Marine Log - November 2008 - (Page 63)

MARITIMESECURITY THE HUMAN FACE: The hijacking of the Ukranian-flagged ship Faina drew worldwide media attention to the issue of piracy. The crew of the ship and pirates, seen here in this U.S. Navy photo, provided a human face to the victims and their captors SHIPPING HOSTAGE and “it is estimated that somewhere between $15 million and $30 million has been paid so far this year in these ransom payments.” WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME Other than in the cargo it was carrying and the media attention it has gotten, the Faina appears to be just another ship that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The gang that captured the Faina apparently calls itself the “Central Regional Coast Guard.” Another one styles itself the “Somali Marines.” According to Risk Intelligence of Denmark, there are now some four to five groups with various skill levels engaged in piracy activities off the coast of Somalia, and there is a risk that more groups will become active. There is an almost total lack of law enforcement in the relevant coastal regions of Somalia and a relatively low level of entry barrier to piracy operations: A gang needs two to three skiffs, six to 18 gunmen armed with AKwww.marinelog.com 74s and RPG-7s, some sort of communication means—all of which are easily accessible in Somalia. As shipping has learned to stay more than 200 miles off the east coast of Somalia, the pirates have ventured into the Gulf of Aden, where they have found the traffic “much more interesting and lucrative from any perspective compared to what sails down the East Coast of Africa,” says Risk Intelligence, adding that “the number and level of ransoms paid has well surpassed any previous levels and contributes greatly to the pirates’ willingness to take risk. Furthermore, this inflow has attracted a number of new players in to the business of piracy.” TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY According to Risk Intelligence, the pirates’ modus operandi is developed upon both intelligence-driven planned attacks as well as targets of opportunity. “The latter modus operandi is now by far the most deployed target selection method and simply means that the pirates will patrol in a certain area and wait for potentially lucrative vessels,” says Risk Intelligence. Before 2008, pirates were targeting primarily smaller, slow-moving cargo vessels with a low freeboard, but, says Risk Intelligence, “the relative success of the attacks in the second half of 2007 and 2008 (seen from the pirates point of view) have highly increased the risk taken by pirates. Today pirates are attacking practically anything that comes close to their area of operation including container vessels with high freeboard and high speed as well as large crude tankers— targets that are not easy to board in open sea. Most offshore attacks are based on two to five skiffs operating from a mother vessel that can be a highjacked vessel, a vessel acquired specifically for the purpose or even rafts. The pirates have 4 to 6 meter ladders for boarding in their skiffs. Increasingly, they are using fire from AK-47 and machine guns, as well as RPG-7s during their attack to stop the vessel under attack and suppress the NOVEMBER 2008 MARINE LOG 63 http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - November 2008

Marine Log - November 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Looking Back at 130 Years Generation NeXt What's Ahead? Media Kit 2009 Defying the Naysayers Rampant Piracy Takes Shipping Hostage The Last Chapter of the New Carissa International Workboat Show Preview Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Marine Salvage

Marine Log - November 2008

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