

6 Southeast Asia 14/02/2016. Kyle Kian. Fishing Vessel. Hijacked and crew kidnapped. Incidents in Southeast Asia are in a downward trend since November, with only two incidents reported in February Both these incidents occurred in the Philippines. One was a robbery in Batangas Anchorage. The other a hijacking and kidnapping of a fishing vessel in the Basilan Strait. 14 February 2016 The fishing vessel, Kyle Kian was hijacked between Zamboanga City and Basilan. The fishing boat Captain, Ronnie Bancala and two crew members, Romeo Rubio and Winnie Pandiag were onboard at the time. On 15 February 2016 at 09:00LT the two crew members, Romeo Rubio and Winnie Pandiag arrived at the Philippine Coast Guard station in Jolo Port. At first they claimed that their fishing vessel capsized off Siasi, Sulu in heavy weather and that they were rescued by fishermen. Later they recanted saying that six gunmen came onboard and took them to Sulu. The gunmen pretended to be fishermen claiming they had engine problems. Hours later the gunmen released the crew but kept Bancala. 1 The kidnappers phoned Bancala s wife demanding a P (US$ 970) ransom. The ransom was later increased to P1 million (US$ ), Bancala s wife contacted the police in Pitogo, Zamboanga de Sur. 2 It is not clear if this is in fact a piracy incident or if another motive is behind the event. Claims that Abu Sayyaf is responsible are unsubstantiated at this point, yet not impossible. Copyright L. Joubert 6

7 Update MT Joaquim Hijacking In February 2016 the Western Fleet Quick Response Team (WFQR) arrested additional suspects connected to the MT Joaquim hijacking after a three month long intelligence operation. 3 The tanker was hijacked on 8 August. Indian Sub-Continent 19/02/2016. Fishing Vessel. Robbery and kidnapping. Five incidents were recorded in India and one in Bangladesh in February All incidents in India could be classified as petty theft and attempted theft. Two attempted robberies took place at Kandla Anchorage, India. 19 February 2016 A fisherman was killed and four others wounded during an attack in the Kachikhali area, Bangladesh. One fisherman was kidnapped and fish, fishing nets, cash, phones and other valuables were stolen. 4 Copyright L. Joubert 7

8 West Africa 11/02/2016. MT Maximus. Tanker. Hijacked. 23/02/2016. Bourbon Liberty 251. Tug. Two kidnapped. 5/02/2016. Safmarine Kuramo. Container. Fired on and boarded. Five incidents were reported in West Africa in February A robbery took place at Boma anchorage, Congo River, Democratic Republic of the Congo. A hijacking was reported off the Ivory Coast Three attacks were reported in and off Nigeria with one resulting in the kidnapping of two crewmembers.. 5 February 2016 The container ship, Safmarine Kuramo was boarded at 08:00LT as the vessel entered territorial waters off Bonny Island, Nigeria. The Maersk operated vessel was transporting cargo from Ponte-Noiire, Congo to Onne Sea Port, Rivers, Nigeria. Attackers fired at the control room. The captain made a distress call and the crew locked themselves In the citadel. The attackers tried to break into the citadel. Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Centenary and gunboats reacted to the distress call. On sighting of the warships the attackers fled the scene February 2016 The tanker MT Maximus was hijacked off the coast of Ivory Coast. (See detailed report) 23 February 2016 The Tug, Bourbon Liberty 251 was attacked 55 M off Brass, Nigeria. Two crew members, a Russian and a Nigerian were kidnapped. 6 Copyright L. Joubert 8

9 MT Maximus Hijacking On 11 February 2016 MT Maximus was hijacked off Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Somewhere along the way it was renamed MT Elvis-5. 7 The vessel was followed by the respective West African navies for more than 800M past the coastal waters of five countries before the vessel was seized by the Nigerian Navy on 21 February Earlier in February while the USNS Spearhead, a US Navy Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) was participating in a training exercise with Ghanaian maritime agencies, word came from the French Embassy that a supposed pirate vessel was loitering off Abidjan, Ivory Coast. On 11 February 2016 pirates hijacked the tanker, MT Maximus carrying tons of diesel fuel. The USNS Spearhead tracked the Maximus for two days until it entered Ghanaian waters. The Ghana Navy tracked the vessel to Togo from where the Togo Navy followed the vessel to Sao Tome and Principe. The Sao Tome Government contacted the Nigerian government for assistance 8 The Nigerian Navy deployed NNS Okpabana, NNS Centenary and NNS Sagbama to assist in a rescue operation. The pirates refused to surrender and fired at the Nigerian vessels. 9 After an eight hour standoff between the Nigerian Navy and the pirates, the Navy decided to board the vessel. 10 One pirate was killed during the assault and six were captured. 18 crew members were freed but two pirates escaped with two hostages presumably the previous night. The hostages remain in captivity. The Crew The 18 man crew were locked in the citadel for eight days. They were assaulted by the pirates. Two crew members, an Indian and a Pakistani are still in captivity. The Pirates The pirates fired on the MT Maximus and took control of the vessel. They damaged the radar system. They were professional sailors as they took control of and sailed the vessel themselves. The pirates arrested were of Ghanaian and Nigerian nationalities. They are Mike Ogboroma (Capt), Ayo Joshua, Marcus Adesoji, Adeyemi Paul, Oluwafemi Samuel and Collins Friday. During the arrest 11 phones including a satellite phone, nine SIM cards, different currencies including Ghana cedis, dollars, pounds, naira and euro, two AK47 guns and a double barrel gun, as well as ammunition were confiscated. The Pirate Vessels A mother vessel was used to attack the MT Maximus and a tanker was to be used to fuel transfer vessel. The transfer vessel, a tanker MT Dejikun was allegedly hijacked at Lagos Port to be used for the purpose. It is indicated that the pirates crewed the Dejikun themselves. 11 Copyright L. Joubert 9

10 Leon Dias Update All five hostages from the tanker Leon Dias have been released on 25 February The tanker, Leon Dias was hijacked 90 nm South of Edumanom National Park, Nigeria on 29 January The hijackers disembarked on 31 January 2016 taking five hostages with them. East Africa and Arabian Gulf 3/02/2016. Fishing Boat. Fishermen attacked. One pirate captured. 3 February 2016 A Kuwaiti fishing boat manned by an Egyptian crew was attacked by two boats with eight men onboard near Kubbar Island, Kuwait. Three crew members were injured during the attack. The crew managed to resist the attack and captured an Iranian attacker who was handed to the Sharq police station in Kuwait City. 13 Copyright L. Joubert 10

11 Americas A robbery on a container ship ship at the Georgetown Anchorage, Guyana and an attempted robbery on a tanker at Callao Anchorage, Peru were reported in February Copyright L. Joubert 11

12 End Notes 1. viewed 22/02/ viewed 25/02/ viewed 25/02/ viewed 26/02/ viewed 8/02/ viewed 25/02/ viewed 22/02/ viewed 25/02/ viewed 2/03/ This Day Live, op cit viewed 10/02/2016; viewed 10/02/2016 Copyright L. Joubert 12