Piracy Reports in 2002

Transcription

1 So far a total of 287 separate incidents (including warnings) have been reported this year in the first 9 months by either the IMO or the IMB. Piracy Reports in 2002 By Mark Bruyneel July - September Number of Attacks so far in 2002 Most of the number of attacks that have been reported have been published in the Weekly Piracy Reports at the Web site of the International Chamber of Commerce. The first quarterly piracy report of the Bureau (IMB) 38 puts the number for the first 3 months at 87. The second quarterly report of the IMB 39 puts the number for the first 6 months at 171. During the first six months the number of incidents in Indonesian waters remains the highest. The number of incidents in African waters has increased markedly, however: over a third of the reports occurred there. The African countries that account for most incidents in this period are: Guinea, Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania, the Ivory Coast and the Red Sea. After the first half year a number of weekly reports have been published by the IMB which puts the total number of reported incidents at 260. The first weekly report of 2002 contained incidents about 2001 only. The Organisation (IMO) has so far reported on 197 incidents in the first six months, according to the first 31, and second quarterly report 32 of this year. The six monthly reports contain 145 incidents. Two monthly reports for July 33 and August 34 have been published and including them puts the total number of reported incidents by the IMO at 282. The July report is the first in this series that indicates, in addition to whether the incident was an (alleged) attempt or an (alleged) attack, whether the incident took place in port or international waters. One of the reasons mentioned for the increase is the global economic slowdown 1. Other reasons include the sharp rise in hijackings for ransom, particularly in the areas of Somalia, Indonesia and the Philippines. In most cases the hijackings are either the result of local gangs or guerrillas trying to raise money. The Americas also shows an increase compared to last year. The increase is particularly high in Guyana, Ecuador and Venezuela. If I make an estimate of incidents NOT reported in the IMB Weekly or reports based on the "Comparison of 2001 Figures of the Bureau" the total number could be as high as: (89 / 3 * 4) = 289,66. And that is just for the first 9 months. There have also been a few incidents reported in newspapers and at the websites of the Int'l Vessel Cas. D'base and the ASAM database which have so far not been included in official reports by either the Bureau or the Organisation. The total number up till now is therefore, according to my conservative estimate, somewhere around: 300. The graph at the end of this report contains only the incidents from the weekly reports set out against the reports for 2001! The graph shows a general increase of reported incidents in the weekly reports for 2002 as compared to This indicates that the number of incidents is increasing again and that the total number over the whole of 2002 is likely to be higher again than last years' total. Some of the more notable piracy incidents in the third quarter of 2002 so far are: 1) at 2200 LT at berth no.3, Chittagong port, Bangladesh. Seven pirates armed with long knives approached a general cargo ship. The third officer had gone down on the jetty to read the draft. Pirates assaulted him and attempted to snatch his gold chain and watch. The 3rd officer's left arm was dislocated and he was

2 hospitalised. Master reported this was the third piracy attempt since arriving in Chittagong. 2) According to a newspaper article by Hassan Barise Somali gunmen have hijacked the cargo ship Al Ameer off the Puntland Coast. The vessel had to break off its journey due to severe weather conditions when she was attacked by freelance gangs in fishing boats. At the moment the gunmen are trying to ransom the ship and her crew for $100,000 USD. The militiamen on board the vessel reportedly have been doubled. The captain has been forced to move the vessel to the remote area Deynkudha 19. According to a newspaper article by Nissar Hoath on 11 July the ship and its crew have been released and were on their way to Bosaso port 25. According to a Xinhua article the 11 gunmen who held the ship each received 1,100 US dollars from the Puntland administration 4. 