![](200nm1.jpg)
STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND
CREWS IN SOMALIA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra
- 05. July 2010)
STATUS-SUMMARY:
Today, 05. July 2010, 12h00 UTC,
still at least 23 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in Somali hands
against the will of their owners, while at least 424 seafarers
- including an elderly British yachting couple - plus the lorry drivers from
Somaliland suffer to be released. Request the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor
from ECOTERRA Intl. for background info and see the map of the PIRACY
COASTS OF SOMALIA.
LATEST:
GREEK TANKER SEA-JACKED AT STRATEGIC POSITION BY SOMALI SHIFTA (ecoterra)
At 09h44 UTC (12h44 local time) on 4 July, the tanker's captain reported they
were under small arms fire from a
pirate attack in position 13°16N /
042°56E in the northern Bab Al Mandeb area in the southern Red Sea. After the
initial notification of this attack, unsuccessful attempts were made to contact
the Greek-owned vessel. The capture then was confirmed early on 5 July at
Latitude: 11°33N, Longitude: 045°28E in the Gulf of Aden. Position 11°50 / 45°00
is Point A of the internationally protected maritime shipping corridor through
the Gulf of Aden, called the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor
(IRTC). The MT Motivator, with a dead-weight of 13,065 tonnes has a crew of 18
Filipino nationals on board, though the Philippine government had ruled out that
Filipino crews could be allowed to sail these dangerous waters through the Gulf
of Aden. The sea-jacked ship is a Marshall Islands flagged chemical products
tanker loaded with lubrication-oil and therefore is posing the potential danger
of an oil-spill. While foreign warships head towards a position to intercept the
merchant vessel's path towards the Somali coast, it is not yet clear from where
the pirate group hails.
SITUATION:
YOU ARE PERSISTENTLY BEING LIED TO WITH IMPUNITY:
The Lie: The navies and their mainstream media claim that they achieved a
decline in piracy.
The Reality: Never before in history the cases of piracy have been around
the Horn of Africa so numerous than
in these times and after the specific multi-national naval operations were
launched at the end of 2008; with a thereafter continuously
expanding force and naval presence never seen before around the Horn of Africa -
even not during WWII. But in the same time piracy has increased to an all-time
high with increased violence and escalating armed encounters.
The Lie: The navies have to blow small, captured "piracy" skiffs out of the
water, because they would endanger shipping.
The Reality: The EU NAVFOR
even leaves big vessels like the MV RIM adrift, if as in this case it is
convenient to NOT inspect the ship abandoned by the crew after they killed all
their captors under the watch of the EU, though credible reports stated that the
vessel had been an illegal weapons transporter for groups in Yemen.
The Lie: The navies act under valid UN Security Council Resolutions.
The Reality: The navies have
according to international and Somali national law no right whatsoever to enter
the 200nm territorial waters of Somalia. The UN
Security Council Resolutions, to which repeatedly
the navies refer, are explicitly
stating that they would be only valid and applicable with the consent of the
Somali Government, i.e. the Somali parliament, which never has been given, while
a fictive letter of former Somali president Abdullahi Yusuf was never produced
and a letter signed "on behalf of the Somali Government" by Mauretanian former
UNSRSG Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah is
legally nil and void.
The Lie: EU NAVFOR has an agreement with the Somali government concerning the
Somali Waters and the fight against piracy.
The Reality: A paper signed
without the knowledge of the Somali parliament in a clandestine meeting by
the French Ambassadress to Kenya, Ms Elisabeth Barbier - for the EU - and by one
Noor Hasan Hussein (aka Nuur Xasan Xuseen), who was at the time a Prime Minister
in the cabinet of former Somali TFG President Abdullahi Yussuf, is legally
nil and void and does not give the navies of the European states any permission
in Somali waters. Nuur Cadde, as he is widely known, obviously received as
reward for such favour and assumable high treason, and after he was chased out
of his PM chair and cabinet, the post of Somali ambassador to Italy - the former
colonial power, who still serves as ill advised lead-country for the European
Union and which is the only statelet of the newly empowered European Union,
which still channels directly and without EU consent money to Italy's friends
and warlords within the changing governing alliances of the Somali quagmire.
The fake EU NAVFOR framework is misused by states like Norway, who are not even
a member of the European Union, but dare to send commando units under EU mandate
in mid-night raids into natural harbours of northern Somalia and commit outright
murder by killing innocent fishermen from Somalia and Yemen.
In Addition: Nobody gave the
EU NAVFOR operation ATALANTA or any European entity the right to monitor fishing
in the Somali waters. Though it might have been welcomed if the navies would
assist the Somali government and people in the fight against illegal foreign
fishing fleets, given the fact that not a single of all those illegally fishing
vessels, whose presence had been established, was repulsed by the navies, the
"monitoring of fishing" is mere economic spying on the natural resources of
Somalia and - as many Somalis claim - the scouting for and protection of illegal
foreign fishing ventures. ![](200nm2.jpg)
The Lie: Somalia has no 200nm Somali Waters
The Reality: Since 1972 the
international community had respected Somali Law No. 37, which similar to the
legal provisions in other recognized nation states like Benin, Republic of the
Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Liberia and Peru, declared 200nm as the territorial
waters with all the respective
rights and duties.
Since 1989, when Somalia was one of the first 40 signatories who also endorsed
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Somalia has -
congruent to its territorial waters - an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 200 nm, with
all the rights and protection mechanisms the Common Law of the Sea provides to
all coastal states. Somalia had declared and never given up these rights, but
had to suffer from much illegal activity by foreign interests, which caused the
African Union (AU / then the OAU) at the Pan-African Conference on Sustainable
Integrated Coastal Management (PACSICOM, Maputo, 1998) to decry specifically the
constant violation of the Somali rights in Somalia's Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ) and H.E. Ambassador (Egypt) Ahmed Hagag as Assistant Secretary-General of
the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) declared that everybody must respect the
200 nm EEZ of Somalia.
