STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA, THE GULF OF ADEN AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra - 15. December 2010)
Please note a new additional EMERGENCY HELPLINE number: +254-719-603-176
STATUS-SUMMARY:
No matter what the navies say: Today, 15. December 2010, 20h00 UTC, at least 35 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 657 hostages or captives - including a South-African yachting couple - suffer to be released.
Request the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor from ECOTERRA Intl. for background info and see the updated map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA.
WHAT NAVIES NEVER SEE:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/fighting_for_control_of_somali.html
What Simple Soldiers and even their Officers Never Seem to Know:
The Scramble For Somalia
Zhuangzi: "There has been such a thing as letting mankind alone; but there has never been such a thing as governing mankind [with success over a longer period]."
LATEST:
OVER 650 SEAFARERS HELD HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA !
Sea-jacked Dhow used in Piracy Reported Free
MSV HUD HUD was seized on 23. March 23 2010. The motorized, possibly Iranian or Pakistani Dhow with 11 Indian crew is still listed by the U.S. government as a hostage case. Owner and flag are not known. Neither the Indian nor the Yemeni authorities hold any information on this dhow.
However, it has transpired now that MSV HUD HUD was used to hijack MT ELENI P, the Greek vessel which was released a few days ago.
It was now reported that after the successful boarding of MT ELENI P the pirates left the MSV HUDHUD and all embarked on ELENI P.
It is therefore assessed that MSV HUDHUD was set free on 12. May 2010, but analysts wonder how little knowledge is existing among maritime authorities on all these smaller vessels, which play a significant role in weapons smuggling, illegal fishing, piracy and even activities aiding terrorist groups.
©2010-ecoterra/ecop-marine
From the SMCM (Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor): (and with a view on news with an impact on Somalia)
Death of gravely ill Somalia (SMCM 15.Dec.2010)
The inevitable outcome of the contradictory and illusory actions of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG), of the armed Islamists, of the clan-based Regional Entities, of the neighbouring and occupying countries of Somalia, of the International Community (IC), and of the "Transnational Somali Diaspora" is the quick death of gravely ill Somalia. TFG is part of the death scheme that is glossed over and it is impossible to make it functioning as a government working for the common interest of the Somali people.
The responsibility to prevent such imminent mournful outcome falls on the shoulders of those who believe and want to be recognized as "Somali Citizens" and are able to focus on the "real bigger picture", which is the fate of the "Republic of Somalia." It is up to the "Somali Citizens" to device the relationship and social harmony that would guarantee their long term stability, security, unity and prosperity after years of civil war and foreign interventions. There must be common understanding of what Somali Citizenship entails vs. clan, religious or group affiliations.
Some Somalis have chosen to be separate and indifferent. Others have failed to see the destructive and dead end path they have chosen to travel on. Others have decided to pursue their personal interests through deceptive and unpatriotic ways. The rest are overwhelmed by the struggle for survival. As a result, the country is up for grab.
The anti Somali political platform of armed extremist Islamists has generated accusations, suspicion, detentions, and of all sorts of abuses against all Somalis inside and outside of Somalia. The day the majority of Somalis wherever and whatever passport they hold will be forced to curtail or totally abandon the freedom of movement, the liberty to engage in legitimate economic and political activities could be upon them despite the hope that justice and open-mindedness will ultimately prevail. The harsh treatment of Islamists against Somalis has intensified and justified the allegiance to and dependence on foreign forces.
The Transnational Somali Diaspora is confused about the difference between the Somali interests, culture, the nature of the Somali problem, the provisions of the Transitional Federal Charter and the foreign culture, priorities, and laws. Currently, the political system of Somalia is set, controlled and legitimized by the IC. Therefore, the Transnational Somali Diaspora became receiver of the Somali political power through foreign controlled system based on corruption, misinformation and threats. The European Union threatened Members of Parliament with suspension of salary payments if they do not immediately approve the new Cabinet.
A quick recap of some of the events in the past months is good illustrative of the TFG's uselessness. A Nominal Government like TFG without real political base and power will not serve any purpose.
First, former TFG Minister of Defence, Prof Mohamed A. Gandhi and the Kenya Government developed and implemented a plan to train more than 2,000 men forces in Kenya in order to attack Jubba Regions of Somalia and create a Regional State. This plan, not approved by the TFG, was halted in its track by Ethiopia.
Second, former Prime Minister (PM) Omar Abdirashid A. Sharmarke vacated (resigned) Office after he received as reported 1.5 million dollars. It is not clear who really wanted the PM's removal and for what reason(s). It doesn't seem that lack of performance was a real reason for his removal since President Sheikh Sharif Sh Ahmed and Speaker Sharif Sheikh Hassan exercised 75 % of TFG power.
Third, after weeks of consultations with foreign leaders, President Sharif has appointed a new Prime Minister Mr. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed 'Formajo' whose name surfaced few days before his appointment. There are different stories behind his surprise selection. One of the stories suggests that he has been proposed by a foreign private security firm. Another story emphasizes his connection with President Sharif's Chief of Staff, Abdulkareem Jama whose mysterious power, religious group affiliation, group-think (clannish) management and unprincipled views with regard to Djibouti process left many scratching their heads. Abdulkareem is seen as the manager of TFG. His appointment as Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information has raised many red flags.
The Speaker of Parliament shook down the new PM and his new Cabinet. Representatives of the IC led by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General (SRSG) travelled to Mogadishu to pressure TFG leadership to stop their unacceptable behaviour. All times the IC delegations met with TFG leadership at the Airport instead of Villa Somalia despite the presence of AMISOM forces. That special self care reveals the misery and danger in Mogadishu and the low deference accorded to TFG leaders.
With laughable explanation, the Speaker reversed his position after undisclosed concessions. While he knew all along that a minimum of 72 MPs never joined the Parliament in the first place and another 135 MPs were absent for long time, he repeatedly argued that the Cabinet needed 276 yes votes for approval out of 343 MPs. This shows his dereliction of responsibility and leadership deficiency. The fact the new Cabinet is part and under the oversight of such hypocritical leadership, it must be insane to expect a meaningful change from it.
Fourth, Ethiopia's recent commentaries about TFG convey the impression that it is not enthusiastic about the re-packaged TFG. Consequently, it has deputized President Farole to attack the TFG. Further, to raise the profile of Alhu Sunna Wal Jama (ASWJ) over TFG, it will train 1,000 ASWJ forces. It has also called an extraordinary summit of IGAD Heads of State and Government, which demanded the UN Security Council the approval and immediate implementation of naval blockade, a no fly zone over Somalia and the deployment of an additional 12,000 AMISOM forces. This will allow Ethiopia to permanently be involved in the internal affairs of Somalia.
Fifth, contrary to the CNN headline that says "Somalia receives first Head of State visit in nearly 20 years," President Yoweri K. Museveni visited Uganda troops in Mogadishu. In reality he summoned TFG leadership in a bunker in the AMISOM Headquarter and gave them a pep talk because President Museveni controls Mogadishu.
Sixth, a security company called Saracen International trains and equips 1,200 men with weapons, 120 pickup trucks, 4 armored trucks and 6 small aircrafts in Puntland. So far more than 10 million dollars were paid by unidentified Muslim Country. Saracen International which is owned by brother of President Museveni will also train TFG Presidential Guard. President Sharif and his Chief of Staff Abdulkareem Jama, President Farole and his son, all are counterparts to Saracen Officials who are the owner and his surrogates- Mr. Pierre Prosper, former US Ambassador at Large for war crimes, Mr. Michael Shanklin former CIA deputy station in Somalia and Mr. Bill Pelser, former member of South African Special Forces. The term Saracen has Islamic connotation.
Seventh, the US Administration announced a new policy strategy called a "Dual Track Approach" towards Somalia. The basic tenet of this strategy is that the US Administration will deal with all entities, agents and actors of Somalia like TFG, Regional Entities and clans who are willing to confront extremism, terrorism and piracy. This approach has dramatically down-graded TFG. The Special Envoy of European Commission to Somalia has declared that such policy was for long time the cornerstone of European strategy. Similarly Ethiopia welcomed the strategy as vindication for its strategy towards Somalia. The most probable interpretation of the US Administration strategy is license for warlordism, factionalism, and polarization, which would facilitate permanent foreign intervention or occupation in Somalia in the foreseeable future.
Eight, the constitutional draft is going with full speed. President Sharif, despite his previous objection to the Constitutional draft process, has nominated individuals whom the UNDP should consult with about the completion of the constitution. The IC wants a new Constitution and invented governance Model without known Somali Stakeholders. The process falls outside the control and authority of TFG and contradicts US-EU Approach.
As TFG is a totalled institution and the conferences outside Somalia have become insignificant, an alternative which is reflective of the present reality, is necessary. A proposal sort of the "a framework for a Transitional Government in Somalia," drafted by President Ahmed M. Silanyo in March 1991, could be the first step.
(*) The Author, Mr. Mohamud M Uluso, can be reached at mohamuduluso@gmail.com
Lloyd's List 100: Movers, Shakers, Politicians and Pirates (PRNewswire)
- Who controls shipping? It's not an Easy Question to Answer, but the Writers, Analysts and Editors at Lloyd's List Have put Together an all-new 'Top 100' Supplement, Ranking the Biggest Influencers in the Industry
Who controls shipping? It's not an easy question to answer. However, Lloyd's List - the flagship news, information and data source for the global shipping industry - has unveiled its Lloyd's List Top 100, ranking the most influential people in shipping with insightful, intriguing, and sometimes surprising results.
A billionaire shipping magnate shares top five honours with the Minister of Transport for China and a Somali pirate.
"Assessing influence and power in an industry like shipping is always going to be a tricky and largely subjective business," explains Richard Meade, news editor at Lloyd's List. "Big money and bigger egos mingle with subtle political pull and barely visible power brokers who operate behind the scenes.
"Added to that is the fact that despite our own shorthand reference to shipping as an industry, it is not. In truth, it's a collection of distinct markets that operate independently and share little more than Archimedes principle, a mutual pursuit of profit and respect for the forces of supply and demand."
"Governments are the only place where a single person could have influence over all of shipping and right now governments don't get much more influential than China's when it comes to shipping," continues Meade. "So a man who does not own or operate ships and who has never even been to sea is our number one influencer: Li Shenglin, Minister of Transport for China."
Numbers two and three are more conventional - Nils Andersen, CEO of Maersk and John Fredriksen the billionaire shipping magnate who owns and runs companies worth $24 billion.
Number four on the Lloyd's List Top 100 - sure to raise eyebrows through the industry and beyond - is the Somali pirate with the assumed name, Garaad Mohammed.
"Mohammed's position on this list is representative of the influence that pirates currently hold over the shipping industry, rather than the actions of just one man," says Meade. "Those appearing below him in this list may feel aggrieved to be deemed less influential than a gun-toting criminal, but the impact that pirates have had on the industry cannot be underestimated."
Lloyd's List Top 100 addresses the market with sections on the Top 10 and Top 11-100, as well as provides individual Top 10 lists for each of seven sub-categories including classification, insurance, regulation, law, finance, ports & logistics and offshore.
The supplement also offers readers a host of Lloyd's List Information generated statistics based around the current state of the world fleet, including figures, graphs and charts on the world fleet by shiptype, ownership nationality, age range by vessel type, number of casualties and breakdowns of each of the world region's fleets.
First and foremost, however, the Lloyd's List Top 100 is about the people in shipping. Every industry has its movers and shakers, but few remain as personality driven as shipping. Although the industry is immense in terms of turnover, it's a small world in that many of the key figures know each other - at least by reputation. In shipping, one of the few remaining industries in which your word is your bond, the character and reputation of shipping leaders is a matter of constant discussion. However influence is an elusive and relative concept.
"While we would like to tell you that we developed a sophisticated series of algorithms to objectively assess the influence and power of all the industry personalities we considered for this list, we can't," admits Meade. "However, we make no excuses for the fact that the truth is that this is a highly subjective assessment borne out of months of heated discussions within the Lloyd's List newsroom and it is based on our collective expertise and personal opinions."
Ranking the influence of a containership owner against a pirate was never going to be an exact science and the newspaper's team of writers and analysts are under no illusions that they have produced a list that everyone will agree with. What has been produced is a list that is fascinating, illuminating and uniquely 'of the moment'.