3) Another vessel was hijacked on 18 June when she tried to fix engine trouble while at anchor off the North coast of Somalia. The entire crew of 23 Filipino s was taken hostage and the bulk carrier Panagia Tinou was moved to an unknown destination along the Somali coast. The United Nations entered into negotiations with the pirates on behalf of the Philippines since this country has no bilateral relations with Somalia. After 16 days of captivity the crewmen were released after being paid a ransom by an international ship insurance agency through the Protection and Indemnity Club. The Cyprus-flagged vessel and its crew are now on their way again to India 2,3,21. According to an article in the Guardian the Greek Insurance firm paid the $400,000 ransom after the Hellenic Union of Insurance for War Acts agreed to the deal 54. According to the commander of the German Naval Air Wing Detachment in Mombasa, the presence of three German vessels near where the hijacked vessel was anchored helped free it. Afterwards, the German vessels escorted the Panagia Tinou out of the area 35. 4) There has been a report in the Bangkok Post that the Malacca Straits was a major target area for piracy and that the terrorist group Al-Qaeda was involved in attacks. This group is supposed to have targeted particularly ships carrying radioactive materials for the purpose of creating dirty bombs 20. According to an article in the Shipping Times the Bureau corrected this erroneous According to the IMB no Al-Qaeda piracy attacks have been reported, especially not attacks on ships carrying radioactive materials. Attacks on vessels in the Malacca Straits have also declined considerably since the attacks peaked at 75 in 2000 and despite an increase this year the number of attacks is nowhere near this level 28. 5) Another curious incident was reported in the Pacific Ocean off Guam when the Chinese crew of the Taiwanese fishing trawler Ta Lung Hsin No. 7 hijacked her in an attempt to escape (from China?). After the reported missing by her owner, Chen Chien-Chung, the US Coast Guard launched a search and recovered her on 27 July. The owner said this was the third hijacking of one of his fishing boats this year 5. 6) There have been confused reports on the hijacking of a British-registered tanker with a Russian crew off Somalia since 11 August 7. A BBC newspaper article reports on a British-registered Korean-owned vessel flying a Cyprus flag and with an Georgian crew being hijacked near Somalia. According to the deputy director of the IMB the incident may be confused with another incident 8. A helicopter from the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Cumberland was sent to investigate but failed to find any sign of the vessel 36. According to a second BBC newspaper article the vessel is the Greek-owned and North Korearegistered Jenlil 9. This vessel was reported hijacked for ransom on 30 July. The crew is Georgian and the general cargo vessel flies a Danish flag 33. The hijackers are keeping the vessel near the coast of Puntland and are negotiating for a ransom. The pirates may belong to the Sibaq Roon subclan or the larger Majerteen clan 11 who have established the Puntland Republic in part of Somalia 10. 7) Organised gangs appear to become more actively again in the area of Indonesia and the Malacca

3 Straits. Recently the tug Sandia II was on it s way from Dumai to Tanjung Priok with the barge Indo Ocean Marine VII when they were attacked in the vicinity of the Bengkalis straits 50. The crew was forced overboard and the gang of 10 men took of with both vessels. The pirates were masked men who carried two pistols, parang and sickles. The crew was rescued by local fishermen. On 12 September both vessels were recovered by the Malaysian marine police in Malaysian waters. The barge was discovered in port Klang and the tug was found anchored off Pulau Angsa 57. The crew on board are considered to be only middlemen who had nothing to do with the initial hijacking of both vessels. The same pirate gang appeared to be active again a week later when another Tug and barge were attacked in a similar fashion. Again the target appeared to be the cargo of palm oil which the barge Bes 04 was carrying 15,23. The barge and the Tug Usda Jaya were underway from Riau Island to Dumai port when the pirates attacked. The crew were released unharmed at Pulua Lingka 16. Following these attacks the IMB has issued a warning to all cargo owners in these areas through their website 17. 