Since 2009 Somalia has also a Continental Shelf Zone of 350 nm, based on
international law and Somalia's claim documented and handed in by Somalia on 17
April 2009 to the UN and the International Seabed Authority before the deadline
of 13 May 2009. The establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf
beyond 200 nautical miles is the right of all coastal States under international
law.
The Lie: There is no illegal fishing in Somali Waters.
The Reality: Illegal fishing
continues, but it has like always seasonal peaks and licences still continue to
be issued illegally to foreign vessels despite a moratorium by the TFG
government since April 2009. The annual loss in the Somali waters is estimated
at around 300mioUS$.
The problem of illegal and overfishing is not only a Somali one: The
annual consequential costs due to over-fishing of the oceans have reached 50
Billion US-Dollar, as calculated by the WorldBank and FAO. While losses at Wall
Street due to the recent credit crunch have so far been calculated to stand at
only 1,5 Billionen Dollar, allowing financial institutions and bankers to be
"rescued" by a 700 Billion Dollar rescue plan - using taxpayer's money -,
NOTHING is done to rescue the oceans!
The Lie: The international community is helping Somalia and the Somalis
The Reality: Hardly any of the
funds pledged with top-spin public relations campaigns through the
mainstream-media have ever even been set-up to be released. This is not only a
Somalia problem and these global lies have now even been criticized by the G20
summit. If some funds were released for Somalia they were for widely criminal
WFP operations (now under UN investigations), weapons deliveries and training of
fighters, who actually could train their trainers. Even EU NAVFOR escorts for
deliveries by ship of only weapons, other military hardware or supplies solely
to the AMISOM troops are listed by the navies as escorts of
"humanitarian aid". While the bandwagon NGOs are kept quiet with well-funded
"studies" paid for by the intelligence groups, real help on the ground has
declined to an all time low since the beginning of the civil war.
Somalia is earmarked to be kept at the lowest end of global misery, which is
characterized by unnecessary death: Every hourthroughout
the world, over 1600 people,
most of them children, die from
hunger and poverty-related diseases and millions of
others struggle to survive without life's basic necessities of
clean water, food, shelter, education and health care, while the current global
military budget is costing approximately US$160
million dollars every hour,
with a minimum of around 15mioUS$ being spent by the naval armada every day
around the Horn of Africa. While cynics proclaim that such would be necessary to
slow the growth of human overpopulation, it has been proven over and over again
that it is only a distribution problem and those who with military or economic
powers maintain such inequality are guilty of the worst crimes against humanity.
ECOTERRA Intl. states: "
What many people seem to not understand or for specific reasons refuse to
understand is that more than half
of the Somali dominion is based on the Somali seas and thus vital to the
survival of the Somali people. Somalia
has since 1972 as Territorial Waters (TW) and - overlaying the same area -
since1989 as Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) an area of 825,052 square km of
Somali Waters and an additional 55,895 square km as Somali continental shelf
zone (CSZ), forming together the marine and maritime dominion of Somalia.
The sum of the total internal land area of Somalia with its 637,657 square km
and together with the marine area provide for a total of 1,462,709 square km of
recognized total Somali area, which with the additional CSZ is expanding to the
present Somali sphere of 1,518,604 square km.
The sovereignty over the Somali sphere extends to the air space over the
territorial sea as well as to its sea-bed and subsoil, which is now extended to
350nm off the coast.
All creation in the Somali Sphere of 1,518,604 square kilometres of earth - be
it on the 637,657 sqkm of land (42%) or the 880,947 sqkm of the waters (58%) -
has a right to life and must be respected.
These figures and this outline hopefully make it also clear to anybody what
importance the marine waters have for the Somali people and the Somali nation
and why many from the outside try to get their hands on this territory and its
natural resources, thereby trying to push the indigenous Somali interests back
and condemning the Somali people to abhorrent poverty and war unless they would
give up at least parts of their inherited wealth.
While diversity provides stability,
the strife for dominance by an outside aggressor within any given sphere leads
ultimately to the annihilation of the aggressor."
TRENDS:
In short, the trends concerning the piracy phenomenon around the Horn of Africa
are as follows:
- Though at present still the highest
number of vessels ever is held at the Somali coast and the UN--lead
Somalia-process has completely failed and has collapsed, the international
attention concerning piracy has steadily declined and the suffering of
hostage-crews as well as of the Somali people in general has reached a new all
time high with little or no aid coming forward.
- Increased use of sea-jacked smaller fishing vessels (often from Yemen) or dhows
(often from India) to launch piracy attacks. Approaches / attacks then conducted
by 2-3 small open boats with outboard engines and with 3-5 armed persons each in
a concerted attack.
- Increased use of firearms on all sides. The
shoot-to-kill policy adopted by several navies has led to an increased number
of direct fire exchanges. The use of armed personnel and military on fishing
vessels has lead to an overall increase of aggression and violence.Taking the
attacked vessel and crew immediately under direct fire during a piracy attack
was in earlier years unheard of, but is now common. Likewise the the treatment
of crews from countries, which have killed or arrested Somalis is declining.
- Targeting larger cargo / oil / gas / chemical tankers
- Piracy-related incidents have increased in the Gulf of Aden (GOA) and far off
the east coast of Somalia since the
engagement of EU NAVFOR, NATO, CTFs and warships of non-aligned nations.
- Negotiations to quickly free vessels are now often hampered by restrictive
orders, legal changes and ill-conceived advise given to often ignorant
ship-owners.