"The list would not have looked like this last year and we fully expect the landscape to have changed significantly when we tackle this again in the future," explains Meade. "We hope that those interested in shipping enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed compiling it."
On Somalia, UN Looks Away from Mercenaries & Funder, Withholds MOU By Matthew Russell Lee (innercitypress)
UNITED NATIONS, December 13 -- As not only Puntland but the Transitional Federal Government in Mogadishu move to use mercenaries, the UN is in denial even as its Security Council's sanctions regime is being violated.
On December 6 Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky:
Inner City Press: there is a former US official, Pierre Prosper, who has said that Puntland, the portion of Somalia, has hired a private military contractor, Saracen, to do anti-piracy work — that it's being all funded by a Muslim nation that he wouldn't name. So what I wonder is whether, given Mr. [Augustine] Mahiga or anyone in the UN, given both the prohibitions against mercenaries and also the 1992 sanctions on Somalia, what does the UN say to Puntland pretty openly, or at least as acknowledged by a former US official, hiring a mercenary firm to patrol the coast of Somalia, and what's the UN going to do in light of this report?
Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, thanks for the question, Matthew, and let's see what we can find out. I don't have anything at the moment.
A full week later, the UN Spokesperson's Office has not provided any information. But on December 10, Inner City Press asked the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Mark Bowden about mercenaries. Despite reports that the TFG is moving forward, Bowden said that there's been a step back. Video here, from Minute 13:55.
Inner City Press asked if the UN knows the identify of the country funding the mercenaries. Bowden did not answer, but said that the funder should contact the UN Somalia Monitoring Group, or they might be in violation of the sanctions. But the country has indicated it will not identify itself, ostensibly to not suffer attacks. Is there a loophole in the sanctions regime for this?
On the UN World Food Program's confidential Memorandum of Understanding with the OIC, Inner City Press asked what it says about paying to deliver service.
Ms. Kiki Gbeho, Head of the Somalia Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs replied that she "hopes" it has prohibitions, adding that the UN "in principle does not pay to deliver... perhaps it has happened, but it is the policy not to pay."
But neither she nor Bowden have seen the WFP agreement. What does it mean, then, to be a UN Humanitarian "Coordinator" or OCHA Head of Country office? What is WFP doing? Watch this site.
* * *
In Somalia, Entrepreneurs Prosper & Petrie Violate Sanctions in Puntland, TFG Tricks By Matthew Russell Lee (innercitypress)UNITED NATIONS, December 6 -- Somalia and Puntland have become hotbeds for diplomatic entrepreneurs as they leave the UN and US government. The UN's Charles Petrie has said he will be working for the Transitional Federal Government -- but some in the TFG are not so such, not least about for whom Petrie will be working.
On December 6, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky about a former US State Department official seemingly involved in violations of the 1992 UN Somalia sanctions regime:
Inner City Press: there is a former US official, Pierre Prosper, who has said that Puntland, the portion of Somalia, has hired a private military contractor, Saracen, to do anti-piracy work — that it's being all funded by a Muslim nation that he wouldn't name. So what I wonder is whether, given Mr. [Augustine] Mahiga or anyone in the UN, given both the prohibitions against mercenaries and also the 1992 sanctions on Somalia, what does the UN say to Puntland pretty openly, or at least as acknowledged by a former US official, hiring a mercenary firm to patrol the coast of Somalia, and what's the UN going to do in light of this report?
Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, thanks for the question, Matthew, and let's see what we can find out. I don't have anything at the moment.
After UN business hours on December 6, Inner City Press asked SRSG Mahiga directly. He said the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General had not asked him, but to his credit gave a long and detailed answer.
Mahiga said he had told Puntland officials that they might well be violating the UN's Somalia sanctions. They replied, according to Mahiga, that since it "doesn't involve arms, it can't violate the sanctions." This is an inaccurate reading of the sanctions regime.
Mahiga asked if Prosper was still working for the US. Not on paper, is the answer. Mahiga said Petrie's roll is even more confusing. According to Mahiga, Petrie wanted to work as a consultant to the TFG while still under UN contract.
Inner City Press previously corresponded with Petrie -- one of the more intriguing UN officials -- then asked for formal confirmation, of his letter, and his role.
The following arrived:
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply
To: Inner City Press
Subject: Your question on Charles Petrie
Mr. Petrie submitted his resignation from the UN effective 1 November, but was asked, for operational reasons, to postpone his departure to the end of the current mandate, which concludes 31 December, 2010. He is continuing to exercise his functions as ERSG for Burundi until that time. It was also decided that while still under the UN's employ Mr. Petrie would provide some support to the UN Political Office for Somalia's work with the Transitional Federal Government, drawing on his past experience as Deputy SRSG for Somalia. He is doing so in close collaboration with SRSG Augustine Mahiga.
But on December 6, Mahiga told Inner City Press that "No one knows who Petrie is working for." Petrie says he had the agreement of the previous TFG, but according to Mahiga, the current government is not so sure. Watch this site.
Summoned by the ICC:
Based on Allegations for Crimes Against Humanity in Kenya:
Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta,
Industrialization Minister Henry Kosgey,
Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura,
Former Education Minister William Ruto,
Former Police Commissioner and present Postmaster General Brig.(ret.) Hussein Ali,
KAS FM radio-journalist Joshua Sang
were named today by ICC Chief Prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo.
FISHPOACHER IN SOUTHERN OCEAN WENT UNDER
Boat with 3 Pinoys sinks in Antarctic Ocean (AP with GEMANews.TV - 13.Dec.2010)
A South Korean fishing boat sank in frigid waters off Antarctica, killing five sailors and touching off a frantic search Monday for 17 others who were missing and feared dead, officials said.
Twenty survivors were rescued shortly after the 614-ton vessel went down some 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometers) south of New Zealand, South Korea's Foreign Ministry and coast guard said.Any others in the water would be dead in 10 minutes without special suits or lifejackets, though nearby fishing boats launched a frantic search in hopes that some may have made it into a life raft, New Zealand's search and rescue center said.
"We were fortunate that there were a number of vessels in the general area (where the boat sank), so they were able to provide assistance," said Ross Henderson, a spokesman for the center. "Obviously, now, we're trying to determine the status of those 17 missing as quickly as possible."
Fishing boats from New Zealand and South Korea had joined the search, according to Maritime New Zealand.
As hours passed, South Korean coast guard officer Ji Kwan-tae said it was difficult to expect the missing sailors to be alive because of the ocean's freezing temperature. Ji said he had no information on whether the missing sailors were wearing lifejackets or aboard lifeboats.
The South Korean owned and operated No.1 In Sung fishing boat had 42 on board when it sunk: eight South Koreans, eight Chinese, 11 Indonesians, 11 Vietnamese, three Filipinos and one Russian, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The confirmed dead included two Indonesians, two South Koreans and one Vietnamese, a ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of office rules.
In Manila, Foreign Affairs spokesman Eduardo Malaya said they have yet to receive official information regarding the incident, but added that they are "looking into it."
The Chinese Embassy in South Korea said four Chinese sailors were missing while four others were rescued, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported told Xinhua.
New Zealand's search and rescue coordination center said the 20 survivors and bodies of the five dead were on board the South Korean fishing vessel No. 707 Hongjin.
Officials hoped missing crew members were able to get into a life raft or had some other survival equipment, Henderson told New Zealand's National Radio.
"Given the conditions, we're searching as quickly as we can" to locate the missing fishermen, he said.
Survival times in the water in the area would likely be about 10 minutes without lifejackets or immersion suits, the center said in a statement.
It was unclear why the vessel sank in light winds and a relatively mild 3-foot (1-meter) swell.
Separately, South Korean media outlets reported that high waves that later developed in the area were hampering the rescue operation.
Officials at the South Korean-based company that owns the boat had no immediate comment.
We shall no longer allow the Chinese or U.S. or any other PIRACY OF FREEDOMS:
BOYCOTT ANYTHING SWEDISH or U.S.-AMERICAN or UK or CHINESE (really do it - it is actually fun to cut that crap out) - as well as AMAZON, PAYPAL, eBAY, MasterCard, VISA, MAQS.com, Tableau Software and The Swiss Bank Post Finance !!!
JUST WALK AWAY FROM THEM ! and see what EEF has to say on constructive direct action !
Please donate: http://www.wikileaks.nl/support.html
Charging Julian Assange in the U.S. is most likely unconstitutional. The due process clause rules out prosecuting WikiLeaks' founder – a non-US citizen – for extraterritorial offences.
Julian AssangeJulian Assange's Swedish lawyer says he has seen police documents that show his client is being framed. "From what I have read, it is clear that the women are lying and that they had an agenda when they went to police, which had nothing to do with a crime having taken place," said Bjorn Hurtig. He told the London Daily Telegraph and other media that both women had "hidden agendas" and lied about being coerced into having sex.
Anna Ardin, one of the two complainants in the trumped-up rape and sexual assault case in Sweden against WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange, has left Sweden, and may have ceased actively co-operating with the Swedish prosecution service and her own lawyer, sources in Sweden said. It also has transpired that she worked earlier with a US-funded, CIA-tied Anti-Castro group. Ardin, who also goes by the name Bernardin, has moved to the West Bank in the Palestinian Territories, as part of a right-wing Christian outreach group.
Sofia Wilen, the other love-making accuser, who actually stirred up the mess, is mum.
That the manoeuvre is all about holding Julian Assange in confinement to allow the U.S. of America to prepare extradition claims is obvious and the true character of the Swedish authorities, long kept under seal but lamented by many, comes into the open.
The announcement last week that the US is to host next year's Unesco World Press Freedom Day event, which champions in particular "the free flow of information in this digital age", seems to become a farce. But maybe the U.S. of America has declined to a third world country level, where such conferences are regularly held in order to improve the situation in backward countries.
Russia has suggested that Julian Assange should be awarded the Nobel peace prize, in an unexpected show of support from Moscow for the jailed WikiLeaks founder.Julian AssangeJulian Assange's Swedish lawyer says he has seen police documents that show his client is being framed. "From what I have read, it is clear that the women are lying and that they had an agenda when they went to police, which had nothing to do with a crime having taken place," said Bjorn Hurtig. He told the London Daily Telegraph and other media that both women had "hidden agendas" and lied about being coerced into having sex.
Anna Ardin, one of the two complainants in the trumped-up rape and sexual assault case in Sweden against WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange, has left Sweden, and may have ceased actively co-operating with the Swedish prosecution service and her own lawyer, sources in Sweden said. It also has transpired that she worked earlier with a US-funded, CIA-tied Anti-Castro group. Ardin, who also goes by the name Bernardin, has moved to the West Bank in the Palestinian Territories, as part of a right-wing Christian outreach group.
Sofia Wilen, the other love-making accuser, who actually stirred up the mess, is mum.
That the manoeuvre is all about holding Julian Assange in confinement to allow the U.S. of America to prepare extradition claims is obvious and the true character of the Swedish authorities, long kept under seal but lamented by many, comes into the open.
The announcement last week that the US is to host next year's Unesco World Press Freedom Day event, which champions in particular "the free flow of information in this digital age", seems to become a farce. But maybe the U.S. of America has declined to a third world country level, where such conferences are regularly held in order to improve the situation in backward countries.
FREE JULIAN ASSANGE! https://donations.datacell.com/
and STOP TORTURING U.S. Army Private BRADLEY MANNING !
Those wishing to contribute to Bradley Manning's defense fund can do so here.
UPDATES: http://anonops.blogspot.com/ and http://twitter.com/AnonOps
SUPPORT WIKILEAKS! https://donations.datacell.com/
FIND WikiLEAKS: The real WikiLeaks is up again: www.wikileaks.org redirects to a mirror on www.wikileaks.info, which has all the leaks plus the cablegates section placed on www.wikileaks.ch see: http://wikileaks.ch/mirrors.html (over 1885 websites now mirror WL)
THE GUARDIAN LIVE WIKILEAKS CABLES UPDATES
New York Times WIKILEAKS CABLES UPDATES
That it was announced last week that the US is to host next year's Unesco World Press Freedom Day event, which champions in particular "the free flow of information in this digital age", seems to become a farce. The resurrection of the US Espionage Act of 1917 as a tool for prosecuting WikiLeaks and suppressing dissent would doom the United States of America.