8) Pirates armed with guns and machetes attacked a Malaysianflagged ship in Indonesian waters on 28 September at 03:00 LT. The crew was held captive for a day while they stole nearly 3,000 metric tons of diesel oil. The bandits boarded the MT Nautica Kluang before dawn on Saturday in the Straits of Malacca, wrecked the vessel's communication systems and locked the entire crew in a cabin. By the time the crew broke free Sunday the pirates had vanished along with the oil the ship was transporting. No injuries were reported. The attack occurred in Indonesian waters near the southernmost tip of the Straits, which seperates peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra 18. The tanker had a satellite tracking device on board but the attack took place with such speed that it was not noticed that something was wrong until it was too late 24. This attack strengthens the belief of some experts that a organized syndicate may be at work attacking tankers in the past few months 30. Measures taken/proposed: 1) The number of attacks on vessels in the Philippine and Somali areas (and the following demands of ransom for the crews and the vessels) has increased the last 1½ year. Intervention by armed force is a problem in these cases. David Hughes suggests a solution to the problem of intervention in the territorial waters of one nation by another nation: a general rule must be made that interventions can be made when all local authority has broken down in the area in question where the attack took place 26. Even if this rule should ever be taken up and discussed by international organisations it will take a long time to become law. Even if this should be the case, I think an international force under an organisation like the United Nations would be required to take action. 2) According to a newspaper report in the Korea Herald the Indonesian Navy and airforce are currently not up to the task of providing an adequate defence of its country s waters. Problems include insufficient ships to technical difficulties to keep the ageing naval fleet and aircraft up and running in such a manner as to be ready for combat activities 37. Despite recent agreements with neighbouring countries to jointly defend its waters from pirates this does not give much confidence in its capability to do so unless more funds can be used to upgrade and extend it s navy and aircraft. A country that is already dealing with many political and economical difficulties this may not happen soon. Donald Urquhart reports on another recent measure taken by Indonesia. Marines of the Indonesian navy are currently being assigned to fishing boats that sail in waters off North Sumatra. Their presence is intended to better monitor criminal activity like smuggling and to deter attacks by pirates 56. 3) The Straits of Malacca also fall under the jurisdiction of Indonesia as well as Malaysia and Singapore. Despite recent efforts by all three countries to increase security in the area part of the Japanese Shipping Community believes that an international framework should be created for helping them to keep the Straits

4 safe 53. Over the years traffic through the Straits has increased and it remains one of the most economically important transport lanes for countries in the East and West. According to an article in the New Straits Times Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have again signed an agreement to jointly fight terrorism, transnational crimes and illegal cross-border activities. The agreement effectively provides for the establishment of a joint committee to set out the operational requirements for this joint struggle 13. The future will show whether this agreement will be an important step forward or just another political agreement without any practical effect to diminish transnational crime (like piracy) in the region. 4) The authorities in Bangladesh have reportedly decided to increase security at the countries most important harbour Chittagong. Four new investigations will be set up besides the current Police station. All of these will be put under a single security command. The investigation centres will each provided with 5 speedboats to carry out patrols and to be able to react swiftly to criminal activity. This will be a marked increase compared to the current 2 boats available for patrols up the Karnaphuli river as well as the outer anchorage area 6. 