- Except
for improved defensive measures on merchant ships none of the other responses
like the deployment of navies, killing or arresting Somalis as well as
destroying boats and weapons, talks with proxy-leaders, training of so-called
governmental forces etc. had the slightest positive impact to improve the
security of maritime traffic in innocent passage and none of these measures did
curb Somalia-based piracy around the Horn of Africa.
- Despite the presence of the naval armada and plenty of of evidence concerning
violations of the Somali EEZ of 200nm no foreign-flagged vessels has been
intercepted intercepted which had been suspected or proven to carry arms as
cargo and in not one single case e.g. the EUNAVFOR operation Atalanta - though
they claim that they would "monitor fishing" - has stopped a single
foreign-flagged vessel from committing the crime of illegal fishing in the
Somali waters, while all foreign fishing licences had been declared nil and void
already in April 2008 by the Somali government and no new ones have been issued
since.
- While
billions have been and are spent to finance self-serving naval exercises, those
of the EUNAVOR Atalanta now extended to 2012, and pointless international
conferences or are dumped into the coffers of the United Nations incl. their
agencies like the IMO, no aid - whatsoever - has been set free to improve the
situation for the people along the Somali coasts, which especially along the
central Somali coast is the only solution to truly safeguard against piracy.
- The
recently predicted move of so-called "piracy" closer to the strategically
extremely important area around the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb (already called in
ancient times the "Gate of Scars")
shows once again the intricate relationship between the "piracy" and wanted
provocation of naval response.
SOLUTIONS PENDING:
a) Imposing strictest control on all vessels entering the Somali waters,
starting from the 350nm continental shelf zone and especially on foreign fishing
vessels and waste-dumping ships. Compulsory installation and monitoring of all
IOTC authorized fishing vessels with Long Range Identification and Tracking
(LRIT) as well as gear-
and catch-control monitoring via satellite-transmitted
NV-CCTV-real-time observation day and night. b) Development of coastal regions
along the two Ocean coasts. c) Strengthening of local institutions in regional self-governance. d) All vessels, including naval ships must stay outside the EEZ, i.e the 200nm
zone of the Somali Indian Ocean coast and outside the 50%-part of the waters of
the Gulf of Aden, which belongs to Somalia, unless a permitted and secured
approach to the three legitimate harbours Berbera, Bosasso and Mogadishu has
been received by legitimate authorities of the Somali government. In the Somali
half of the Gulf of Aden as well as in the 350nm continental shelf zone of the
Indian Ocean coast of Somalia foreign research vessels have to abstain from any
activity. e) An independent tribunal, authorized by the UN must carry on an independent
assessment on the alleged duping of toxic and radioactive waste in Somalia,
particularly in the area of the port of Eel Ma’aan, the Garowe-Bosasso road and
Bosasso harbour; while the Italian Government must create a strong coordination
among all the investigative Authorities (Procura della Repubblica) which have
been, and still are, working on the issue of toxic and radioactive waste trade,
to identify and neutralize the network of people and enterprises managing
illegal waste trade and dumping. The EU must finally and fully implement its own
toxic waste prevention measures and implement measures to curb illegal fishing
as well as trade in illegally caught marine products. f) Independent monitoring of the Somali waters with respect to illegal fishing
and waste dumping must finally be funded and implemented. g) Foreign Navies must contribute to
peace-making and not be an obstacle to it by siding in or triggering further
warfare on the waters around the Horn of Africa or commit crimes or injustices
themselves.
HOSTAGE CASES UNDER NEGOTIATIONS:
Genuine members of families of the abducted seafarers can call +254-733-633-733
for further details or send an e-mail in any language to office[AT]ecoterra-international.org
Sea-jacked British couple, Paul
and Rachel Chandler, aged 60 and 58, were abducted from their 38-ft yacht S/Y
LYNN RIVAL, seized October 22, 2009 en route to Tanzania, and are still held
in Somalia. The yacht was recovered by the crew of UK naval vessel Waveknight,
after they witnessed the transfer of the Chandlers to commandeered MV KOTA
WAJAR. The yacht was brought back to England. The elderly couple is now held on
land close to Harardheere, sometimes separated for fear of a commando attack .
The case is turning more and more ugly with pirates becoming brutal, politicians
ignorant and the financially incapable family intimidated by several sidelines,
whose money-guided approach is undermining bids by local elders, human rights
groups and the Somali Diaspora to get the innocent couple free. Some
humanitarian efforts, however, are now under way and Somali elders, respected
leaders and the Somali Diaspora have renewed their demand for an unconditional
release. Latest reports from the
ground say that the couple is now treated better, though they often are kept
separated for fear of a military rescue attempt. Since the health of both
elderly people at the beginning of the year was reportedly deteriorating rapidly
relief and medicine has been sent by a humanitarian organization
and was received by the couple. Repeatedly rumours were spread concerning
attacks, wounding or killing one of the hostages and also about a release
managed by the TFG, but they became
so far not true. With former British Premier Gordon Brown gone, maybe some more
rational and humanitarian minded politicians will now be at the helm in the UK,
who do not abandon their citizen and will extend help to solve the appalling
case, though also the new government in the UK made it clear that no ransom
would be paid by the British government. However, the direct family approach
seems to have had some not so successful advisers, because an attempt to free
the Chandlers mid June 2010 didn't work out, while the family allegedly already
lost the 430,000 US$ they reportedly paid blindly to the hostage takers.
MV SOCOTRA 1: Seized December
25. 2009. The vessel carrying a food cargo for a Yemeni businessman and bound
for Socotra Archipelago was captured in the Gulf of Aden after it left Alshahir
port in the eastern province of Hadramout. 6 crew members of Yemeni nationality
were aboard. Latest information said the ship was commandeered onto the high
seas between Oman and Pakistan, possibly in another piracy or smuggling mission.