Latest WikiLeaks cables reveal US diplomats feared that also in the UK 'elements of the security-legal establishments' beyond the offices watched by the legislators - like Britain's MI5 - are at play and until today are resisting an inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane, the well-known civil rights and defence lawyer, who was murdered in front of his wife and three young children in 1989. Members of the British security forces were involved in Finucane's murder is widely believed. The elements resisting an inquiry could be the old Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch and British military intelligence. Also Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, a former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, concluded in a report in 2003 that members of the security forces had colluded in the murder of Finucane. Several members of the UFF involved in the murder turned out to have been either agents or informers for the security services.
Rise like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number.
Shake your chains to earth like dew.
Which in sleep did fall on you.
Ye are many – they are few.
Study counts six wars in 2010
Six full fledged wars took place this year- two fewer than in 2009 - according to a German academic study published Wednesday.
The report, by the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK), counted a total of 28 highly violent conflicts, which is also a decline of two from 2009.
The list of wars, based on levels of violence, included the ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
New in the 2010 list were the conflicts in Mexico and the Sudanese region of Darfur. In turn, the analysts scaled down their definition of violence in Sri Lanka, Yemen and Israel, as well as skirmishes between Taliban fighters and tribal militia in Pakistan.
'Despite the drop in conflicts, we cannot speak or a relaxation, or of more peaceful global tendencies,' said HIIK board member Lotta Meyer. 'We are no longer talking of wars, but in most cases they are still highly violent crises,' Meyer added.
The only country where the conflict had significantly scaled back was Sri Lanka, the report found.
The institute at Heidelberg University has published its annual 'conflict barometer' since 1991. By that measure, highly violent conflicts peaked in 1992 at 51.
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SOMALI WATERWORLD
THE SITUATION ON SOMALIA's 6th ESTATE:
- YOU ARE PERSISTENTLY BEING LIED TO WITH IMPUNITY
- TRENDS
- SOLUTIONS PENDING
- ECOTERRA STATEMENT and
- THE WISH-LISTS FOR THE NAVIES, THE UN AND BAN KI-MOON
READ ALL AND UNDERSTAND AT: http://beforeitsnews.com/story/135118
HOSTAGE CASES UNDER OBSERVATION:
Genuine members of families of the abducted seafarers can call +254-719-603-176 for further details or send an e-mail in any language to office[AT]ecoterra-international.org
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. 2 of the original crew are reportedly on land in Puntland. VESSEL STILL MISSING and/or working as pirate ship, was confirmed by Yemeni authorities.
FV AL-SHURA (AL-SHUVAL?) : Seized after February 20, 2010 and most likely on 25th February with one of 9 the Yemeni sailors being killed by the Somali pirate-attackers. Allegedly the pirates now left the vessel and the dhow was returned to her owner, but independent confirmation is still awaited from Yemen. A similar dhow named AL-SHUVAL was said to have be moored off Garacad at the North-Eastern Indian ocean coast off Somalia until recently and was observed at Dhanaane and then moved away. The vessel is now missing and as such confirmed by Yemeni authorities.
MV ICEBERG I : Seized March 29, 2010. The UAE-owned, Panama-flagged Ro-Ro vessel MV ICEBERG 1 (IMO 7429102) with her originally 24 multinational crew members (9 Yemenis, 6 Indians, 4 from Ghana, 2 Sudanese, 2 Pakistani and 1 Filipino) was sea-jacked just 10nm outside Aden Port, Gulf of Aden. The 3,960 dwt vessel was mostly held off Kulub at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia. Since negotiations had not yet achieved any solution, the vessel was taken to the high seas again. Then 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. Already back then it had transpired that the shipping company Azal Shipping based in Dubai refused to pay any ransom and the ship is apparently not insured, though it carries quiet valuable cargo. It seems that the British cargo owner is influencing the not forthcoming negotiations. The sailors soon had no more food, water or medicine from their stores on board. Chief Officer Kumar, Chief Engineer Mohamed and Second Engineer Francis also stated since months that they urgently need Diesel for the electricity generators. The crew requested in July and August again humanitarian intervention as before but could only receive some supplies through intervention by local elders and a humanitarian group, because the owner-manager neglects the crew . In September the some negotiations for the release started again, but have not been concluded, because the captors consider the offer of the shipowner as unrealistic. According to the Chinese state-media newswire XINHUA, the acting director at the ministry of foreign affairs in Accra (Ghana) Mr. Lawrence Sotah said the ministry, in response to a petition by a relative of one of the hostages, had commenced investigations, but reportedly stated also that their location and reasons for the kidnapping remained unknown. "We do not have any information as to what the pirates are demanding, because the owners of the ship or the pirates themselves have not put out any information which will be helpful for us to know exactly what they want," he said. "Ghana's mission in Saudi Arabia has been contacted to assist, " Sotah said. He said the ministry was working with other international security organization to get to the bottom of what he termed the "alleged" kidnapping.
The vessel is owned by a company called ICEBERG INTERNATIONAL LTD, but registered only with "care of" the ISM-manager AZAL SHIPPING & CARGO (L.L.C) - Shipping Lines Agents - Dubai UAE, whose representative is saying that he is handling the case.
Though EU NAVFOR spokesman Cmdr. John Harbour had stated that the vessel was carrying just "general mechanical equipment" and was heading for the United Arab Emirates when it was attacked, it carries according to the owner-manager generators, transformers and empty fuel tanks. It could now be confirmed that besides other cargo it carries generators and transformers for British power rental company Aggreko International Power Projects.
One of the sailors from Ghana was able to speak to a journalist back home and stated on 22. September: "They have given us a 48 hour deadline that if we don't come up with anything reasonable they will kill some of us and sink the vessel. I am appealing to the Ghanaian authority that they should do something to save our lives because our treatment here is inhuman". The vessel is now very close to the shore of Garacad. In the beginning of October the Somali pirates allegedly threatened to kill the sailors and to sell the body organs of the 22 hostages, if their ransom demands are not met in the near future. Media reports said the information was received via a text message from one of the hostages, but investigations showed that the message, which read that the pirates will kill them and then remove their eyes and kidneys in order to be sold, is more a sort of a macabre hoax. On 27. October the third officer (name of the Yemeni man known but withheld until next of kin would speak out) died. The crew reported the case, evidence was provided and the owner confirmed that he also knows. Since there is no more light diesel to run the generators for the freezer, the owner reportedly just gave instructions to take the body off the vessel, but has made no arrangements to bring it back to Yemen.
Apparently it is now said that the group holding the ship will use it again to capture other vessels. Vessel and crew are still held at Kulub near Garacad at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, but two skiffs have now been taken on board and it seems that the gang intends to commandeer the ship to the high-seas soon.
The families of the Indian seafarers on board have now called upon the President and the Prime Minister of India and addressed the Indian Minister to help and solve the crisis, since the shipowner is not even responding to their requests for information. Though Dubai's Azal Shipping, fronting for the real owners, stated to a maritime website that the crew would not be malnourished, the governments of the seafarers already have statements from the captain and crew-members themselves, which state otherwise and also describe the appalling medical situation.
Again an urgent request to deliver relief-supplies in form of food, water and urgently required medicine as well as fuel for the generator has been made by the captain and crew, but was so far neglected by the ship-owner, who also has not yet facilitated the transfer of the body of the deceased to his Yemeni family. A great number of the still surviving 23 crew are suffering now from serious medical conditions of various kind , ranging from blindness, infections to mental illness, and all suffer from skin rashes, which make now humanitarian intervention and medical assistance compulsory.
It is hoped that the Indian Prime Minister, who is at present in the UAE, can achieve that the owners of the vessel are now really engaging in a tangible process to free the vessel and not just rely on their so-called consultants.
FV JIH-CHUN TSAI 68 (aka JIN CHUN TSAI NO 68) (日春財68號) : Seized March 30, 2010. The Taiwan-flagged and -owned fishing vessel with factory facility was attacked together with sister-ship Jui Man Fa (瑞滿發), which managed to escape. The vessels are operating out of the Seychelles and reportedly had been observed in Somali waters earlier. 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 was mostly held at Kulub at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia and at first negotiations faced serious communication problems, while later allegedly a conclusion was achieved. But the release could still not be effected, since the brokers as well as the pirate-group holding the vessel changed. Allegedly money was sent into the wrong hands and never reached those holding the vessel and the seafarers hostage. It was reported in the meantime that the Taiwanese captain had several times been beaten severely. However, a release of vessel and crew from Kulub seemed to be near and the vessel left the coast at the end of November, but is said now to NOT have been released and instead is used for another piracy operation.
MV RAK AFRIKANA : Seized April 11, 2010. The general cargo vessel RAK AFRICANA (IMO 8200553) with a dead-weight 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 office in the Seychelles, while industry sources said the beneficial owner was 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 26 member 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 was held off Ceel Huur not far from Harardheere at the Central Somali Indian Ocean Coast, from where it was moved to Ga'an and further towards Hobyo, but then it was still held in the vicinity of Harardheere. When the pirates tried to leave the coast last time from that location they were pushed back by the navies to the shore and the vessel is now held near Xamdule (Hamdule is between Hobyo and Harardheere). The captors have forced the crew to fly the Italian flag, signalling an apparent beneficial owner of the vessel. Meanwhile negotiations had reportedly broken down - because the interpreter was confused by not knowing if he was talking to the right people - but seem now to have started again.
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. Already there are reports of three dead sailors with these vessels.
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 was mostly held off the coast at Kulub near Garacad (06 59N 049 24E) at the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia. The captors already threatened since months to use one of the hunter-vessels of the group as a piracy-launch, while negotiations have not been forthcoming. Prantalay 14 left the coast in the morning of 20. September to what is said to be another piracy expedition. Three skiffs, three ladders and other equipment were observed to be on board. The vessel has been further observed on 28. September near the shipping lanes in the area. On 30. September at 10h15 UTC a Pirate Action Group consisting of one skiffs with ladders and weapons was reported in position 07 34 N 057 39 E, which is assessed to be connected to an operation of this fishing vessel as Mother Ship - reported in position 06 47 N 060 51 E. A regional minister from Puntland got into problems when final negotiations for the release of the held vessels were supposed to take place at Garacad, but went sour. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wants the navy to extend its anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia for another month. He will seek cabinet approval for an additional budget of about 100 million baht for this purpose, navy chief Admiral Kamthorn Phumhiran said earlier. Adm Kamthorn said Mr Abhisit wants the mission of The Royal Thai Navy Counter Piracy Task Unit of two navy ships with 351 sailors and 20 special warfare troops on board, which had left Thailand on Sept 10 and is now operating in the Gulf of Aden, extended. The mission was originally set for 98 days, ending on Dec 12., but the usual fishing season goes beyond that time, which is believed to be behind the extension demands. Now also FV PRANTALAY 11 left on another hunting mission for piracy prey, because the Thais have not at all even tried to wrench the ships from the fists of their captors. Only PRANTALAY 12 and her crew was then left as a super-hostage at the coast until on 16th November also FV PRANTALAY 12 sailed again to the oceans. All 3 vessels are believed in the moment to hunt for larger prey, since the shipowner PT Interfisheries didn't secure their release.
FV TAI YUAN 227 : Seized on May 06, 2010 in an area north of 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 that week 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 was used again as launch for further piracy attacks. Vessel and crew was held off Habo at the Puntland coast of the Gulf of Aden, but now the Taiwanese fishing vessel is said by the NATO Shipping Centre (NSC) to be operating as pirate mother-ship within an area of a 200nm radius from 06 degrees 50 minutes north and 65 degrees 00 minutes east. NSC 'Counter Piracy Operation Ocean Shield' warns Masters . The vessel has even the potential to conduct pirate operations further out. The Tai Yuan 227 is a white hulled fishing vessel, approximately 50 metres long, with the registration numbers BH3Z87 painted in large black letters on the hull. NATO sounded a warning when at 21h00 UTC (18h00 local time) on October 19, 2010, the commandeered FV Tai Yuan 227 was sighted in position Latitude: 11°00N Longitude: 61°00E.