5) The Organisation is expected to announce new security requirements, which will include mandatory onboard security officers, in December of this year, according to the Shipping Times of 22 Augustus. The requirement will be mandatory for all vessels of 500 Gross Tonnage and over 29. The officer is expected to be responsible for all security issues as well as the formal security plan of the vessel. At the 40 th annual conference of the International Transport workers Federation (ITF) in Vancouver it was agreed that Ship owners need to do more to increase security onboard. Specially trained private security guards were one of the measures that have been suggested as part of the solution 12. The security officer is part of a proposal for the amendment of the SOLAS Convention (Safety Of Life At Sea) to include a new International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code) 55. The United States is also formulating new port security measures and a customs inspector scheme. One of the issues that will result from all of this is the question of who will pay for all these measures. David Hughes thinks that ports will want shipping operators to pay for these increases. Since the ports have the ability to set their own dues the operators may be forced to accept them. Given the high level of competitiveness in the shipping industry it may be wise for ports to gradually increase their dues because otherwise they may scare port operators (temporarily) away which will cause a loss in revenue for ports. Eventually these costs will of course be passed down to shippers and consumers 27. The United States has recently submitted another proposal to increase port security which involves allowing inspections [by coast guard officials] to take place outside a port. The IMO maritime security working group will probably take this into consideration during their preparations to draft a new regulation on control measures. The regulation will, if approved, become a new mandatory section of the SOLAS convention 14. At the moment there is some resistance to the US proposals. The reasons vary from unacceptable time delays, costs, unfairness against seafarers, and the fact that the measures are unilateral and not part of multilateral agreements about common standards for maritime security. The European Union has called for a transitional period which will allow for adequate time to review the US proposals and for the necessary time to allow the shipping industry to adapt to the rigorous changes 22. Success against pirates: 1) The Malaysian marine police has successfully recovered a barge and tug which had been hijacked en route from Dumai to Tanjung Priok with a cargo of palm oil. 57. Both vessels have been found in Poret Klang. The crew that was discovered on board are probably only middlemen who transported the oil to this port, acoording to police chief Muhammad Muda. They

5 are probably not part of the gang that initially hijacked both vessels. Date: 14 October 2002 Reference List 1. Anonymous. Pirate attacks jumped 28% in first quarter. Shipping Times May 10, 2002; Singapore: 2. Anonymous. 23 Filipinos kidnapped in Somalia. Gulf News Jul 4, 2002; Al Nisr Publishing LLR. 3. Anonymous. International efforts free hijacked ship from armed siege Anonymous. The cargo vessel, abducted by gunmen off Northeastern Somalia two weeks ago,... Xinhua news agency Jul 12, 2002; 5. Anonymous. Hijacked fishing boat detained. Shipping Times Jul 29, 2002; Singapore: 6. Anonymous. Security to be beefed up at vital port. Gulf News Aug 7, 2002; Al Nisr Publishing LLR. 7. Anonymous. Somali pirates hijack tanker. 7am.com News World News ed. Aug 11, 2002; World News. 7am News. 8. Anonymous. Somali pirates 'demand $1m for ship'. BBC News online Aug 12, 2002; 9. Anonymous. Somali pirates hold Greek tanker. BBC News online Aug 12, 2002; 10. Anonymous. Olietanker gekaapt bij Somalië. Algemeen Dagblad Buitenkand ed. Aug 13, 2002; Buitenkand. p Anonymous. Somali gunmen seize oil tanker. Business Report Aug 13, 2002; 12. Anonymous. Rule for ships to have security officers. The Star Maritime ed. Aug 26, 2002; Maritime. Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. 13. Anonymous. Joining hands for mutual security. New Straits Times Main/Lifestyle ed. Sep 5, 2002; Main/Lifestyle. 14. Anonymous. US argues for radical port state powers. Lloyd's List Security ed. Sep 9, 2002; Security. p Anonymous. Strait of Malacca - piracy. Lloyd's List Casualty report ed. Sep 20, 2002; Casualty p Anonymous. Marine police beef up patrols after recent hijacks. The Star Maritime ed. Sep 23, 2002; Maritime. Star Publications Bhd. 17. Anonymous. Armed pirate gangs are targeting tugs, warns IMB Anonymous. Pirates steal oil cargo from Malaysian tanker in Straits. Petroleumworld Sep 30, 2002; Petroleumworld.com. 19. Barise H. Somali gunmen hijack cargo ship. BBC News online Jul 3, 2002; BBC. 20. Charoenpo A. Radioactive cargo stolen by al-qaeda. Bangkok Post Jul 22, 2002;