VESSEL STILL MISSING.
SOMALILAND LORRIES: Seized
February 25, 2010. Seven lorries and at least 9 persons from their driver-crews
of Isaak ethnicity from Somaliland were captured by a gang of sea-shifta from
Garacad in order to press their comrades free from Somaliland jails. No
financial demands have been made. According to sources close to the pirates, the
trucks are still being kept in small town near the pirate lair of Garacad called
Kulub.
FV AL-SHURA: Seized after
February 20, 2010 and most likely on 25th February with one of 9 sailors being
killed by Somali pirate-attackers. Present location of Yemeni vessel and crew
unknown. Navies have apparently not yet located the dhow. Allegedly the pirates
now left the vessel and the dhow was returned to owner, but independent
confirmation is still awaited from Yemen.
BB AL-NISR-AL-SAUDI: Seized on
March 01, 2010. The relatively small
bunker barge Al Nisr Al Saudi was empty when it was takenpirated in
the Gulf of Aden and in the vicinity
of Aden port. The captain of the ship is Greek and the nationality of the 13
other crew is Sri Lankan. All crew is believed to be safe. The 5,136 ton ship
was not registered with maritime authorities and was outside the designated
route that naval warships patrol. Communications between the pirates and the
owner have been established. Contrary to many other vessels the families of the
hostage-seafarers are very well taken care of, though the negotiations
concerning the release of the vessel and crew are apparently not forthcoming. The
vessel moved from Garacad and is currently held at Kulub.
FV SAKOBA: Seized
after February 26, 2010, when the vessel was in Malindi / Kenya for bunkers,
and according to the owner on 03 March, when the vessel was around Pemba
Island in Tanzania. From there she went to her most southerly recorded point
on 04 March 2010 at position 7º26.48' S, 42º29.88' E, which is between
Zansibar and Mafia Island in Tanzania waters. At 07h04 UTC on 08 March 2010
Kenya-flagged FV SAKOBA was in position 00°52'N-046°56'E. The fishing vessel
was used as a pirate platform and most likely also involved in the
sea-jacking of UBT OCEAN. FV SAKOBA is a fishing vessel,
presently flying Kenyan flag, which has become infamous in the fish-poaching
world since many years and its clandestine operations are very well known to
several environmental organizations. It has a murky track record.
In 2005 FV SAKOBA, with a crew of
Kenyan-Spaniards and Kenyans was involved in a serious incident, whereby a
Kenyan seaman got seriously injured off the Kenyan coast. It is therefore
assumed that this vessel was not necessarily sea-jacked but also operated in
co-operation with the Somali sea-shifta. To be "hijacked" is a nice cover for a
crooked crew to operate in criminal operations, be it illegal fishing,
smuggling, trafficking or assisting in the hijacking of other vessels. In the
clandestine world of vessels sailing under Flag of Convenience (FOC), FV SAKOBA
is a special case. FV SAKOBA arrived late afternoon on 10 March 2010 at the
Central Somali coast near Harardheere, where it is anchored now at position
4º36.88'N-48º05.64'E. The 16 men crew consists of one Spaniard of Portuguese origin as captain, the
chief engineer from Poland, ten Kenyans, two Senegalese and one sailor each from
Namibia and Cape Verde. The Spanish owner of the vessel holds 99.9% of the
shares in the Kenyan registered company , which exports the fish to Europe via
his Spanish company. The Spanish owner is now at Nairobi in Kenya with the
Spanish Ambassador and had reportedly contact with the Somali group holding the
vessel. Families of the Kenyan seafarers
demonstrated in Mombasa to seek support and information from the Spanish
shipowner and the Kenyan government. The legal procession to hand a petition to
the Kenya Maritime Authority was broken up by Kenya police, who detained one
human rights activist. Meanwhile some of the Kenyan sailors on board were
allowed to call home and reported shortages of clean water, food (except fish)
and ship-fuel. The Spanish shipowner left Kenya again for Spain without having
been able yet to reach an agreement with the pirates for the release. Reports of
mistreatment of crew and the captain being held on land are worrisome. In
addition the Spanish owner seems to run away from his responsibilities, closing
the office in Mombasa and having paid to the Kenyan families of the seafarers
only 50.- US Dollars each, while several month of salary are outstanding.
MT UBT OCEAN: seized on March 05, 2010. The Marshall Islands-flagged,
Norwegian owned oil-product tanker with 21 crew from Burma was captured between
the Seychelles and Tanzania in the Indian Ocean while heading towards Dar es
Salaam at position 04°34'S-048°09'E at 06h39 UTC (0939 LT). It
was said that FV SAKOBA was somehow
involved in the sea-jacking of the Norwegian tanker. However,
later the position of the attack was said to have been 09°12'S-044°20'E,
which seems not to be plausible. The 120
m long 9,224dwt tanker belongs to
shipowners Brovigtank and is managed by Singapore-based
Nautictank. The tanker had been
commandeered to the coast near Harardheere at the Central Somali Indian Ocean
coast, where vessel and crew are held. Negotiation for the release are said to
be not forthcoming.
MV FRIGIA: Seized March 22, 2010. The Turkish owned, Malta-flagged
35,244-dwt bulker with Israeli-owned cargo of phosphate was hijacked off the
Indian coast before midnight at Posn:
11:41.53N - 066:05.38E - 670nm east
of Socotra Island and around 900nm from Somalia. At 0137
UTC a distress signal was sent. The
vessel has a crew of 21 sailors - 19 Turks and two Ukrainians. Concerning the
negotiations it is reported that not even proper contact has been established. The
vessel moved from Garacad and is currently held at Kulub at the North-Eastern
Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.
