Piracy the curse of maritime transport Seminar on piracy and armed robbery at sea organised by the European Commission (DG MOVE) in cooperation with the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU 28 & 29 March 2012 Brussels, Centre de Conférence Albert Borschette
Overview of piracy and armed robbery at sea P. Mukundan, Director ICC International Maritime Bureau pmukundan@icc-ccs.org
Introduction Role of the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre Worldwide numbers, hotspots, types of attacks Focus on W. Africa & Somalia Response from governments and navies from vessels: BMP, armed teams?
Incident on Ship Anywhere in world 24hr manned IMB Piracy Reporting Centre Immediate Broadcast to all MRCC, Coast Guards & Naval Units in the area for assistance Broadcast to all ships in the Ocean region & to CSO etc. share info with NATO, EU, ONI, INTERPOL Incident reports sent to IMO, papers submitted at (IMO) MSC. ICC-IMB website / twitter Compilation of reports etc to increases awareness of high risk areas and risk associated with those areas
Where does it take place 2012 Total Attacks Reported 94 10 hijackings, 157 hostages, 2 killed
Total number of attacks since 2003 500 450 400 445 410 445 439 350 329 300 250 276 236 263 293 200 150 100 94 50 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Total number of ships hijacked
Faces of Piracy
2012 Indo/Malay/Sing Sts/S. China Seas 17 incidents 15 boarded
2012 Nigeria & Gulf of Guinea 83nm 110nm 16 attacks, 2 hijackings Violent / two deaths Under reporting / all types of vessels attacked Distance from land / probable use of fishing boats
13.02.2012: 0250 UTC: Around 110nm south of Lagos, Nigeria. Eight armed pirates boarded a drifting bulk carrier. Ch. Cook taken hostage to Masters cabin. Pirates fired 20 shots to force open master's cabin door. Pirates shot and killed Master and stole from ships safe. Tried to enter the Ch. Eng s cabin. Ch. Eng escaped via port hole, fell, injured and later died. IMB PRC broadcast received by French warship. Boarding team. The warship escorted vsl to Lagos port. Crew provided medical treatment.
2011 Spill over into Benin Benin 20 attacks 8 hijacked 10 boarded All product tankers Main aim to steal cargo
09.02.2012: 1402 UTC: Around 83nm South of Cotonou, Benin. Pirates boarded and hijacked a drifting product tanker. Vsl sailed to an unknown location. Flag state contacted IMB PRC and gave vsl posn by polling IMB PRC contacted & liaised with Nigerian authorities A Nigerian navy rescue team dispatched and intercepted vsl All crew and vsl rescued.
12-14 2011 Time of Attack in UTC 22-00 00-02 12 11 10 02-04 8 20-22 6 6 04-06 4 1 2 0 0 18-20 2 0 1 06-08 2 0 0 1 0 16-18 08-10 14-16 10-12
SOMALIA
2007 2008 2009 2010
2011 Sea Area affected by Somali piracy 237 attacks, 28 hijacked, 470 hostages 49 Kidnapped 15 Killed
2012 Sea area affected by Somali piracy 40 attacks, 8 hijacked, 92 hostages 49 crew ashore
2011 Somali incident Southern Red Sea 11-Aug-2011: Furthest northerly attack. Vsl boarded not hijacked Restricted waters Fishermen are armed Other criminal activity Territorial waters 36 attacks, 3 boarded Multiple skiff attacks Skiffs hide off islands and among fishing vessels
Traditional M/S M/S in early 2011
Motherships supporting pirate operations early 2012
2011 Time of Attack in UTC 22-00 00-02 35 30 25 02-04 18-20 20-22 9 4 10 20 15 10 5 0 3 3 22 31 33 04-06 06-08 16-18 27 08-10 14-16 23 29 12-14 34 10-12
Damage to ship
The response The vital role of the navies
Response International Navies
RoE determine naval actions Samho Jewelry hijacked used as M/S South Korean navy stormed vessel Vessel retaken crew safe Eight pirates killed, five arrested
And many other naval actions. EU, US, China, Malaysia, South Korea, etc
Take the Prize Away 2011 Indian navy robust action against pirates 12/03/11 FV Vega 5 rescued 63 pirates caught In Jan and Feb similar robust action on Thai FV Prantalaya 11 & 14
Naval effectiveness - Somali attacks up to 31/Mar/11 11/01-67 E 05/02-71 E 11/03-66 E 28/01 73 E 23/03-66 E 01/02-69 E 68 E
Naval effectiveness - Somali incidents Apr 11 Feb12 14 May 68 E 18 June 76 E 68 E
Is the response at sea working??? 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 Incidents 40 237 219 217 111 31 10 Hijacking 8 28 49 47 42 12 5 Success Ratio 20% (1:5) 11.8% (1:8.5) 22.4% (1:4.5) 21.6% (1:4.6) 37.8% (1:2.6) 38.7% (1:2.5) 50% (1:2) Hostage 115 470 1016 867 815 177 87
Increase in numbers, range and pirate techniques Higher ransoms Vessels kept for longer Increase in violence against crew, in some cases Is the response working? In 2011, more attacks, but lesser hijackings Better naval response? BMP? Increased use of private armed teams on board? A sustained robust naval approach casualties?
Building on the current situation Continue with the measures at sea ECOP : $ 6.6 6.9 billion p.a. 99.5% recurring cost Refocus on efforts ashore The coastal belt in Central Somalia The critical role of the Somali diaspora The financial industry in Somalia
To conclude. Value of an independent reporting centre which lasts beyond today s hotspots sharing of all information. The navies are vital private armed security is not a substitute need to maintain, increase naval assets Lobby for redevelopment of Central Somalia Tracing the ransoms paid AML
PIRACY REPORTING CENTRE CONTACT DETAILS Tel: + 603 2031 0014 // +603 2078 5763 Fax: + 603 2078 5769 Email: piracy@icc-ccs.org Email: imbkl@icc-ccs.org Telex: MA 34199 www.icc-ccs.org Twitter: www.twitter.com/imb_piracy