6 21. Felongco G. 23 Filipino seamen held by Somali gunmen freed. Gulf News Jul 5, 2002; Al Nisr Publishing LLR. 22. Hailey R. Brussels puts a brake on US drive for ports clamp. Lloyd's List Security ed. Sep 12, 2002; Security. p Hand M. Malacca Strait pirates hit second tug in a month. Lloyd's List News ed. Sep 20, 2002; News. p Hand M. Piracy surge hits Malaysian tanker. Lloyd's List News ed. Oct 1, 2002; News. p Hoath N. Somali pirates release UAE cargo ship. Gulf News Jul 11, 2002; Al Nisr Publishing LLR. 26. Hughes D. A worrying trend in hijackings. Shipping Times Jul 10, 2002; Singapore: 27. Hughes D. Who should pay for security costs? Shipping Times Aug 28, 2002; Singapore: 28. Jinks B. No Al-Qaeda-linked piracy attacks in Malacca Straits: IMB. Shipping Times Jul 23, 2002; Singapore: Singapore Press. 29. Jinks B. Shipboard security officers may soon be mandatory. Shipping Times Aug 22, 2002; Singapore: 30. Jinks B. Pirates attack oil tanker near S'pore Straits. Shipping Times Oct 1, 2002; Singapore: 31. Anonymous. Maritime Safety Committee, editor. First quarterly report (January to, and including, March 2002). March 31, 2002; London: International Maritime Organization. Maritime Safety Committee. Reports on acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships. 32. Anonymous. Maritime Safety Committee, editor. Second quarterly report (April to, and including, June 2002). July 14, 2002; London: Organization. Maritime Safety Committee. Reports on acts of piracy and armed 33. Anonymous. Maritime Safety Committee, editor. Acts Reported during July Aug 8, 2002; London: Organization. Maritime Safety Committee. Reports on acts of piracy and armed 34. Anonymous. Maritime Safety Committee, editor. Acts Reported during August Sep 16, 2002; London: Organization. Maritime Safety Committee. Reports on acts of piracy and armed 35. Mayoyo P. Anti-terrorism troops rescue Filipino crew. The Nation Jul 18, 2002; 36. Morris S. Mystery claim of British tanker seized by pirates. The Guardian Aug 12, 2002; 37. Pereira D. Jakarta's military unable to cope with threats. The Korea Herald Jul 13, 2002; 38. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, editor. Piracy and armed robbery against ships: report for the period 1 January - 31 March April 2002; London: ICC Bureau. Piracy and armed 39. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, editor. Piracy and armed robbery against ships: report for the period 1 January - 30 June July 2002; London: ICC Bureau. Piracy and armed 40. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 2 July 2002 to 8 July July 9, 2002; 41. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 9 July 2002 to 15 July July 16, 2002;

7 42. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 16 July 2002 to 22 July July 23, 2002; 43. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 23 July 2002 to 29 July July 30, 2002; 44. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 30 July 2002 to 5 August August 6, 2002; 45. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 6 August 2002 to 12 August Aug 13, 2002; 46. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 13 August 2002 to 19 August Aug 20, 2002; 47. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 20 August 2002 to 26 August Aug 27, 2002; report: 10 September 2002 to 16 September Sept 17, 2002; 51. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 17 September 2002 to 23 September Sept 24, 2002; 52. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 24 September 2002 to 30 September Oct 1, 2002; 53. Shimura T. Japan committed to keeping Straits safe. Shipping Times Jul 16, 2002; Singapore: 54. Smith H. Insurers pay to free pirates' hostages. The Guardian Jul 18, 2002; 55. Urquhart D. IMO faces tough task putting security measures in place. Shipping Times Aug 27, 2002; Singapore: 56. Urquhart D. Indon navy guarding fishermen against piracy threats. Shipping Times Sep 12, 2002; Singapore: 57. Urquhart D. Tug boat, barge hijacked in Malacca Straits. Shipping Times Sep 26, 2002; Singapore: 48. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 27 August 2002 to 2 September Sept 3, 2002; 49. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre, report: 3 September 2002 to 9 September Sept 10, 2002; 50. Anonymous. Piracy Reporting Centre,