FV AL-DHAFIR : Seized on May 06 or 07, 2010 off the coast of Yemen. The Yemen coastguard of the Arabian peninsular state reported the case. Yemen's Defence Ministry confirmed that the 7 Yemeni nationals on board were abducted to Somalia. Yemen's coastguard said Somali pirates captured the fishing vessel, while it was docked at a Yemeni island in the Red Sea and had taken it to Somalia. The coastguard was continuing its efforts to retrieve the boat, the Defence Ministry said, but meanwhile the dhow is said to be held at the Somali shore close to Kulub.
MSV SHUVAL : Seized May 08, 2010. No further information has been retrieved about the fate of this Yemen-flagged vessel. Vessel considered missing. Yemeni authorities are further investigating.
MT MARIDA MARGUERITE : Seized May 08, 2010. The vessel and crew were captured 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 MARIDA MAGUERITE (IMO 9445655) 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 and is owned by W-O Shipping Group B.V. The tanker was held at the north-eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast near Garacad but then changed position to a location off the Gulf of Aden Coast near Habo. The vessel was mid August commandeered southwards to Hobyo in a possible move to provide cover for the release of the Korean supertanker held there, but has been commandeered back northwards too, when the oil-tanker left from Hobyo. Vessel and crew are said to be held now near Dinowda Quorioweyn close to the MV Suez. Negotiations are said to have come to a conclusion and a near release seems still possible, though a conflict among the pirates has reportedly erupted.
MT MOTIVATOR : Seized July 04, 2010. 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 - around 50nm north of the Bab al-Mandeb andg south when she was attacked by two small vessels 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 18 Filipino seafarers on board the MT MOTIVATOR (IMO 9340386) are all accounted for and safe, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stated. Philippine's executive director Enrico Fos of the DFA's Office of the Under-secretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) said the seafarers were able to communicate with their families to let them know that all crew is well. "The pirates had also already called the ship's principal earlier, but no demands have yet been made," he added back then. 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 Pinoy crews could be allowed to sail these dangerous waters through the Gulf of Aden. The sea-jacked ship is a Marshall Islands flagged chemical and oil-products tanker loaded with lubrication-oil and therefore is posing the potential danger of an oil-spill. The vessel's registered owner is CLARION SHIPPING CO of Athens in Greece and there also the ship-manager EVALEND SHIPPING TANKERS CO SA resides. While at least one foreign warship intercepted the captured merchant-vessel's path towards the Somali coast and shadowed the situation, it has become clear that the pirate group hails from Puntland. The commandeered vessel stopped briefly north of Puntland and intended to proceed towards the pirate stronghold of Garacad, but it was then held close to Xabo (Habo) at the Gulf of Aden coast due to a dispute between the captors from Puntland and other pirate groups at Garacad. Xabo became infamous for the holding of two tugboats and their crews for over a year. Meanwhile negotiations seem to have become difficult while the Vessel and crew are now held off Bander Beyla at the North-Eastern Indian-Ocean coast of Puntland. Negotiations have not yet concluded.
MV SUEZ : Seized August 02, 2010. In the early hours at 0420 UTC of AUG 02, 2010, the MV SUEZ (IMO number 8218720) reported being under small arms fire from a pirate attack by one of 3 skiffs in position 13 02N - 048 54E and minutes later the Indian captain reported pirates on board.
After notification of the attack, attempts were made by the navies, who are supposed to protect the area, to make contact with the MV SUEZ, but to no avail. Egyptian-owned MV SUEZ was sailing under flag of convenience from Panama in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) when it was attacked. Immediately after the first report a helicopter was directed to the ship but pirates had already taken over the command of the vessel, EU NAVFOR reported.
Two NATO warships, HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën and USS Cole, from the NATO counter piracy task force undertaking Operation OCEAN SHIELD, and a Singaporean warship the RSS Endurance from the CMF taskforce were within forty miles of MV Suez at the time of the attack. Despite reacting immediately and having a helicopter on the scene within 10 minutes, naval forces were unable to prevent the attack as the pirates had been able to board the ship within 5 minutes, NATO reported.
The case actually shows that though the ship was reportedly employing Best Management Practices, having barbed wire in place and fire hoses ready, the waters off Yemen and opposite Puntland are the most dangerous in the whole area. Somali sea-shifta are able to outwit and overcome any preventive measures - including arms on board, which only would drive the casualty figures higher. The incident actually highlights once again that it is high time to follow the advice to engage and help local Somali communities along the two coasts to make their coastlines safer themselves and to empower them to rule out the holding of any hostage from these innocent merchant vessels.
The MV SUEZ, with a deadweight of 17, 300 tonnes, has a crew of 24, according to NATO, while EU Navfor said 23 and the last crew-list: showed 21 with 9 Egyptians, 7 Pakistani, 3 Indians and 2 Sri Lankans. It, however, could be confirmed in the meantime that the 23 men crew consists of 11 Egyptians, 6 Indians, 4 Pakistani and 2 Sri Lankans. Crew and shipowner do not have an ITF Approved CBA agreement and - due to an overdue survey - the ship's classification status had been withdrawn by Germanischer Lloyd since 28. 06. 2010. The detailed, actual crew list is awaited. RED SEA NAVIGATION CO. serves as ship manager for owner MATSO SHIPPING CO. INC. - both from Port Tawfiq in Egypt. Red Sea Navigation's commercial director Mohamed Abdel Meguid said his company already paid a US$1.5 million ransom last year (actually it was the year before) for another hostage ship, the MV MANSOURAH 1 (aka Al Mansourah), which was sea-jacked on 03. September 2008 and released against the ransom after only 23 days. As DPA reported from Cairo a day later, an official with Red Sea Navigation Company, who declined to be identified publicly, said that the company would not pay a ransom and that the matter was being handled by the Foreign Ministry in Cairo.
MV SUEZ, the merchant vessel with a cargo of cement bags destined for Eritrea, was then commandeered towards the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia and was expected at the pirate lair of Garacad in Puntland, but there pirate groups were fighting among each other and had come recently under pressure from Puntland forces. The vessel therefore dropped at first anchor near Bargaal and then was commandeered back again to the Gulf of Aden coast of Puntland, where it was held close to Bolimoog, between Alula and Habo at the very northern tip of the Horn of Africa. Thereafter the ship was moved again to the Indian Ocean coast near Dinowda Qorioweyn.
"The pirates are treating us toughly, and they took some of the crew to unknown place to exert pressure on owners of the ship," Farida Farouqe quoted her husband as telling her over the phone, as Xinhua news agency reported. The alleged demands vary between one, four and six million dollars, while officially the ship owner has been reported as saying already earlier that no ransom will be paid, while the cargo-owners seem to have been negotiating. Vessel and desperate crew were held off Dinowda Quorioweyn at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Puntland and until 12. December off Ceel Danaane.
Most recent reports state that the vessel, accompanied by a sea-jacked Iranian fishing vessel is ready to leave or has left the coast for another piracy mission, because the captors and the owners couldn't agree on a ransom.
YEMENI FISHING VESSEL : Seized August 26, 2010. The earlier reports provided by maritime observers speaking of the capture of a fishing vessel were confirmed now to the extend that the type and flag of the vessel have been identified. The Yemeni fishing vessel with at least 10 sailors on board was seized in the territorial waters of Somalia. The name of the vessel and Yemeni registration is not yet known. The Yemeni boat was sailing near the north coast of Somalia when the captors attacked it with small skiffs. They later headed toward the Somali coast. Present location unknown. At the beginning of November 2010 in total at least five Yemeni fishing vessels are held by the Somali sea-gangs and a detailed report is awaited from the Yemen authorities.
MT OLIB G : Seized September 08, 2010. Reports from our local observers were confirmed by EU NAVFOR: Early on the morning of 8 September, the Greek-owned, Malta-flagged Merchant Vessel (M/V) MT OLIB G (IMO 8026608) - a Greek-owned chemical tanker - was pirated in the east part of the protected Gulf of Aden corridor. After having received a report from a merchant vessel that a skiff was approaching MV OLIB G, and after several unsuccessful attempts to make contact with the vessel, the USS PRINCETON warship of Task Force 151 launched its helicopter. The helicopter was able to identify two pirates on board MT OLIB G, the EU report stated. The MT OLIB G was sailing West in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor en route from Alexandria to India through the Gulf of Aden - allegedly carrying only ballast. The Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) is an area in which EU NAVFOR (Task Force 465), NATO (Task Force 508) and Combined Maritime Force (Task Force 151) coordinate the patrol of maritime transits. It is, however, not known yet if the vessel was involved in dumping or why it was just sailing with ballast. The MT OLIB G, deadweight 6,375 tons, has a crew of 18, among which are 15 Georgian and 3 Turkish. Crew and vessel are not covered by ITF Agreement. The vessel has as registered owners FRIO MARITIME SA and as manager FRIO VENTURES SA, both of Athens in Greece. The attack group is said to consist of people from the Majerteen (Puntland) and Warsangeli (Sanaag) clans, who had set out from Elayo. After the well timed attack - more or less synchronized with attacks on two other vessels - and the subsequent overpowering of the crew the vessel was then commandeered towards the Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, where it is now held near Eyl. According to media reports the owner of the vessel initially offered a ransom of $75,000, but later raised it to $150,000. However, the sea pirates want no less than $15 million, a Press TV correspondent reported. Both sides seem to not be realistic. Vessel and crew are at present held off Kulub at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.
MSV NASTA AL YEMEN : Reportedly seized on Sept. 14, 2010. Number of crew yet unknown, but presumed 9. Further report awaited from Yemen.
MT ASPHALT VENTURE : Seized September 28, 2010. The Panama-flagged asphalt tanker MT ASPHALT VENTURE (IMO 8875798) was captured on her way from Mombasa - where the vessel left at noon on 27. September, southbound to Durban, at 20h06 UTC = 23h06 local time in position 07 09 S 40 59 E. The vessel was sailing in ballast and a second alarm was received at 00h58 UTC = 03h58 LT. The ship with its 15 all Indian crew was then observed to have turned around and is at present commandeered northwards to Somalia. EU NAVFOR confirmed the case only in the late afternoon of 29. September. Information from the ground says a pirate group from Brawa had captured the vessel and at first it was reported that the vessel was heading towards Harardheere at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast, while the tanker had first contact at the Somali coast near Hobyo and was then commandeered further north. The vessel is managed by ISM manager OMCI SHIPMANAGEMENT PVT LTD from Mumbai and owned by BITUMEN INVEST AS from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, who uses INTER GLOBAL SHIPPING LTD from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates as ship-handler. The Government of India and other authorities are informed. Concerning the condition of the crew so far no casualties or injuries are reported, but the vessel seems to have an engine problem. Vessel and crew are at present held off Kulub at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia. Negotiations for a release have commenced.
FV GOLDEN WAVE 305 (sporting also the Korean name KEUMMI 305) : Seized October op, 2010. The 241-to large South-Korean-owned but now apparently Kenyan-flagged fishing vessel, which had been transformed from an old merchant ship into a specialized fishing vessel, was already captured possibly in Somali waters, the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme (SAP) reported first.
The owners as well as the international navies kept mum until 17. October, when the British mastered Maritime Security Centre MSC(HOA) notified the case based on a statement by South Korea's Foreign Ministry.
Maritime observers working in Somalia with ECOTERRA Intl. had earlier confirmed that the vessel on that day was already held off the Central Somali coast off Harardheere (Xarardheere), from where then some movement again southwards was observed.
The owners, who had not reported the case earlier, said then that the position of the capture of the vessel and crew was 03:06S and 047:58E at 07h45 UTC (10h45 local) on 09. Oct. 2010 in the Somali Basin, which would be just 10 miles off the coast of Lamu on the north of the Kenyan coast and near the border with Somalia. But this report is highly questionable since local reports state that the vessel was boarded while inside the Somali waters.
However, ECOTERRA Intl. and SAP urged the Somalis to either open a formal and legal process to prosecute a case of illegal fishing, or to release the vessel, if there is evidence beyond any reasonable doubt that the ship and crew were not fishing illegally in Somali waters.
Since both countries, Kenya and Somalia have ratified the United Nations Common Law on the Sea (UNCLOS) since long, there is no doubt about the maritime boundary between the two states, despite the persistent haggling and attempts on higher levels to alter this.