MV ICEBERG I: Seized March 29, 2010. The UAE-owned, Panama-flagged Ro-Ro
vessel MV ICEBERG 1 with her 24 multinational crew members (from India,
Pakistan, Yemen, Ghana, Sudan and one Filipino) was sea-jacked just 10nm outside
Aden Port, Gulf of Aden. The vessel was mostly held off Kulub at
the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, while negotiations having not
yet achieved a solution. The USS McFaul intercepted and identified the ship on
19th May 2010, despite the pirates having painted over her name and re-named the
ship SEA EXPRESS, while the
vessel was on a presumed piracy mission on the high-seas. Since about 50 pirates
on the ship made any rescue operation impossible without endangering the 24
crew, the naval ship followed the commandeered vessel's movements for the next
36 hours, until it began to sail back towards the coast of Somalia. It
has transpired that the shipping company Azal
Shipping based in Dubai refuses to
pay any ransom and the ship is apparently not insured. The
sailors have no more food, water or medicine on board. While all the seafarers
are starving, a few of them already are getting sick. The crew requested
humanitarian intervention.
FV JIH-CHUN TSAI 68 (日春財68號) :
Seized March 31, 2010. The Taiwan-flagged and -owned fishing vessel was attacked
together with sister-ship Jui Man Fa (瑞滿發),
which managed to escape. The vessels are operating out of the Seychelles. The
crew of Jih-chun Tsai No. 68 consists
of 14 sailors - a Taiwanese captain
along with two Chinese and 11 Indonesian seamen. The vessel is now held at Kulub
at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia and attempted negotiations
face serious communication problems.
FV NN - IRANIAN FISHING VESSEL: Seized before April 02, 2010. The gang of
sea-shifta, which had captured the Indian dhow MSV
KRISHNA JYOT and ran out of fuel near Socotra, seized the Iranian fishing vessel
and set the dhow free with her crew unharmed while going off with the Iranian
fishing vessel. While the vessel had at first not come to any shore in Somalia and
was believed to be used as piracy platform, some
sources reported the vessel earlier from Kulub.
VLCC SAMHO DREAM: Seized April
02, 2010. The Marshall
Islands-registered "Samho Dream", a 300,000t oil tanker owned by South Korea's
Samho Shipping, was seized by three Somali pirates in waters some 1,500 km
south-east of the Gulf of Aden at around 16:10 Seoul time (0710 GMT).There are a
total of 24 crew members on board, including five South Koreans and 19
Filipinos. The 319,000 dwt very large crude carrier was on its way from Iraq to
Louisiana of the United States.The Samho Dream, which was built in 2002, is
carrying crude oil that could be worth as much as $170 million at current oil
prices. The vessel had been commandeered to Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian
Ocean coast and is now anchored 4.6nm off the beach. The South Korean government
ordered their destroyer Chungmugong
Yi Sun-shin out of the Somali waters and back to its working routine in the Gulf
of Aden, but still there are two warships keeping a watch close by, staging mock
attacks and caused tension on board, which made the pirates to issue a statement
that they would blow up the oil-tanker if the harassment would not stop and no
ransom would be paid. soon. Though negotiations with the owners are ongoing no
conclusion has been reached. The vessel was moved from Hobyo, where she was held
since her capture until the advancement of Al-Shabaab spearheaded Hizb-ul-Islam
groups, to Garacad.
MV RAK AFRIKANA: Seized April 11, 2010, the general cargo vessel (IMO
8200553) with a deadweight of 7,561
tonnes (5992t gross)was captured at 06h32 approximately 280 nautical miles west
of Seychelles and 480nm off Somalia in position 04:45S - 051:00E. The captured
vessel flies a flag of convenience from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and has
as registered owner RAK AFRICANA SHIPPING LTD based in the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) and an offices in the Seychelles, while industry sources say the
beneficial owner is from China. AL SINDBAD SHIPPING & MARINE from Ras al Khaimah
(UAE) serves as manager. While China's Seafarers Union, based on an outdated ITF
database, first spoke of 23 Chinese nationals as crew, the shipowner says there
are 26 seamen from India, Pakistan and Tanzania on board. The actual crew-list
has not been provided yet and the crew is not covered by an ITF agreement, but
it could be established that the crew comprises of 11 Indians, including the
captain, the second and third officer, as well as 10 Tanzanians and 5
Pakistanis. The vessel stopped
briefly due to engine problems - around 280 nautical miles (520 kilometres) west
of the Seychelles - but was then commandeered to Somalia and is held now off
Ceel Huur not far from Harardheere at the Central Somali Indian Ocean Coast.
YEMENI FISHING VESSELS: Two
Yemeni fishing vessels were seized by presumed Somali sea-gangs during the week
09th to 16th April in the Gulf of Aden. The Yemeni coastguard did not specify
the name of the vessels and only reported in one case the crew as comprising of
three Yemeni nationals.
THAI FISHING FLEET: Seized April 18, 2010 with
a total crew of 77 sailors, of which
12 are Thai and the others of different nationalities, the Thailand-flagged
vessels operating out of Djibouti were fishing illegal in
the Indian Ocean off Minicoy Island
in the fishing grounds of the
Maldives. All three vessels were then
commandeered towards the Somali coast by a group of in total around 15 Somalis.
FV PRANTALAY 11 with
a crew of 26 FV PRANTALAY 12 with a crew of
25 FV PRANTALAY 14 with a crew of
26 None of these vessels is registered and authorized by the Indian Ocean Tuna
Commission to fish in the Indian Ocean. The fleet is now held off the coast at Kulub near Garacad at the north-eastern
Indian Ocean coast of Somalia. The captors already threatened to use one of the
hunter-vessels of the group as a piracy-launch, but at present all three vessels
are held at the coast, while negotiations have not been forthcoming.
