|
GLOBAL
piracy is at its lowest levels in the first
quarter since 2007 at 49 piracy incidents
in which two vessels were hijacked, 37 vessels
boarded, five vessels fired upon and five
attempted attacks were reported.
According
to the latest International Maritime Bureau
(IMB) Piracy Report, 46 crewmembers were
taken hostage and two kidnapped from their
vessel.
Somalia
remained at the same number of incidents
of first quarter 2013. Of the five reported,
three were attempted hijacks and two were
vessels fired upon. In an incident in January,
a skiff launched from a mother vessel fired
upon a Panamax sized product tanker 115
nautical miles south of Salalah, Oman.
The
attack was repelled and the international
navies subsequently intercepted the mother
ship - an Indian dhow which itself had been
hijacked a few days previously.
Eleven
Indian crewmembers were freed and five suspected
pirates apprehended.
West
Africa reported 12 incidents which included
two vessel hijacks with 39 crew members
taken hostage and two kidnapped from their
vessel.
Nigeria
accounts for six incidents including the
hijacking of a supply vessel, which was
used unsuccessfully to hunt for other potential
vessels to hijack, reported GAC Hot Port
News.
Angola
saw its first reported hijacking in the
first quarter, demonstrating the increased
range and capability of Nigerian piracy
if left unchecked. The incident involved
armed pirates boarding and hijacking a loaded
tanker from Luanda anchorage.
The
pirates stole a large quantity of the tanker's
gas oil cargo in three separate STS operations.
The vessel was under the control of suspected
Nigerian pirates for over a week before
the owner regained contact, off Nigeria,
1,200 nautical miles from the initial boarding.
One crewman was injured during the incident.
Indonesia
ranks as the country with the highest number
of attacks with 18 reports compared with
25 in the first quarter of 2013. In all
incidents, vessels were boarded. Although
many of these were low level thefts, seven
crew members were taken hostage in five
incidents, while in four incidents the pirates
possessed firearms.
The
Indonesian Marine Police launched regular
patrols of the higher risk anchorages in
an effort to bring down the number of incidents,
said the report.
In
order to pay close attention to the piracy
issue, GUARDCON West Africa, the Baltic
International Maritime Council's (BIMCO)
new contract for shipboard security contractors
off the West Africa, has been endorsed by
insurers at the Standard P&I Club.
"The
contract has become standard for private
maritime security companies, making it simpler
and quicker for shipowners," said Sam
Kendall-Marsden, director of the club's
Atlantic Syndicate.
"GUARDCON
was designed with East Africa in mind but
since its inception, the shipping industry's
focus has widened to include piracy off
West Africa," said Mr Kendall-Marsden,
who helped draft the contract.
However,
the East African version was not suitable
for West Africa where armed guards will
operate alongside unarmed security personnel.
This
model has evolved in response to the West
African states restricting the use of private
armed guards in their waters.
"The
contract will provide certainty and make
it simpler and quicker for shipowners to
put in place security arrangements when
in high risk areas off West Africa,"
Mr Kendall-Marsden said.
On
the other hand, British security firm GoAGT's
chief executive Nick Davis said that poorly
trained, locally employed and under-manned
armed security teams are no match for West
African pirates, said.
One
recent fatal incident could have been avoided,
Mr Davis declared as he reviewed the April
29 pirate attack on the 7,654-dwt SP Brussels
en route from Port Harcourt to Lagos off
Nigeria's coast, which resulted in the death
of its chief engineer.
The
crew retreated to the citadel, but chief
engineer and the third officer were cut
off. Two armed guards, having killed the
two pirates in a firefight, later found
the chief dead and the junior officer with
minor injuries.
Said
Mr Davis: "This is a recognised high
risk area. Criminal gangs are well armed
and will stop at nothing. While the Brussels
had a citadel, this can only be effective
if the security team and the crew have trained
hard in anti-piracy and citadel drills."
This
requires a security team that has a thorough
knowledge of the ship and has established
highly effective communications and coordination
procedures with the crew, he said.
"Only
this way will they maintain an effective
lookout that allows all the crew to react
in time and achieve shelter in the citadel,"
said Mr Davis.
The
International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said
the two pirates boarded at dusk undetected
by lookouts, and vessel having little freeboard
was vulnerable to boarding from many points.
The two guards traded fire as the crew took
to the fortified citadel.
This
is the second time SP Brussels was attacked
in Gulf of Guinea, the first incident took
place in December 2012 with five crew taken
hostages and later released safe, apparently
for a ransom.
|