The vessel is very well known since many years for its poaching operations was confirmed also by the Malindi Marine Association in Kenya (MaMa-Sea) and ECOP marine, a group of marine protection specialists. The vessel had been illegally entering the Somali fishing grounds with impunity over many years and then usually kept hanging out at the North Kenya banks as well as even off Malindi in order to cover the traces of the illegal activities.
Though the judiciaries of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia as well as e.g. of the regional State of Galmudug still face serious problems, a legal process is possible everywhere in Somalia and not only in Somaliland and Puntland, where the international community has recognized the legal procedures and regularly hands over pirates arrested by the foreign navies into these systems, which even are sentencing people to death and execute the death penalty. Especially because there is an official moratorium on fishing by foreign-flagged vessels in Somali waters since 2008 firmly in place and no legal licences have been issued, the case must be dealt with in front of a court.
ECOTERRA Intl. spokesman Dr. Hans-Juergen Duwe called upon specialized legal organizations, judges and lawyers from benches in friendly nations to come forward and assist the Somali judiciaries in prosecuting such cases, which all too easily are otherwise then just brushed away as pure piracy and thereby kept away from the eyes of the legal eagles and the law - thereby encouraging other fish-poachers to copycat, since the risk to be captured by Somali coastguards or the real buccaneers is still rather minimal.
The vessel has a large crew of 43 seafarers with the South-Korean owner cum master and a South-Korean chief engineer as well as two Chinese officers and 39 Kenyans.
Their venture is specialized on scooping by pot-fishing the ever declining populations of coastal crab and rock lobsters, a delicacy for the top-market seafood restaurants the world over, as well as in long-line fishing for the high-priced yellow-fin tuna and Kingfish as well as the rare bill-fish like Marlin and Sailfish as well as the already endangered sword-fish. For the tuna-fishing it would also have to be registered with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), but the vessel is not listed there - neither as Keummi 305 nor as Golden Wave.
Also in Kenya local fishing co-operatives as well as the associations of deep-sea anglers had complained since long about the detrimental activities of this specific vessel, which is persistently using illegal gear. While in the mostly unprotected waters of Somalia their clandestine deals usually were covered with a handful of dollars into the palms of some unscrupulous businessmen, local "authorities" or impoverished local fellows, they apparently also enjoy "protection" from certain cadres in Kenya. However, fishermen contacted at the Kenya coast today actually jubilated that this vessel had been finally captured by the Somalis.
The pirates haven't contacted the ship's agent in the south-eastern South-Korean port city of Busan for any possible negotiation, Yonhap news agency said. The fisheries company that owns the ship shut down its Busan head office due to financial troubles in 2007 and has been operating only with the Keummi 305, it said.
Reports state that Captain Kim Dae Gun himself, who is on board, is the owner of the vessel.
The vessel at first was brought to Harardheere and then moved south to be held around 90 nm south of Harardheere, but on 23. October was then observed by naval forces in the vicinity of the point where a LPG tanker was sea-jacked the very day 50nm off Mombasa. The shipping agent could not confirm if the Somalis left their pirate-taxi and it is therefore presumed she shall again be used as mother-ship in Kenyan and Tanzanian waters. Apparently the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) is now no longer operating. Vessel and crew are at present held on their vessel south-east of the inland town of Xarardheere (Harardheere) off the Central Somali coast. Negotiations have not yet started in earnest and families of the seafarers fear the vessel might again be misused for dangerous piracy operations under a human shield for which the crew is abused.
The Captain of the Golden Wave 305 is urgent need of medication, and the whole crew may lack food soon.
MV IZUMI (ISUMI) : Seized on October 10, 2010. The multi-purpose ship MV IZUMI (IMO 9414955) was captured while en route from Japan via Singapore to Kenya in Somali waters at 13h09 UTC in position 01 39S 042 05E, which is around 170 nautical miles (314 kilometers) south of Mogadishu, and has an all- Filipino crew of 20 seamen.
The ship, which has a deadweight of 20,170 tonnes, is owned by Japanese shipping company NYK-Hinode Line Ltd., one of the oldest shipping lines plying the routes from the Far East to East Africa, and is flying a flag of convenience from Panama. The ship is owned by DIA S.A. and had been carrying steel products for the automotive industry from Japan via Singapore towards Mombasa, said its Tokyo-based operator NYK-Hinode Line.
While in the years back the company still had Japanese officers on board of their vessel, they have now all-Filipino crews despite the ban by the government of the Philippines to employ their nationals on routes endangered by piracy.
EU NAVFOR confirmed the case on 11. Oct. and reported the vessel at a position 170 miles (274 kilometres) south of the Somali capital of Mogadishu and as being commandeered northwards, while a Danish and the EU NAVFOR French warship FS FLOREAL were close by and were monitoring. Vessel and crew have been now commandeered to Xamdule (Hamdule) between Hobyo and Harardheere at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast.
Japan's transport minister Sumio Mabuchi on Tuesday said Tokyo was "nervously" watching developments while cooperating with the International Maritime Organization in dealing with the suspected pirate attack.
Japan last year joined the United States, China and more than 20 other countries in the maritime operation against pirates who have attacked ships off the Horn of Africa, a key route leading to the Suez Canal.
Tokyo has also dispatched two maritime surveillance aircraft and scores of military personnel to beef up its anti-piracy mission, although their operations are restricted by the country's pacifist constitution.
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has deployed two destroyers to escort ships in the pirate-infested gulf, and said last month that it had so far provided safe passage for more than 1,000 ships.
MV IZUMI with her hostages as human shield is at present used as piracy launch and attacked first a merchant vessel MV TORM KANSAS near Pemba Island on the boundary between Kenya and Tanzania and on 06. November the EU NAVFOR Spanish warship ESPS INFANTA CHRISTINA and her escort object, the AMISOM weapons-transporter PETRA 1, off the East coast of Somalia.
FV AL FAHAD : Seized October 11, 2010. Many more Iranian fishing vessel were over time actually held by Somali gangs than listed, since their cases and the fate of their sailors are not officially reported - neither by Iran nor the Western Navies.
Sources with detailed knowledge from Iran stated after the release of one Iranian fishing vessel without ransom but actually a reward paid to their captain for good assistance during piracy operations of other vessels at the end of October 2010, that at least one other Iranian fishing vessels is held at present near Garacad. How many were seized for illegal fishing in Somali waters or how many were sea-jacked just to use them as piracy launch or to press ransom could so far not clearly be established.
One Indian Navy vessel not involved in anti-piracy operations received a distress call from a merchant vessel pointing out it had spotted pirate skiffs with the Al-Fahad. The naval vessel on research mission intercepted on 10. December 2010.
"Six skiffs, with outboard motors, an AK-47 with ammunition, gas cylinders and fuel was found on board the dhow after it was intercepted... the pirate boat was then disabled," said an officer. Indian naval sources maintained that the Dhow had not been sunk.
According to those naval sources there were 31 people on board. Unfortunately the Indian navy ship must not have realized that this was a sea-jacked vessel and let the Somalis and allegedly Yemeni men on board sail away after they destroyed the so called pirate-paraphernalia. The vessel therefore must be maintained on the list of sea-jacked ships.
It also becomes obvious that crews collaborate with pirates to use their ships as transporters, pirate launches or even as attack vessels.
Allegedly the vessel flies now a flag from Yemen.
MSV ZOULFICAR : Seized near Socotra on October 19, 2010. This is a motorized sailing dhow, which was captured near the Socotra archipelago. must not be mixed with the case of Comorian MV ALY ZOULFECAR. Yemen authorities stated that it would not be a Yemeni vessel, but could possibly be from Iran. Further details awaited.
MT YORK : Seized October 23, 2010. The Singapore-flagged MT YORK (IMO 9220421), Liquid Petroleum Gas Carrier, had left Mombasa on 23. October in the morning at 06h00 en route to the Seychelles. The vessel was then attacked at around 17h30 local time (14h30 UTC) by two skiffs, approximately 98 nautical miles East of Mombasa in Kenya. The Turkish warship TCG GAZIANTEP, operating under the Combined Maritime Forces (Task Force 151) launched her helicopter to investigate and was able to observe pirates with weapons on board the vessel. The LPG Tanker is owned by Greek Interunity Management Corporation (IMC) and had just transported a cargo of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) to Mombasa.
Gerald Lim, a director of the ship owner York Maritime Company Private Ltd, said there was no word on the ship or crew since it put out a distress call on Saturday. Initially the MT YORK was drifting but then began moving at 10 knots in the morning of 24. October, when then the Singapore-flagged LPG tanker,was finally confirmed pirated in the Somali Basin by EU NAVFOR. It seems that the South-Korean fishing vessel FV GOLDEN WAVE 305 (alias FV KEUMMI 305), captured from an illegal fishing trip in Somali waters on 9 October 2010, was used to sea-jack the MT YORK
The vessel, with a dead-weight of 5,076 tons, has a crew of 17, including the German Master, two Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos. The vessel was commandeered towards Harardheere and Hobyo with a possible final holding ground off Garacad.
MSV AL-NASSR : Seized October 28, 2010 off Socotra.The motorized Dhow was captured on October 28, 2010 at 11h56 UTC (14h56 local time) in position 12:08N – 054:25E off Socotra Island, Somalia, according to the IMB Piracy reporting centre. Once a British protectorate, along with the remainder of the Mahra State of Qishn and Socotra and being a strategic important point, the four islands making the Archipelago of Socotra were accorded by the UN in 1967 to Yemen, though they are very close to the mainland of the tip of north-eastern Somalia. Several of the female lineages of the inhabitants on the island, notably those in mtDNA haplogroup N, are reportedly found nowhere else on earth. The Dhow with presently unknown flag and about 10 crew is heading now towards the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor of the Gulf of Aden (IRTC) and is likely to be used as pirate-base and decoy to capture a larger vessel. Further reports are awaited.
MT POLAR : Seized Oct. 30, 2010. Armed pirates in two skiffs boarded and sea-jacked the Liberian-owned product tanker MT POLAR (IMO 9299563) with 24 crew members aboard in the very early morning hours at 01h40 UTC (04h30 local time on 30. October 2010 in position 12:12N – 064:53E, which is according to the Piracy Reporting Centre 633nm east of Socotra island, off Somalia or 684 miles (1,100 kilometres) east of the Indian Ocean island of Socotra according to EU NAVFOR. According to a EU NAVFOR statement the owners of the Panamanian-flagged 72,825 dwt vessel MV POLAR, Herculito Maritime Ltd, confirmed early Saturday that pirates are in command of the ship. While it is undisputed that the ship originally 24 crew members, EU NAVFOR reported one Romanian, three Greek nationals, four nationals from Montenegro and 16 Filipinos, but according to the ICSW (International Committee on Seafarer's Welfare) there are three Greek nationals, 16 Pinoy seafarers, three from Montenegro and one Romanian as well as one Serb. In connection with this case AFP concluded that though naval powers have deployed dozens of warships to patrol the region's waters they have failed to stem piracy, one of the few thriving businesses for coastal communities in a country devastated by war and poverty. According to reports from Somalia the already sea-jacked Iranian fishing vessel from Hobyo was used to capture this vesse in tandem with covering VLCC SHAMHO DREAM. Allegedly the captain of the Iranian fishing vessel thereafter received money from the pirates and was released with his vessel and crew. MT POLAR has reached the Somali coast in the morning of 30. October and was held off Hobyo. On Monday, 22. November 2010 one Filipino seafarer was reported by the Seafarers Network from Greece to have died allegedly of a heart attack.
At 02h33UTC on 23 November 2010, MV POLAR was reported in position 07°49N 055°53E - apparently on a piracy mission.
At 19h40 UTC on 25. November 2010, MV POLAR was observed in position 09 29N 068 44E, course 258, speed 12.6 kts. The pirated vessel is conducting piracy operations, using the surviving crew members as human shield.
established.
SY CHOIZIL : Seized 26. October 2010. South-African owned SY CHOIZIL was sea-jacked after having left Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Though news through the seafarer's network had broken much earlier, the case was officially only confirmed on 08. November. The yacht is owned and was sailed by South African skipper Peter Eldridge from Richards Bay on the northeast coast of KwaZulu Natal, who escaped after the yacht was commandeered to Somalia, while his South African team-mates Bruno Pelizzari (aka Pekezari), in his 50's, with partner Deborah from Durban were taken off the boat and are still held hostage on land in Somalia. Several questions remain still unanswered, though after the return of the skipper to South-Africa it was officially stated that the yacht had been abducted off Kenya this is still conflicting with other naval reports. Since the own yacht of the abducted couple is still moored at the harbour in Dar es Salaam it could well be that they only joined or actually hired skipper Eldridge first for a short trip north to Kenya.
