Friday June 24, 2011
Somalia Report maintains an extensive search-and-rescue database on hijacked ships, kidnapped crews and land-based hostages. In an effort to clarify the often confusing and deliberately misleading information communicated by pirates, we publish this weekly update.
Piracy statistics
At least 19 ships (not including the Danish yacht in the list of vessels held, below) and an estimated 405 seafarers remain in the hands of pirates. 41 of these hostages, including the Danish hostages and crew from the MV Asphalt Venture and MV Orna, are being held on land or on board other vessels.
In 2011 so far, known ransom payments amount to $73 million for the release of 16 ships. Another four vessels were released without any estimate being given for ransom payment. Given that the average payment is around $4.5 million, another $18 million could easily be added to the estimated known ransoms paid. Many other vessels were released without ransom or freed by foreign navies.
Weekly Summary
The weather may be the sailor’s oldest enemy, but those seamen in the vicinity of Somalia have reason to be thankful for rough seas this week. The monsoon season has severely curtailed pirate activity. There were no reports of vessels hijacked, boarded, fired upon or boarding attempts around the Horn of Africa, Somali basin, the Arabian sea and the Indian Ocean.
The last incident reported by NATO came on June 15, when a merchant vessel evaded an attack. The winds and rough seas are expected to hinder small boats and piracy efforts until at least June 29, although more conducive conditions for piracy operations are expected in the waters around the Maldives, Kenya and Tanzania, as well as the central Indian Ocean along the equator.
However, the unlucky crew of the MV Suez will find this cold comfort. The vessel was freed by pirates, only to once again come under attack. As if this wasn’t enough, on June 20 the vessel, which had run out of fuel, began listing on her starboard side. All crew members of the vessel abandoned ship and were rescued by Pakistan naval ship PNS Bandur before the MV Suez went down.
The foreign security team arrested in Mogadishu en-route to dropping ransom money for the MV Suez and MV Yuan Xiang were sentenced to whopping jail sentences – a move which surprised everyone. The decision of the Somali government to keep the $3.6 million was less surprising. Diplomats believe a deal will be cut to release the men, but the convictions raise serious questions over the future of ransom payments and the safety of captive seafarers.
Also in the last week, 24 suspected pirates were arraigned in Mombasa law courts and 14 others were brought before a court of law in India.
Danish warship HDMS Esbern Snare of the NATO counter piracy force handed over 24 suspected pirates to Kenya to face trial. The pirates were seized when the Esbern Snare freed an Iranian dhow being used as a mothership, freeing 16 hostages and killing four pirates in the firefight. A Kenyan judge was Friday due to rule on whether they could be tried on Kenyan soil – a decision many will watch closely, as Kenya, once a keen prosecutor of pirates, has been reluctant to continue the process in recent months. Kenya felt it was becoming a dumping ground for unwanted pirates, and said legal bottlenecks and the high cost of prosecutions made this situation untenable.
The 14 suspected pirates detained in India were more hapless. They are believed to have hijacked a Yemeni fishing trawler, which ran out of fuel and drifted into the coastal district of Junagarh in Gujarat State. They join a population of over 100 Somali pirates capture by the Indian navy over the last two years.
And finally, the UK Department of Transport told a parliamentary inquiry on Somali piracy that it was considering amending the current policy to recognize engaging armed personnel aboard UK-flagged ocean-going vessels. The aim is to protect British merchant ships and curtail the growing unregulated market of private security contractors offering armed protection.
Hijacked vessel list
SPOTLIGHT:
MV POLAR
Flag: Panama
Crew: 24
IMO: 9299563
Taken: October 30, 2010
The Liberian-owned Merchant Vessel Polar (also referred to as MT Polar) and its crew of 24, was pirated on October 30 by pirates using another mother ship, the supertanker Samho Dream. She is a tanker currently carrying fuel oil and is 751 feet in length and 104 feet in beam. The attack was not only launched from another larger supertanker using two tiny skiffs but occurred at 4:30 in the morning and both are unusual for pirate tactics.
The Polar is a good example of the international complexity of the shipping industry. The Polar is a Chinese built, Panamanian flagged, Liberian owned (on paper), Greek managed, European and Asian crewed ship carrying Iraqi crude to a U.S. customer. The negotiations are being handled by a British company with a Somali criminal organization while the ship is being monitored by EU NAVFOR, NATO and other western intelligence agencies.
The pirates have used the vessel as a mother ship several times. In December the Polar was chased by navy ships when she was being used by pirates.
The pirate gang holding the vessel told Somalia Report Thursday evening that negotiations are ongoing to secure the release of the vessel and her 24 crew – 16 from the Philippines, four from Montenegro, three from Greece and one from Romania, according to United Filipino Seafarers Association. The MV Polar’s owner refused to reveal the status of the negotiations, only saying that the crew were all in good health and that regular supplies of food and water were being delivered. The reality is that the senior crew were being beaten and abused by the pirates in a effort to force a rapid ransom payment. The pirates holding the ship are Nur Diri, Mohamed Mohamed Garfanji and Abdi Risak Dhonbe. The ship was photographed 20 miles north of Hobyo and featured in a Business Week article on the economics of piracy.
Garfanji is in his early 40's and a former military officer was involved with the taking of the Samho Dream and according to his estimate "over half a dozen other ships". He continues to handle negotiations with the owners and gets high ransoms based on the $9.5M payment he received for the the Korean tanker Samho Dream which was full of Iraqi crude oil heading for the United States. Garfanji operates out of Wasil and Hobyo and has kept a lower profile since his initial media discussions in 2010.