MV VOC DAISY: Seized
in the morning of April 21, 2010, the Panama-flagged, Liberian-owned bulk
carrier of 47,183 dead weight tonnes, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden, 190
nautical miles East South East of Salalah, Oman. The
bulker was registered with theMaritime Security Centre Horn Of Africa (MSCHOA) and
heading west from Ruwais, U.A.E, making for the eastern rendezvous point of the
International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), for onward transit through
the Suez Canal. She was 280 miles
from the IRTC when she was sea-jacked. The
vessel is owned by Middleburg Properties Ltd, Liberia, and operated by the Greek
company Samartzis Maritime Enterprises. The 21 men all-Filipino crew was able
to raise the alarm before the four armed pirates, carrying three AK47s and one
RPG, stormed onboard and cut their lines of communication. The crew is, however,
said to be all right, given the circumstances. The vessel is now held off Kulub
near Garacad at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.
MV AL ASSA: Seized before May 04,
2010. The Yemeni cargo ship with nine crew members on board was captured by
Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, Yemen's defense ministry confirmed. The
vessel was captured en route from the south-eastern Yemeni port of Mukalla to
Aden and is now being held at a port in northern Somalia, the Yemeni coast
guards stated.
Tai Yuan 227: Seized on May 06, 2010 in an area north off the Indian
Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles as it headed for the Maldives, the Taiwanese
fishing boat has a crew of 28 (9 Chinese, 3 Vietnamese, 3 Filipinos, 7 Kenyans
and 2 from Mozambique). Taiwan's foreign ministry confirmed that the vessel had
been seized after the Taipei Rescue Command Centre reported the incident to
have taken place in approximate
position 0105N-06750E. The ministry added that contact was made on
Friday with the pirates who made an unspecified ransom demand, while the vessel
is heading towards the Somali coast. The vessel has no authorization by the
Indian Ocean Commission to fish in the Indian Ocean, which, however, is partly
explained by the fact that China is opposed to Taiwan as flag state. Due to the
inaction of the ship-owner and the Taiwan government to free the vessel, it is
at present used again as launch for further piracy attacks.
MT MARIDA MARGUERITE: Seized May 08, 2010, around120nm south of the Omani
port of Salalah in the protected shipping corridor, the German owner-managed,
US-owner-registered chemical tanker
of 13.273 dwt has a crew of 22 seamen, including 19 Indians, two Bangladeshi and
one Ukrainian. The vessel is flying a
flag of convenience (FOC) from the
Marshall Islands. The is held at the north-eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast
near Garacad.
MV PANEGA: Seized late
afternoon of May 11, 2010 in the Gulf of Aden in the proximity of the
internationally protected shipping corridor and approximately 100 nautical miles
east of Aden (Yemen), the small Bulgarian-flagged chemical products tanker of
5,848 tonnes was on route from the Red Sea to India. The crew consists of 15
Bulgarians. The vessel was already earmarked for the scrapyard and it is
presumed that the P&I insurer The
West of England Shipowners shall
maybe be taken for a ride. The vessel is now held at the north-eastern Somali
coast in the vicinity of Garacad.
MV ELENI P: Seized in the morning of May 12, 2010, the Greek-owned,
Liberia-flagged 72,100 dwt bulker was sea-jacked around 380 nm south-east of
Salalah (Oman) in position 15°55N
/ 060°50E. The 23 crew comprises of 19 Filipinos, 2 Greek and one Ukrainian
sailor, who are said to be unharmed. Reports say that under other names the
vessel had been attacked already before (as SEAHORSE on April 09, 2009). The
vessel is held near Garacad at the north-eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast.
MT GOLDEN BLESSING: Seized in the morning at 03h27 UTC (06h27 local time)
of June 28, 2010, the Singapore flagged, Chinese-managed chemical tanker with a
cargo of highly toxic ethylene glycol was plying the waters inside the
Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor (IRTC) when the 19 men strong all
Chinese crew was overwhelmed at
position Latitude: 13°23.7N Longitude: 049°58Eand taken hostage in the view of a
helicopter from a nearby naval vessel. The tanker was commandeered then by its
captors from Somalia to the Somali Indian Ocean coast, where it stopped first at
Bargaal and proceeded next to Garacad, where it is held now. Negotiations have
not yet commenced.
MT MOTIVATOR: At
09h44 UTC (12h44 local time) on 4 July, the tanker's captain reported they were
under small arms fire from a pirate
attack in position 13°16N / 042°56E
in the northern Bab Al Mandeb area in the southern Red Sea. After the initial
notification of this attack, unsuccessful attempts were made to contact the
Greek-owned vessel. The capture then was confirmed early on 5 July at Latitude:
11°33N, Longitude: 045°28E in the Gulf of Aden. Position 11°50 / 45°00 is Point
A of the internationally protected maritime shipping corridor through the Gulf
of Aden, called the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC). The MT
Motivator, with a dead-weight of 13,065 tonnes has a crew of 18 Filipino
nationals on board, though the Philippine government had ruled out that Filipino
crews could be allowed to sail these dangerous waters through the Gulf of Aden.
The sea-jacked ship is a Marshall Islands flagged chemical products tanker
loaded with lubrication-oil and therefore is posing the potential danger of an
oil-spill. While foreign warships head towards a position to intercept the
merchant vessel's path towards the Somali coast, it is not yet clear from where
the pirate group hails.