Both present hostages, Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend "Debbie", Deborah Calitz, were on board when the yacht under the command of Peter Endrigde allegedly heading south to Richards Bay from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on October 21 or 22. Together with the skipper and owner of the yacht, the trio were said at first to have then encountered the pirates on 31. October 2010 in the open sea.
At least one of the attacking pirates appeared to have been from Tanzania and spoke KiSwahili. However, the sloop rigged sailing yacht set up for long distance cruising was then commandeered to Somalia by five Somalis - apparently with the aim to reach Harardheere at the Central Somali coast.
When observers had on 04. November a sighting of a yacht near the Bajuni Island of Koyaama at the Southern coast of Somalia, the search for a missing yacht was on in order to identify the boat and the sailors, but neither the Seychelles nor the network of yachts-people reported any missing yacht, though at that point already even the involvement of a second yacht was not ruled out.
Navies were then trailing the yacht at least since 04. November.
The fleeing yacht was on 06. November forced by the pursuing navies to come close to Baraawa (Brawa). There the yacht had "officially" again been located by the EU NAVFOR warship FS FLOREAL when it was "discovered to be sailing suspiciously close to shore", so the statement. Despite numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the yacht, including a flypast by the warship's helicopter, allegedly no answer was received and the French warship launched her boarding team to investigate further, a EU NAVFOR statement revealed and it was also officially stated that they had received a Mayday signal. Why only then the emergency call was sent and not much earlier, has so far not been explained.
After a direct chase by naval forces escalating the situation and the yacht running aground, SY CHOIZIL's skipper Peter reportedly jumped over board during a close naval swoop, when also shots were fired and a naval helicopter and a commando team in a speedboat were engaged. Other reports state the owner of the yacht, Peter Eldridge, managed to escape when he refused to leave the boat he built with his own hands 20 years ago. Officials now put it as "the yacht's skipper refused to cooperate" - usually a call for immediate and even deadly response in any hostage situation the world over where armed assailants are involved.
However, Peter Eldridge was later picked up by the French navy and was placed into safety on a Dutch naval vessel. He is confirmed to be a South-African by nationality and his next of kin were informed immediately. After he then arrived at the Kenyan harbour of Mombasa on board the Dutch warship, he was handed over to South African officials and brought to Kenya's capital Nairobi, from where he returned to South-Africa.
Peter Eldridge, who was a member of the Zululand Yacht Club which uses the Richards Bay Harbour as its base, stated later: "The yacht was attacked by pirates - all men aged between 15 and 50 - on October 26," and thereafter: "They demanded money. They took the money that Deborah and Pelizzari were carrying for their families. They demanded more and we told them that we did not have more because we were ordinary people."
Andrew Mwangura, co-ordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, said earlier he assumed the yacht had been towed to Mombasa as could have been expected with all the naval presence, but at the same time ECOTERRA Intl. received information from their marine monitors in Somalia saying the yacht was left behind by the naval forces and was floating. Peter Eldridge's wife, Bernadette, told later the South African Times that she did not know whether her husband Peter would return to Somalia to retrieve what's left of his yacht, SY Choizil, which was run aground during the incident. It is, however, unclear how official statements and the owner himself can speak of "having resisted to the pirates" and insisting that he "was not leaving his yacht alone", when at the same time he must have left it to be rescued by the navy.
"We only can hope that the different reports speaking of the killing of one man, whereby at present nobody can say if that had been caused by the naval interaction or by the pirates or if it is mixed with another case, will turn out to be not correct at all," a spokesman from ECOTERRA Intl. said on 07. November and added: "and we hope and urge the local elders to ensure that the innocent woman and man will be set free immediately. Since the Al-Shabaab administration, who governs vast areas in Southern Somalia, where the ancient coastal town of Baraawe (Brawa) is located, had earlier openly condemned any act of piracy, it is hoped that a safe and unconditional release of the hostages can be achieved."
The naval command of the European Operation Atalanta stated on 09. November that the whereabouts of the other two crew members is currently unknown, despite a comprehensive search by an EU NAVFOR helicopter.
Karl Otto of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Cape Town stated that the Department of International Relations and Co-operation was handling the hostage situation.
International Relations and Co-operation spokesperson Saul Kgomotso Molobi confirmed this on 10. November and said the pirates had not yet made any ransom demand.
While the families of the Durban couple are sick with worry while they wait to hear from the kidnappers, the skipper's wife said: "We have been restricted from giving out more information. I have been told not to say more," but did not want to reveal who had told her to keep quiet.
South African High Commissioner Ndumiso Ntshinga said he is in constant contact with authorities in Somalia who are involved in the search for Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend.
Ntshinga indicated that maybe the story that the were taken off Kenya - as the Seychelles had claimed - is not correct, by saying: "We have always believed that their reach was mostly around Somalia but if they are going to be going down to the Gulf of Mozambique then it is worrying," said Ntshinga. Naval sources not with EU NAVFOR had earlier stated the attack was at the boundary between Tanzania and Kenya while other naval sources had spoke of the boundary between Tanzania and Mozambique.
After two weeks into the crisis the South African government still stated only: "At this point in time we do not know where they are. We have instructed our consulate to handle the matter," foreign ministry spokesman Malusi Mogale told AFP.
Director of Consular Services at the International Relations Department, Albie Laubscher, said all they can do is wait.
"The situation is that we are expecting the pirates to make contact in some way or another."
Information from Somalia says that the couple was held then for a few days held firth south and then inside Brawa but thereafter was moved to an undisclosed location.
For the Government of South Africa Mr. Albie Laubscher, the director of consular services at the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, said the families of the Durban couple had been briefed that the hostage drama could be a long, drawn-out affair. He said it was government policy not to pay ransom.
The escaped skipper Peter Eldridge maintains that they had been sea-jacked off the Kenyan coast, but failed to explained why they were there instead on their planned route to the South from Dar es Salaam.
A friend of Pelizzari, Jason Merle, said the former elevator technician had decided about four years ago to sell his house and build a yacht. 'He and Debbie invested their lives in that boat, which is now docked in Dar es Salaam, waiting for them to come back to Tanzania,' Merle said. 'They don't have any money. Neither does the family. Ransom is going to be pointless. They're not going to get anything out of that couple. The only thing they have is that yacht and a laptop.'
The abducted yacht SY CHOIZIL is still held at the Somali coast, while the couple is now said to be held somewhere in the area of Somalia's embattled capital Mogadishu.
In an effort to send the message to pirates that Deborah is African born and should not be treated like a European or an American, Deborah's brother Dale van der Merwe has denied media reports his sister was of British or Italian descent.
'She does not have any British ties and has never set foot in Britain. We are worried that should her captors read this... it may skew their perception of who Debbie really is and try attach values to her as it was done in the case of the recently released British Chandler couple.'
He said the couple were 'ordinary workers'. They had been sailing for almost two years, stopping at ports on Africa's coast to 'visit and do occasional work'. See: http://yachtpals.com/node/12445
'Anyone who knows or meets them (including their captors) will see that they are gentle and kind people who are not interested in politics but only love sailing, ' he said and added 'Debbie and Bruno will help anyone regardless of their politics, religion, nationality or race, and frequently at their own cost. They are just fellow Africans who work hard and have a passion for sailing."
The family asked the couple's captors to keep them unharmed and release them back to their families and children, whom they have not seen for so long.
The Dutch Navy detained two groups of Somalis during the last week of November, believing those arrested could be involved in the abduction of Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend Deborah Calitz. The people on board of two different skiffs threw their guns overboard when they realised they were about to be attacked by a naval force. But only skipper Peter Eldridge would be able to confirm whether any of the suspects were involved in the attack. Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said fishermen and coastal traders also carried weapons in these dangerous waters and the Dutch Navy could have the wrong men and add to the complications. The Kenyan and the South-African government had refused to accept the men for prosecution, since there was no evidence, and the Dutch Navy was for days in limbo - not knowing what to do with them. Then on 05 November five of these Somalis were flown on a military plane to Eindhoven, in the south of the Netherlands to stand trial in Rotterdam for abducting the two South Africans from their yacht. The five were among some 20 suspected pirates rounded up last month in two separate operations. The other 15 were released due to a lack of evidence at an undisclosed location and their case is seen by human rights lawyers as illegal arrest and possible refoulement.
After now more than one month the South African government maintains that no ransom demands have been made, but has not stated if there was no contact or if other demands were brought forward.
According to South African officials there was still no sign of the South African couple captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia at the end of November and Carte Blanche spoke to their Durban-based families, who are concerned that there've been no ransom demands.
International Relations spokesman Clayson Monyela said on 10. December that the kidnappers have yet to make contact with the South African government or the relatives of Bruno Pelizzari and his partner, Deborah Calitz.
It seems that the first contact possibilities were lost by the South-African officials.
The daughter of Mrs. Calitz also appealed now to the captors to at least come forward and start talks on a release.
MV ALY ZOULFECAR : Seized November 03, 2010. The Comorian-flagged vessel a was pirated en route between the Comores and Dar Es Salam (Tanzania). The 43 meters long vessel was attacked in the morning of 3 November 2010 in position 05°15 S 043°39 E while in transit. Shortly thereafter the Master of the vessel reported that pirates were on board, EU NAFOR confirmed. The MV ALY ZOULFECAR has 29 people on board, of which 9 are crew members and 20 passengers. The crew consists of 1 Tanzanian, 4 Comorian and 4 Madagascar. The passengers consist of 12 Tanzanian and 8 Comorian. This makes a total of 13 Tanzanian, 12 Comorian and 4 Malagasy on board the pirated vessel. But it is said now that there is also a Kenyan woman on board. Though yet unconfirmed, latest reports speak of at least one casualty on board. The vessel is slowly commandeered North along the Somali Indian Ocean coast, she passed Hobyo and is expected to be taken to Garacad.
MSV AL BOGARI : Sighted November 7, 2010, as being hijacked, no further data
PAKISTAN MSV : Seized on November 9, 2010. The motorized dhow with a so far unknown number of crew was sea-jacked around 850nm east from the NE-coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean and then used to capture the Tunisian merchant ship MV HANNIBAL II three days later in the same wider area. The authorities of Pakistan have been informed and further information about the name of the vessel etc. are awaited.
MT HANNIBAL II : Seized November 11, 2010 In the early morning hours the Tunisian-owned and Panama-flagged chemical and oil-tanker MT HANNIBAL II (IMO 8011756) with a crew of 31 was taken at 04h35 UTC in position 11:26N – 066:05E off the coast of India while sailing to Suez from Malaysia - ferrying vegetable oil.
"The master of the vessel reported that he had been attacked and boarded by pirates in an area some 860 nautical miles East of The Horn of Africa which is considerably closer to India than it is to Somalia," EU Navfor said in a statement.
The 31 men strong crew of the 24,105 tonne ship consists of 23 Tunisians, four Filipinos, a Croat, a Georgian, a Russian and a Moroccan.
GABES MARINE TANKERS SARL as ship-manager fronts for the owner POLO NAVIGATION LTD - both of Ez Zahra, Tunisia.
Reportedly the chief engineer of the vessel was slightly injured with a hit of a gun-butt during the attack and the ship had at first arrived near Garacad at the North-Eastern Somali coast of the Indian Ocean.
At 01h05 UTC on 23. November 2010 MV HANNIBAL II was reported in position 10°30N 059°04E - apparently on a piracy mission.
At 06h31 UTC on 26. November 2010 MV HANNIBAL II was observed chasing a merchant vessel in position 18°50N 061°23E, course 300°, speed 7.8 knots. The pirated vessel is conducting piracy operations.
Now the vessel is said to be moored off Dinowda Quorioweyn not far from Garacad at the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.
MV YUAN XIANG : Seized November 12, 2010. The Chinese-owned general cargo ship MV YUAN XIANG (IMO 7609192) carrying 29 sailors of Chinese nationality was seized during the night by an unknown number of pirates in the Arabian Sea in position 18:02.55N – 066:03.39E - around 680nm east of Salalah, Oman. An act of piracy was then confirmed on 12.11.2010 at 07h01 UTC.