Somalia Report recently interviewed two of the gang holding the MV Polar, and they have high hopes of replenishing their depleted coffers with the ransom cash from the vessel. Hayle Mohamed, who leads the pirate group holding the MV Polar, and Rage Abdi, who was a stakeholder in the Samho Dream hijacking, both said they had spent their share of the $9.5 million ransom for the supertanker on luxury cars and paying for elaborate weddings. According to Mohamed, the MV Polar owners offered to pay $10 million in ransom, but the kidnappers demanded $15 million.
The 2005-built oil products tanker is owned by the Athens-based Herculito Maritime Limited and she is managed by Paradise Navigation also based in Athens, Greece. Paradise Navigation provided updates on the ship but now that negotiations are entering their final phase they have adopted the customary media silence.
The owners of the vessel can be reached on Tel: +302106912010 and the master of the vessel can be reached at + 8707644455-2510/2511
MV OLIB G
Flag: Malta
Crew: 18
IMO: 8026608
Taken: September 8, 2010 For a detailed profile and background, please see our piracy report from June 17 .
MV ICEBERG 1
Flag: Panama
Crew: 24
Taken March 29, 2010
For a detailed profile and background, please see our piracy report from June 3.
FV PRANTALAY 12
Flag: Thailand
Crew: 24
Taken: April 18, 2010.
For a detailed profile and background, please see our piracy report from June 3.
MV ALBEDO
Flag: Malaysia
Crew: 23
IMO: 9041162
The vessel was attacked by pirates November 26, 2010 while underway 293 miles west of the Maldives on the Indian Ocean. All crew are still being held hostage.
MV MSC PANAMA
Flag: Liberia
Crew: 23
IMO: 902125
Taken: December 10, 2010
Hijacking occurred 276 miles south east of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
MV ORNA
Flag: Panama
Crew: 19
IMO: 8312162
Taken: December 20, 2010
The UAE-owned vessel was attacked by two pirate skiffs armed with RPGs and small arms 460 miles north east of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Nineteen hostages are still being held on board the ship. MV Orna was operating as a mother ship, but on June 16 a fire on board gutted the bridge and living quarters, forcing the pirates to take the hostages to another vessel.
FV SHIUH FU No.1
Flag: Taiwan
Crew: 26
IMO: Fishing vessel, not registered
Taken: December 25, 2010
The fishing vessel was attacked in the morning by a pirate skiff 138 miles off the north east tip of Madagascar but there were no further communications from the crew. Sources close to the negotiation team told Somalia Report that the captors are demanding ransom money amounting to $ 1million for the release of the vessel. Her multi-national crew is comprised of fourteen Chinese, fourteen Vietnamese, and one Taiwanese sailor.
MV BLIDA
Flag: Algeria
Crew: 27
IMO: 7705635
Taken: January 1, 2011
The vessel was attacked 172 miles south east of the Port of Salalah, Oman.
MV EAGLE
Flag: Cyprus
Crew: 24
IMO: 7026508
Taken: January 7, 2011
The vessel was attacked in the Gulf of Aden 563 miles south of the Port of Salalah, Oman by a pirate skiff. All crew members are still being held hostage.
MV HOANG SON SUN
Flag: Mongolia
Crew: 24
IMO: 8323862
The Vietnamese-owned vessel was attacked January 19, 2011 by pirates 598 miles south east of the Port of Muscat, Oman. All crew members are still being held hostage by pirates.
MV SAVINA CAYLYN
Flag: Italy
Crew: 22
IMO: 9489285
Taken: February 8, 2011
The vessel was attacked by pirates 771 miles east of Socotra Island, Yemen. There is no communication and all crew are still being held hostage.
MV SININ
Flag: Malta
Crew: 23
IMO: 9274941
Taken: Feburary 12, 2011
The vessel was attacked in the Northern Arabian Sea 402 miles east of Masirah, Oman. All crew members are still being held hostage.
MV ROSALIA D’AMATO
Flag: Italy
Crew: 21
IMO: 9225201
Taken: April 21, 2011
The vessel was attacked 402 miles south east of Salalah, Oman.
MV GEMINI
Flag: Singapore
Crew: 25
IMO: 8412352
The Singaporean-owned vessel was attacked 207 miles east of Malindi, Kenya. Negotiations for the release of the vessel and her twenty five crew members are ongoing.
SY ING
Flag: Denmark
Crew: 5 Danish Passengers, 2 Danish Crew members
IMO: 43-foot Pleasure sailing craft, not registered
Taken: February 27, 2011
The small private yacht was hijacked by pirates while on a world tour. The hostages include two crew members, and a family of five including three children age 13 – 17. The sailboat was attacked approximately 600 miles east of Somalia in the Indian Ocean. The hostages are being held aboard MV Dover.
FV ALFARDOUS
Flag: Yemen Crew: 8
IMO: Fishing vessel, not registered
Taken: February 13, 2011
The vessel was attacked near Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden.
MV DOVER
Flag: Panama
Crew: 20
IMO: 7433634
Taken: February 28, 2011
The Greek-owned vessel was attacked while it was 300 miles north east of Salalah, Oman. Negotiations are in the final stages.
FV JELBUT 33
The fishing dhow is currently being used by pirates as mother ship. Last known position (14 may) was 1538N 05816E.
FV JELBUT 31
The fishing dhow was on 10th June disrupted by a German warship, which destroyed its skiffs and forced the mothership to return to Somalia. The origin of the vessel is unknown, but EU NAVFOR believes it has eight hostages on board.Send your tips to info@somaliareport.com
This list is compiled from various sources, including pirates, ship owners, maritime officials, anti-piracy groups, local communities, EU NAVFOR, NATO, and Ecoterra Intl.