THIS INFORMATION IS ALSO A WARNING TO VESSELS TRAVERSING THE SOMALI BASIN TO
BE AWARE OF LARGER VESSELS BEING USED AS LAUNCHING PAD AND
DECOY FOR PIRACY ATTACKS . All vessels navigating in the Indian Ocean are advised to consider keeping East
of 60E when routing North/South and to consider routing East of 60E and South of
10S when proceeding to and from ports in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. The Indian Government has issued a NOTICE on
30th March 2010: All
Indian-flagged motorized sailing vessels are - with
immediate effect - no longer
permitted to ply the waters south and west of a line joining Salalah (Oman) and
Malé (Maldives). NOTIFICATION BY THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT - Issued by The Directorate General of Shipping, Mumbai.
DIRECTIONS 31. March 2010 The Directorate has issued directions prohibiting the trading of
mechanized sailing vessels south and west of the line joining Salalah and Male,
with immediate effect.
NON-MARITIME HOSTAGE CASES IN SOMALIA:
Missing: Briton Murray Watson and Kenyan Patrick Amukhuma since 01. April 2008. They were
working on a U.N.-funded project in the Juba valley, were seized by gunmen and
taken to Jilib, 280 km (175 miles) south of Mogadishu. According to Reuters they
are still being held.
Political hostage: French officer Dennis Allex. Somali gunmen kidnapped two French security
advisers working for the Somali TFG government from the Sahafi Hotel in
Mogadishu on July 14 2009. Police said one escaped on Aug. 26 after killing
three of his captors, but Marc Aubriere denied killing anyone and said he
slipped away while his guards slept. A video released by Al Shabab was showing
the second officer still being held and political demands for his release were
made by Al Shabab. On June 9, 2010 the video appeared on a website often used by
Islamist militant groups, which said the hostage, named as Denis Allex, had
issued a "message to the French people". The video showed the captive in an
orange outfit with armed men standing behind him.
CASES NOT COMPLETELY CLOSED:
MS INDIAN OCEAN EXPLORER and S/Y
SERENITY - presumed sunken, but
wrecks not secured.
BARGE NN - an
unnamed barge (allegedly with chemical waste) is held at Kulule (near
Bendar-Beyla) since mid March 2009. Ownership and circumstances could not yet be
clarified. In the meantime local people have developed some ailments. Community
awareness campaign was carried out, barge is provisionally secured. The case
needs an immediate solution.
S/Y JOUPLA (aka JUMLA or
YUMLA ?) - a mysterious yacht,
said to hail from the Seychelles or South-Africa, with three Africans on board
was kept since a long time near Dinoowda on the Indian Ocean coast of
North-Eastern Somalia. Rumors say the yacht was involved in the sea-jacking of
MV NAVIOS APOLLON as well as MV JAMES PARK and was then sighted near Hobyo. The
yacht, initially used to smuggle drugs, is reported now to have been wrecked
during the latest spree and sunk near Dinoowda Qorioweyn. The
three African men reportedly still stay in Garacad as hostages, being forced to
train sea-shifta.
FV INTMAS 6 [aka FV TAWARIQ
2]: Was missing since March 2009. FV INTMAS 6 (sometimes named FV TAWARIQ 2)
with a crew of around 30 seamen went missing around the time when FV TAWARIQ 1
was arrested by Tanzanian authorities with the help of the South African
coastguard for illegal fishing. Families of four Kenyan crew members, who were
hired by a Chinese shipping agent in Kenya, are desperate to know the fate of
their relatives, while the shipping agent is now held also in the Tanzanian
prisons in connection with the arrest of FV TAWARIQ 1. When FV TAWARIQ 1 was
seized also FV TAWARIQ 2, 3 and 4 fled from the Western Indian Ocean. TAWARIQ 4
is now anchored in Singapore, TAWARIQ 3 caught fire off Mauritius, which has
developed into a hub for fish-poachers, and TAWARIQ 2 (INTMAS 6) and her
multi-national crew comprised of Taiwanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Vietnamese,
Indonesians and Kenyans was missing for nearly a year. When FV WIN FAR 161 was
captured by Somalis, who had followed the vessel close to the Seychelles , the
other WIN FAR vessels were called back to Taiwan. The Taiwanese real shipowner
of FV TAWARIQ 1, who is said to also have had his part in FV WIN FAR 161, which
recently was released from Somalia with two dead sailors on board - is wanted by
the authorities too. INTMAS 6 also
fled from Tanzania after the arrest of FV TAWARIQ 1 - first to the Seychelles
and then to Malaysia, from where now and finally all four Kenyan crew members
returned to Kenya. While the vessel was reportedly sailing from Malaysia to
Bangkok, her present whereabouts are unknown while investigations are ongoing.
MT AGIA BARBARA: INDIAN AND SYRIAN CREW
STILL WANTED FOR MURDER - vessel escaped to
the UAE from Somalia after the murder
of a TFG policeman and the attempted murder of another police officer -
unhindered by international naval forces. See our earlier updates for details.
FV WIN FAR 161 - The freed
vessel returned under mainland China's naval escort back to Taiwan, but an
independent investigation into the death of at least one Chinese and one
Indonesian sailor as well as into the involvement of the ship in the attack on
US-flagged container vessel MV MAERSK ALABAMA has not yet been completed, while Hsieh
Long-yan, president of the ship's owner Win Far Fishery, continues to be
elusive and evades questions asking e.g. why he lied to the Foreign Minister of
Taiwan and why he didn't facilitate relief and medical support for the crew
during many month.
M.S.V. ABDUL RAZAK: Seized
before February 23, 2010 and after 17 November 2008 (latest contact). The 40m
ship with 9 crew of Indian nationality was captured by Somali sea-shifta. on her
way from Kandala to Dubai. No information concerning the condition of the crew
available. So far the vessel had been reported only as missing or lost at sea by the owner. Reportedly a 7 men gang of sea-shifta from Garacad, a notorious pirate den at
the Indian Ocean coast of North-Eastern Somalia, is/was commandeering the
vessel. Latest informations indicate that the vessel was already misused as pirate
mother-ship far off in the Indian Ocean. An intensive search by ECOTERRA Intl.
along the coast revealed that it is at present not at the Somali coasts. Upcoming information says that it might have been involved in an encounter with
a French naval vessel at the end of February 2009. It apparently sunk near the
UAE and all crew are said to be dead.