According to the China Marine Rescue Centre (CMRC), the Chinese-owner-manager and Ningbo-based Hongyuan Ship Management Ltd (HONGYUAN MARINE CO LTD) in Zhejiang, China, had received a call just before midnight whereby the pirates informed that they were sailing the vessel owned by HONGAN SHIPPING CO LTD to Somalia.
The 22,356 dwt vessel flies a flag of convenience (FOC) from Panama, a flag-state who apparently even doesn't care when sailors are dying an unnatural death on their registered vessels.
The CMRC was reportedly unable to get in touch with the hijacked ship and the fate of the sailors remained unclear, Xinhua said, adding that the attacked occurred outside a region protected by a multinational forces, including China's navy. The vessel is at present commandeered towards Garacad at the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.
FV DUL-NURAIN : Seized on November 17, 2010. The Yemeni fishing vessel was captured from Hurdia, which is 40 miles from Bargal. Allegedly a Somali Muse Ali Mohamud Warfa (aka Ilkacase) a Majerteen whose sub-clan is Osman Mohamoud and who served as fishing agent on that boat, was killed and was then burried by elders from the Isse Mohamud subclan. The vessel is at present held at Dhinawda which 60 miles to Garacad.
FV AL JEESH : Seized around November 18, 2010, maybe even together with FV DUL-NURAIN. Fish-poacher, now used as piracy launch.
COMORAN FV : Seized on November 18, 2010. The Comoros-flagged fishing vessel with a two man crew was confirmed sea-jacked inside the territorial waters of the Comoros. So far the identity of the vessel has not been released.
MV ALBEDO : Seized on November 26, 2010. The Malaysia-flagged box-ship MV ALBEDO en route from Jebel Ali in the UAE to Mombasa in Kenya was boarded in the early morning hours and an alarm was raised at 03h00 UTC (06h00 LT) in position 05:38N – 068:27E, which is around 255 nm west of the Maldives group of islands. The master had reported to the Malaysian owners already on that fateful Friday that pirates were on-board and his vessel was hijacked. That information was then forwarded to to the navies. However, EU NAVFOR confirmed only 3 days later on mid-Monday that the vessel was captured. Why EU NAVFOR only reported so late is not known, but maybe because a Danish Navy frigate was sailing Saturday to the rescue of the German freighter MCL Bremen, a multi-purpose 130-metre freighter, which was nearby attacked by pirates. But following standard procedures, the whole crew barricaded themselves in a secret room and the attackers later left that vessel before the warship arrived and MLC BREMEN is reportedly sailing free.
The container vessel MV ALBEDO has a crew of 23 sailors. Six hail from Sri Lanka and others from Pakistan, Iran and Bangladesh. Registered owner and manager is MAJESTIC ENRICH SHIPPING SDN. Further details awaited.
MV JAHAN MONI : Seized December 05, 2010. The Bangladesh-flagged bulk carrier MV JAHAN MONI was sea-jacked by alleged Somali pirates position 08:12N – 071:55E, which is around 67 nm west of Minicoy Island and the merchant vessel was reported hijacked by six armed pirates and 26 people were taken hostage barely 70 nautical miles off the Indian Lakshadweep Islands. At 09h42 UTC on 05 December NATO reported the merchant vessel was under attack by pirates in 1 skiff in position 08°10N 071°43E. The vessel was attacked twice before being boarded by the heavily armed pirates and in an area, where a multi-ship task force of the Indian Navy was carrying out search operations in the Arabian Sea for pirate mother vessels. EU NAVFOR finally confirmed on 06 December that the bulker was pirated in the Somali Basin, approximately 1300 nautical miles East of Somalia, and only 300 nautical miles from the Indian mainland coast.
Apparently one of the previously sea-jacked fishing vessels was used to ;launch the attack.
The vessel was en route rom Indonesia with 43,150 tonnes of nickel ore on board to take them to Greece via Singapore.
It is owned by Mohammed Shajahan, owner of leading mild steel producing company KSRM and Bangladeshi shipping company Brave Royal. All people on board - 25 crew and one woman - are reported to be Bangladeshi.
The vessel was commandeered at a speed of 10 nautical miles towards the Somali coast and arrived there on Saturday 10. Dec. 2010 early morning, as was also confirmed by owner Mohammad Shahjahan for the owners and Rahmatullah, technical officer of Brave Royal Shipping Management Limited - the operating firm of the ship, confirmed - though they doesn't have contact yet. Marine superintendent of the company Captain Mohammad Golam Mostafa confirmed that the ship had been anchored at the east coast of Garacad.
Officials of SR Shipping Limited, the owning company of the hijacked ship, and its sister concern Brave Royal Shipping Management Limited held a meeting to chalk out the negotiation with the pirates, if they contact after reaching the shore.
The authorities could not yet contact with any of the crew or pirates. A satellite telephone to the ship on Saturday morning remained unanswered, Mostafa added.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has assured "all-out" support to free the vessel and crew, he said.
A senior Bangladesh Shipping Ministry official said: "Our first priority is to bring back the lady as soon as possible," referring to the wife of the chief engineer.
Mohammed Shahjahan, chairman of Brave Royal Shipping Management Limited that owns the ship, MV Jahan Moni, stated on Sunday, 12. December 2010, that the pirates put him through to the captain, chief engineer and the chief engineer's wife on telephone. They talked twice, at 2:30pm and at 7pm, he said.
MSC PANAMA : Seized December 10, 2010. At 12h12 UTC (09h12 LT) on 10 December 2010 the U.S.-owned container vessel MSC PANAMA was reported to be under attack by an armed group of in total five sea-shifta in two skiffs on board in position 09°57S 041°46E. A Rocket Propelled Grenade was used during the attack which occurred approximately 80 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian/Mozambique border. On the afternoon of 10 December, the merchant vessel was then confirmed pirated and in position Latitude: 10°00S Longitude: 041°51E.
The boxship was en route from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Beira (Mozambique) when the attack occurred.
This southerly attack in the Western Indian Ocean is a further example of the constantly expanding area of pirate activity, triggered by naval activities in the Gulf of Aden and close to the Somali shores and apparently also serving an agenda of implicating more and more regional countries. Apparently one of the the previously sea-jacked fishing vessels was used in the attack.
The 26,288 dwt MCS PANAMA is a Liberian flagged container ship, operated by SHIP MANAGEMENT SERVICES INC from Coral Gables Florida, a US based company fronting for registered owner EURUS BERLIN LLC.
The vessel has a crew of 23 seafarers, who all are from Myanmar/Burma). There is no news of the condition of the
crew. EU NAVFOR said they are monitoring the situation.
The vessel was turned north and is said to be commandeered towards Somalia.
MV RENUAR : Seized: December 11, 2010. As ECOTERRA Intl. reported the cargo vessel was captured on 11. December 2010 at around 05h40 UTC in position 06:09N – 067:19E, which is approximately 360nm SW of Minicoy Island, 1,200nm from Mogadishu in Somalia and 550nm off the Indian coast. On 13. November also NATO finally confirmed and stated the vessel was captured at position Latitude: 06°11N Longitude: 067°25E. EU NAVFOR had earlier confirmed our reports on 12. December.
Panama-flagged MV RENUAR is a bulk cargo vessel with a dead-weight of 70,156 tonnes and was en route to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates from Port Louis in Mauritius when it was captured on Saturday, EU NAVFOR confirmed and stated: "The pirates have confirmed that they have control of the ship which is now heading west towards the Somali coast." The EU stated it was a Liberian-owned vessel.
But Europe's best ship register states that CANDY ENT INC from Greece is the registered owner and MARYVILLE MARITIME INC from Greece the manager. Though the Greek ship register is notoriously in shambles, it is not known how EU NAVFOR arrives at the conclusion that the vessel would be Liberian owned.
The pirates launched the attack from 2 skiffs, supported by a mother ship, with fire of small arms and rocket propelled grenades forcing the merchant vessel to stop. The bulker has a 24-man all-Filipino crew, who attempted to evade the pirates for some time, causing the pirates to make several attacks before finally boarding the vessel. One of the pirates had died during the attack - marine observers reported yesterday.
That at present more and more of the previously already captured fast fishing vessels are used to launch far-reaching attacks is widely known and analysts can not understand why these vessels are not tracked better by the navies.
The bulk carrier MV RENUAR (IMO9042221) is at present commandeered to the Somali coast, but naval centres stated that they have for the moment no communications with the ship and that the condition of the crew is not known.
The Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines said it was working to ensure the safety of 24 Filipino seafarers on board the Panama-flagged vessel MV Renuar. In a release posted on its website on Monday, the DFA's Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) said that it has instructed Capt. Gaudencio Collado, Philippine Liaison Officer to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) in Manama, Bahrain to assist in the rescue efforts and that the European Union Naval Forces (EU NAVFOR) will attempt a rescue before the vessel, now en route to Somalia, reaches Somali waters.
Analysts, however, see such sabre-rattling as rather unfortunate and advised that the DFA should better look into the policy, which once had stopped Filipino seafarers from signing on with ships plying such dangerous routes.
DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. also instructed Collado to convey to the EU NAVFOR the Philippine Government's "paramount concern" for the safety of the Filipino crew members. The OUMWA likewise called on the Philippine Embassy in Athens to convey the same message to the vessel's Greece-based owner.
The 22,356 dwt vessel flies a flag of convenience (FOC) from Panama, a flag-state who apparently even doesn't care when sailors are dying an unnatural death on their registered vessels.
The CMRC was reportedly unable to get in touch with the hijacked ship and the fate of the sailors remained unclear, Xinhua said, adding that the attacked occurred outside a region protected by a multinational forces, including China's navy. The vessel is at present commandeered towards Garacad at the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.
FV DUL-NURAIN : Seized on November 17, 2010. The Yemeni fishing vessel was captured from Hurdia, which is 40 miles from Bargal. Allegedly a Somali Muse Ali Mohamud Warfa (aka Ilkacase) a Majerteen whose sub-clan is Osman Mohamoud and who served as fishing agent on that boat, was killed and was then burried by elders from the Isse Mohamud subclan. The vessel is at present held at Dhinawda which 60 miles to Garacad.
FV AL JEESH : Seized around November 18, 2010, maybe even together with FV DUL-NURAIN. Fish-poacher, now used as piracy launch.
COMORAN FV : Seized on November 18, 2010. The Comoros-flagged fishing vessel with a two man crew was confirmed sea-jacked inside the territorial waters of the Comoros. So far the identity of the vessel has not been released.
MV ALBEDO : Seized on November 26, 2010. The Malaysia-flagged box-ship MV ALBEDO en route from Jebel Ali in the UAE to Mombasa in Kenya was boarded in the early morning hours and an alarm was raised at 03h00 UTC (06h00 LT) in position 05:38N – 068:27E, which is around 255 nm west of the Maldives group of islands. The master had reported to the Malaysian owners already on that fateful Friday that pirates were on-board and his vessel was hijacked. That information was then forwarded to to the navies. However, EU NAVFOR confirmed only 3 days later on mid-Monday that the vessel was captured. Why EU NAVFOR only reported so late is not known, but maybe because a Danish Navy frigate was sailing Saturday to the rescue of the German freighter MCL Bremen, a multi-purpose 130-metre freighter, which was nearby attacked by pirates. But following standard procedures, the whole crew barricaded themselves in a secret room and the attackers later left that vessel before the warship arrived and MLC BREMEN is reportedly sailing free.
The container vessel MV ALBEDO has a crew of 23 sailors. Six hail from Sri Lanka and others from Pakistan, Iran and Bangladesh. Registered owner and manager is MAJESTIC ENRICH SHIPPING SDN. Further details awaited.
MV JAHAN MONI : Seized December 05, 2010. The Bangladesh-flagged bulk carrier MV JAHAN MONI was sea-jacked by alleged Somali pirates position 08:12N – 071:55E, which is around 67 nm west of Minicoy Island and the merchant vessel was reported hijacked by six armed pirates and 26 people were taken hostage barely 70 nautical miles off the Indian Lakshadweep Islands. At 09h42 UTC on 05 December NATO reported the merchant vessel was under attack by pirates in 1 skiff in position 08°10N 071°43E. The vessel was attacked twice before being boarded by the heavily armed pirates and in an area, where a multi-ship task force of the Indian Navy was carrying out search operations in the Arabian Sea for pirate mother vessels. EU NAVFOR finally confirmed on 06 December that the bulker was pirated in the Somali Basin, approximately 1300 nautical miles East of Somalia, and only 300 nautical miles from the Indian mainland coast.