1 YEMENI BOAT : Missing since 11. January 2010 from
Warsha Island in Alaraj area in Yemen's province of Hudaida (not yet counted on
list of pirated vessels - but mentioned here as alert). Originally two dhows had
gone missing on the same day, but one - MSV
AL HADRAMI 73 - was
found by EU NAVFOR with the vessel
abandoned and the crew missing, which
apparently had left the vessel with a skiff because the engine had broken down.
The vessel was towed back to Yemen and handed over to the owner on 20th
February.
Legal Dispute: MV JAIKUR I - Though
difficult, all the expatriate crew could with the assistance of ECOTERRA Intl.
be freed and repatriated. The vessel
is left unattended by the shipowner, who tries to continue business as usual
with clandestine shipments, incl. from WFP to Somalia, using the sister ship. The
vessel is still at Mogadishu harbour and poses now an extreme environmental
hazard risk, because it is crushing against the water breakers.
Legal Dispute: MV LEILA -
The Panama-flagged but UAE owned Ro-Ro cargo ship of 2,292 grt with IMO NO.
7302794 and MMSI NO. 352723000 , is held at the Somaliland port of Berbera since
September 15, 2009 at gunpoint and under a court order in a legal dispute
between Somaliland authorities, cargo owners and the ship-owner. Somali company
Omar International claims cargo damages caused by fire on MV MARIAM STAR who
caught fire on the upper deck while at Berbera port in early September of 2009.
MV MIRIAM STAR - a fleet-sister-ship - is likewise still at Berbera. Though
difficult, all the expatriate crew could with the assistance of ECOTERRA Intl.
be freed and repatriated. BOTH
ABANDONED SHIPS POSE NOW A GRAVE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SAFETY HAZARD TO BERBERA
PORT.
With the latest
captures and releases now still at least 23 seized
foreign vessels (25 sea-related
hostage cases since yacht SY LYNN RIVAL was abandoned and taken by the British
Navy) with a total of not less
than 424 crew
members (incl. the
British sailing couple) plus at
least 9 crew of the lorries held for an exchange with imprisoned pirates, are
accounted for. The cases are
monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which
were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly
disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed too. Over 134
incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful
sea-jackings) had been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual
sea-jacking cases for Somalia and the mistaken sinking of one sea-jacked fishing
vessel and killing of her crew by the
Indian naval force. For 2009 the account closed with 228 incidences (incl.
averted or abandoned attacks) with 68 vessels seized for different reasons on
the Somali/Yemeni captor side as well as at least TWELVE wrongful attacks (incl.
one friendly fire incident) on the side of the naval forces. For 2010 the recorded account around the Horn of Africa stands at 106 attacks by
Somali sea-shifta resulting in 43 sea-jackings on the one side and the sinking
of one merchant vessel (MV AL ABI) by
machine-gun fire from the Seychelles's coastguard boat TOPAZ and the wrongful
attack by the Indian navy on a Yemeni fishing vessel on the other. The naval
alliances had since August 2008 and until May 2010 apprehended
1090 suspected
pirates, detained and kept or transferred for prosecution
480, killed at
least 64 and wounded over 24 Somalis. (Actual
independent update see: http://bruxelles2.over-blog.com/pages/_Bilan_antipiraterie_Atalanta_CTF_Otan_Russie_Exclusif-1169128.html). Not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack
count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (although not
in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in t his
area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that
they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail - like the S/Y Serenity, MV
Indian Ocean Explorer.Present multi-factorial risk
assessment code: GoA: ORANGE / IO: ORANGE (Red
= Very much likely, high season; Orange = Reduced risk, but very likely, Yellow
= significantly reduced risk, but still likely, Blue = possible, Green =
unlikely). Piracy incidents usually degrade during the monsoon season and rise
gradually by the end of the monsoon. Starting from mid February until early
April as well as around October every year an increase in piracy cases can be
expected. With the onset of the monsoon winds and rough seas piracy cases
decline. If you have any additional information concerning the cases, please send to
office[at]ecoterra-international.org -
if required we guarantee 100% confidentiality. For further details and regional information see the Somali Marine and Coastal
Monitor and the map of the PIRACY
COASTS OF SOMALIA.
EMERGENCY HELPLINE: sms/call
+254-733-633-733 East Africa ILLEGAL FISHING AND DUMPING HOTLINE: +254-714-747090
(confidentiality guaranteed) - email: office[at]ecoterra.net EA Seafarers Assistance Programme : Call: +254-734-437838 or
+254-714-747090 or SMS to +254-738-497979
ECOTERRA Intl. is an international
nature protection and human rights organization, whose offices in Somalia, Kenya
and Tanzania also monitor the marine and maritime situation along the East
African Indian Ocean coasts as well as the Gulf of Aden. ECOTERRA is working in
Somalia since 1986 and does focus in the work against piracy on coastal
development and pacification.
N.B.: This status report is mainly for the next of kind of seafarers held
hostage, who often do not get any information from the ship-owners or their
governments, and shall serve as well as clearing-house for the media. Request
for further details can be e-mailed to: somalia[at]ecoterra.net (you
have to verify your mail).
© This
compilation may be reprinted and republished as long as the content remains
unaltered, and ECOTERRA Intl. is cited as
source.
Faafin: SomaliTalk.com / July 5, 2010
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