Apparently one of the previously sea-jacked fishing vessels was used to ;launch the attack.
The vessel was en route rom Indonesia with 43,150 tonnes of nickel ore on board to take them to Greece via Singapore.
It is owned by Mohammed Shajahan, owner of leading mild steel producing company KSRM and Bangladeshi shipping company Brave Royal. All people on board - 25 crew and one woman - are reported to be Bangladeshi.
The vessel was commandeered at a speed of 10 nautical miles towards the Somali coast and arrived there on Saturday 10. Dec. 2010 early morning, as was also confirmed by owner Mohammad Shahjahan for the owners and Rahmatullah, technical officer of Brave Royal Shipping Management Limited - the operating firm of the ship, confirmed - though they doesn't have contact yet. Marine superintendent of the company Captain Mohammad Golam Mostafa confirmed that the ship had been anchored at the east coast of Garacad.
Officials of SR Shipping Limited, the owning company of the hijacked ship, and its sister concern Brave Royal Shipping Management Limited held a meeting to chalk out the negotiation with the pirates, if they contact after reaching the shore.
The authorities could not yet contact with any of the crew or pirates. A satellite telephone to the ship on Saturday morning remained unanswered, Mostafa added.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has assured "all-out" support to free the vessel and crew, he said.
A senior Bangladesh Shipping Ministry official said: "Our first priority is to bring back the lady as soon as possible," referring to the wife of the chief engineer.
Mohammed Shahjahan, chairman of Brave Royal Shipping Management Limited that owns the ship, MV Jahan Moni, stated on Sunday, 12. December 2010, that the pirates put him through to the captain, chief engineer and the chief engineer's wife on telephone. They talked twice, at 2:30pm and at 7pm, he said.
MSC PANAMA : Seized December 10, 2010. At 12h12 UTC (09h12 LT) on 10 December 2010 the U.S.-owned container vessel MSC PANAMA was reported to be under attack by an armed group of in total five sea-shifta in two skiffs on board in position 09°57S 041°46E. A Rocket Propelled Grenade was used during the attack which occurred approximately 80 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian/Mozambique border. On the afternoon of 10 December, the merchant vessel was then confirmed pirated and in position Latitude: 10°00S Longitude: 041°51E.
The boxship was en route from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Beira (Mozambique) when the attack occurred.
This southerly attack in the Western Indian Ocean is a further example of the constantly expanding area of pirate activity, triggered by naval activities in the Gulf of Aden and close to the Somali shores and apparently also serving an agenda of implicating more and more regional countries. Apparently one of the the previously sea-jacked fishing vessels was used in the attack.
The 26,288 dwt MCS PANAMA is a Liberian flagged container ship, operated by SHIP MANAGEMENT SERVICES INC from Coral Gables Florida, a US based company fronting for registered owner EURUS BERLIN LLC.
The vessel has a crew of 23 seafarers, who all are from Myanmar/Burma). There is no news of the condition of the
crew. EU NAVFOR said they are monitoring the situation.
The vessel was turned north and is said to be commandeered towards Somalia.
MV RENUAR : Seized: December 11, 2010. As ECOTERRA Intl. reported the cargo vessel was captured on 11. December 2010 at around 05h40 UTC in position 06:09N – 067:19E, which is approximately 360nm SW of Minicoy Island, 1,200nm from Mogadishu in Somalia and 550nm off the Indian coast. On 13. November also NATO finally confirmed and stated the vessel was captured at position Latitude: 06°11N Longitude: 067°25E. EU NAVFOR had earlier confirmed our reports on 12. December.
Panama-flagged MV RENUAR is a bulk cargo vessel with a dead-weight of 70,156 tonnes and was en route to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates from Port Louis in Mauritius when it was captured on Saturday, EU NAVFOR confirmed and stated: "The pirates have confirmed that they have control of the ship which is now heading west towards the Somali coast." The EU stated it was a Liberian-owned vessel.
But Europe's best ship register states that CANDY ENT INC from Greece is the registered owner and MARYVILLE MARITIME INC from Greece the manager. Though the Greek ship register is notoriously in shambles, it is not known how EU NAVFOR arrives at the conclusion that the vessel would be Liberian owned.
The pirates launched the attack from 2 skiffs, supported by a mother ship, with fire of small arms and rocket propelled grenades forcing the merchant vessel to stop. The bulker has a 24-man all-Filipino crew, who attempted to evade the pirates for some time, causing the pirates to make several attacks before finally boarding the vessel. One of the pirates had died during the attack - marine observers reported yesterday.
That at present more and more of the previously already captured fast fishing vessels are used to launch far-reaching attacks is widely known and analysts can not understand why these vessels are not tracked better by the navies.
The bulk carrier MV RENUAR (IMO9042221) is at present commandeered to the Somali coast, but naval centres stated that they have for the moment no communications with the ship and that the condition of the crew is not known.
The Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines said it was working to ensure the safety of 24 Filipino seafarers on board the Panama-flagged vessel MV Renuar. In a release posted on its website on Monday, the DFA's Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) said that it has instructed Capt. Gaudencio Collado, Philippine Liaison Officer to the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) in Manama, Bahrain to assist in the rescue efforts and that the European Union Naval Forces (EU NAVFOR) will attempt a rescue before the vessel, now en route to Somalia, reaches Somali waters.
Analysts, however, see such sabre-rattling as rather unfortunate and advised that the DFA should better look into the policy, which once had stopped Filipino seafarers from signing on with ships plying such dangerous routes.
DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. also instructed Collado to convey to the EU NAVFOR the Philippine Government's "paramount concern" for the safety of the Filipino crew members. The OUMWA likewise called on the Philippine Embassy in Athens to convey the same message to the vessel's Greece-based owner.
~ * ~
CLARIFICATION AWAITED:
INDIAN AUTHORITIES REQUESTED TO STOP THIS BLOCKADE-BREAKING SMUGGLER
ALERT: ILLEGALLY OPERATING VESSEL WITH CRIMINAL RECORD IN SOMALI WATERS
Further reports on action awaited from the Governments of India and the United Arab Emirates.
MSV SEA QUEEN, the Indian-owned and registered but UAE flagged motorized merchant Dhow was at first also by naval sources reported as having been captured again outside Kismaayo in Southern Somalia on 23. October 2010. But Mr. Jagdip Ayachi, who operates as the vessel's handler out of the United Arab Emirates and sometimes also poses as the owner of the Dhow maintains that it is not under duress in the moment.
According to reports the charcoal-laden ship had been attacked by two skiffs at 10h11 local time (13h11 UTC) on 23. October 2010 and observers stated that the Indian flagged Dhow SEA QUEEN (MSI Number: 419956127) was loaded with charcoal in position 00.23.13S/42.35.58E, outside Kismaayo, when it was pirated by a gang arriving in 2 skiffs. Thereafter the latest position of MSV SEA QUEEN was at 16:19:36 (UTC) on 23OCT10 at position 00.24.48S/42.38.29E.
The fact that she then was heading from 00.23 to 00.24 South (both positions already south of Kismaayo and with course towards the Kenyan border) could be an indication that they are involved in some other business all-together and that it might not be a sea-jack but a taxi-ride or some other purpose behind it, like weapons- or precious-stones-smuggling, transport of Al-Shabaab fighters to these islands there or similar clandestine and illegal activities.
Since that vessel and crew were taken already in April in a flurry together with other blockade breaking Dhows. which probably also resembled a quarrel or fall-out among certain players, it could very well be something like that this time too. But for the moment we presume that this specific blockade-breaker is doing illegal business together with Somali criminals.
This vessel clearly not only violates the legal regulations of the transitional federal government (TFG) of Somalia, which clearly stipulate that Kismaayo is not a port of entry for foreign flagged vessels and obviously is a crime-ship since it exports illegally charcoal from Somalia, but since it is also fact that the vessel has a registration issued by the Indian Government it violates blatantly and persistently the ban imposed at the beginning of the year on all Indian registered merchant dhows which clearly rules that it is not permitted for any of these vessels to ply the waters south and west of a line joining Salalah (Oman) and Malé (Maldives).
If the Indian government as well as the authorities now still will do nothing to once and for all stop the criminal activities of this vessel MSV SEA QUEEN, it will become obvious that they protect these blockade breakers, smugglers and thieves and thereby aide the dealings of organizations like the Al-Shabaab, which is officially listed as a terrorist group, because without their colluding consent the vessel never could have even entered Kismaayo in the first place.
Kenyan security organs have now been informed about this vessel and the government of the United Arab Emirates was urged again to finally forbid the import of illegal charcoal exports from Somalia, which at least would show that the UAE recognizes the laws of Somalia and assists Somalia in their enforcement.
Boat with five fishermen goes missing in Arabian sea
A fishing boat with five fishermen on board has gone missing in the rough sea, 160 nautical miles from the Okha port of the district, police said on 16. November 2010. A complaint registered with the marine police station of Okha said that contact with the boat that had gone for fishing was lost from Sunday.The sea has been rough for the last few days and the state government had warned fishermen not to venture into the ocean.The police along with Coast Guard has began search for the missing boat and fisherman.
OTHER CASES NOT COMPLETELY CLOSED:
- please see: Status of not yet resolved Maritime Incidences off Somalia
~ * ~
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 are missing since 01. April 2008. They were working on a U.N.-funded project in the Juba valley, were seized by gunmen near Bua'le and taken to Jilib, 280 km (175 miles) south of Mogadishu. Media reports until November 2010 maintained they are still being held and close sources reveal that the case is one of a so far Unsuccessful Resolution with no independent proof of live since a long time. While, based on reports from the ground, it could be assumed that Patrick Amukhuma had died, the meanwhile penniless Kenyan-Somali spouse with 3 children of Mr. Watson appealed as recently as October 2010 again for the release of the British researcher.
Political hostage:
French officer Denis 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.
~ * ~
For 2010 the recorded account around the Horn of Africa stands at 231 incidences with 189 direct attacks by Somali sea-shifta resulting in 66 sea-jackings on the one side and on the other the sinking of one merchant vessel (MV AL-ABI ) by machine-gun fire from the Seychelles's coastguard boat TOPAZ (11 Somalis now jailed for 10 years in the Seychelles) as well as the wrongful attack by the Indian navy on an innocent Yemeni fishing vessel and the sinking of FV SIRICHAI NAVA 11 with many injured sailors and at least five people from the vessel and 8 attackers dead. Sea-jacked MV AL-ASSA - without its original Yemeni crew - was used as pirate vessel and likewise sunk while the Somali captors allegedly were released on land. In addition four Somali fishermen were killed by naval helicopter, which the navies cowardly never identified, at Labad north of Hobyo and one fisherman has killed by AMISOM forces near Mogadishu harbour.
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: EXCLUSIV - whereby it must be stated that while trying to keep up with the killings and arrests, the deportations of Somalis or cases where they were set out again without supplies to face sure death on the ocean - like the Russians did in at least one case, is due to the in-transparency of the navies extremely difficult and hard to keep track). It must, be noted that most navies have become since the beginning of 2010extremely secretive and do neither report properly to the Somali government nor through their media outlets on the real number of casualties and injuries.
Not well 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 this 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 or like the S/Y Serenity, MV Indian Ocean Explorer were sunk to cover their drug-smuggling activities. Present multi-factorial risk assessment code: GoA: RED / IO: RED (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 updated map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA. See the archive at www.australia.to and news on www.international.to
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East Africa ILLEGAL FISHING AND DUMPING HOTLINE: +254-714-747-090 (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 Africa 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 its work against piracy mainly on coastal development, marine protection and pacification.
N.B.: This status report is mainly for the next of kin 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. Unless otherwise stated it is for educational purposes only. Request for further details can be e-mailed to: somalia[at]ecoterra.net (you have to verify your mail).
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© 2010, Mogadishu. This compilation may be reprinted and republished as long as the content remains unaltered, and ECOTERRA Intl. is cited as source.
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