Pirates

[alexsa]

Good day

I agree more nneds to be done but many mechanisms are in place (or will be in place soon) from the maritime regulatory perspective.

The situation in Somalia probably prevents this from being feasable but theoretically this is how I think it could be done:
1. All vessels in the area be required by law to have a GPS beacon fitted to allow them to be tracked at all times. Security access codes etc...to counter theft..

You will need to clarify what you mean by a GPS tracker. LRIT (Long range international tracking) came into effect on the 1st of January 2009 by virtue of SOLAS V/19.1, however, a transitional period has been granted until the 1st of July 2009. This requires each state to have a tracking system in palce for its vessels and this information is available to coastal states when vessel are inther waters. It is quite convaluted due to the politics of the issue but it is in place now. Most use INMARSAT C polling for this purpose and the mesage includes GPS information. In fact all vessel on international trade now have GNS systems fitted.

2. Continual overlapping maritime airborne surveillance of the area to police the program.

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This would appear to be ramping up.

3. Put in place various rules for all vessels, for example, no vessel may pass within 1km of another without prior authorisation. Any vessel which does is confiscated..

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You need to take a look at UNCLOS. The merchant vessels are on innocent passage and trying to penalise a vessel for undertaking legal passage will only work if the UN (and IMO) agree to changes to current conventions. I think this is a non starter.

4. Quick response naval units available to respond if a vessel is reported with no GPS beacon or has broken the anti piracy law.

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Again you are picking on the victim. See above.

If this isn't feasable due to the reported lack of law/infrastructure then another solution is to have a team of marines on every ship.

You need to cost this one out. The reason it is so hard to police is the number of vessels passing through this area. The cost of putting 'marines' on each vessel will be prohibitive.

The solution appears to be best sought in building appropratie UN resolutions to allow effective action and have the assets to deal with it. This is slowing coming into effect. Attempting to penailise vessels operating within current legisaltive requirements is nonsense and will not carry through IMO.

In respect to taking undue risk I would suggest marine underwriters are already dealing with this as the ransom claim inevitably falls to them (or the P&I club depending on the nature of the insurance carried).

 

[alexsa]

Sorry second time I have done this tonight.

LRIT is LONG RANGe IDETIFICATION and TRACKING. Please excuse the brain spasism.

A bit more info for those that are interested:

http://www.imo.org/TCD/mainframe.asp?topic_id=905

http://www.amsa.gov.au/Shipping_Safety/Vessel_Tracking/LRIT.asp

http://www.lrit.com/

 

[John Sansom]

Hi, Alexsa....and I thought a comment is deserved re the selection of merchantmen by Somali pirates...pre-ordained, as it were.

A pirate spokesman has already proudly announced tthat his folk are organized internationally when it comes to negotiating ransoms and for general "administration" purposes, Conceivably, then, this could include a "pre-ordination" ability. A nasty little thought, I know, but not unlikely.

 

[black shark]

Good day

I agree more nneds to be done but many mechanisms are in place (or will be in place soon) from the maritime regulatory perspective.



You will need to clarify what you mean by a GPS tracker. LRIT (Long range international tracking) came into effect on the 1st of January 2009 by virtue of SOLAS V/19.1, however, a transitional period has been granted until the 1st of July 2009. This requires each state to have a tracking system in palce for its vessels and this information is available to coastal states when vessel are inther waters. It is quite convaluted due to the politics of the issue but it is in place now. Most use INMARSAT C polling for this purpose and the mesage includes GPS information. In fact all vessel on international trade now have GNS systems fitted.

.

This would appear to be ramping up.

.

You need to take a look at UNCLOS. The merchant vessels are on innocent passage and trying to penalise a vessel for undertaking legal passage will only work if the UN (and IMO) agree to changes to current conventions. I think this is a non starter.

.

Again you are picking on the victim. See above.




You need to cost this one out. The reason it is so hard to police is the number of vessels passing through this area. The cost of putting 'marines' on each vessel will be prohibitive.

The solution appears to be best sought in building appropratie UN resolutions to allow effective action and have the assets to deal with it. This is slowing coming into effect. Attempting to penailise vessels operating within current legisaltive requirements is nonsense and will not carry through IMO.

In respect to taking undue risk I would suggest marine underwriters are already dealing with this as the ransom claim inevitably falls to them (or the P&I club depending on the nature of the insurance carried).

With regards to the GPS - not sure what system I just thought GPS of some sort. Your knowledge on this gets my vote.

With regards to my suggestions around tracking, rules, confiscation etc. I was refering to the Somalian vessels first and foremost, with some assumed cooperation from the shipping companies based on the resulting improvement in security and reduction of shipping costs (of alternative routes).

The costs of having teams of marines on merchant ships might be covered by countries of origin if the shipping companies can convince their governments that they need defending as citizens.

 

[somalia]

umm

Piracy isnt that complicated of a issue to talk about, and to be honest i have a solution, think of the militas fighting each others as there own small "governemnt", they control and govern the territory they hold. Right now there is already one major government called "somaliland" look it up if you don't really know much about it, anyway somaliland has there own small navy and an airforce along with an army with about 30,000 personal, the thing is that they are not international reconized so they don't recieve proper aid in fighting against pirates...yes you heard right, somaliland fights against pirates, now they may not have that strong of a influence, but the way they fight against pirates is that they offer them jobs and a new hope. Pirates use to be fishermen who were driven out of there industry by compaines illegaly fishing off the somali coast, so where else do they turn? Now my theory is that why not give somaliland power of all of somalia, WITHOUT ethiopian help, and the reason i empathize without ethiopian help is because ethiopia is a land locked country just trying to use somalia as there own port. Anyway hopefully if my dream of a united somalia comes true it will be run by a islamic government (the reason i say islamic is because somalia is mostly a muslim country) and this government hopefully will be international reconized so they can recieve aid and build up a proper military along with jobs for the pirates.

P.S. Hopefully if i find the beautiful picture i once saw of a somalian mig 21 flying over the ocean i will post it and you will understand.

 

[alexsa]

. Pirates use to be fishermen who were driven out of there industry by compaines illegaly fishing off the somali coast, so where else do they turn? Now my theory is that why not give somaliland power of all of somalia, WITHOUT ethiopian help, and the reason i empathize without ethiopian help is because ethiopia is a land locked country just trying to use somalia as there own port. .

It would still appear that you are trying to blame someone else. The situation in somalia is quite grim I agree but the pirate are well organised and (now) well funded. It is a little more than bereft fihermen.

 

[Feanor]

P.S. Hopefully if i find the beautiful picture i once saw of a somalian mig 21 flying over the ocean i will post it and you will understand.

Go ahead and find the picture. However I seriously doubt posting an attractive picture will convince anyone.

In any event, you have a valid point in there that's not being brought to light. Piracy is a symptom of a larger problem. The fact that Somalia is essentially a failed state. If the social conditions were not conducive to piracy, it would be much less common, and much easier to deal with.

 

[John Sansom]

Here's the problem, Alexsa. Nobody can "give" another country authority over its own citizens or loosely related groupings. How would it be done with Somalia?

I kind of suspect that the pirate "communities" are relatively happy with the way things are, even paying somebody a "tax" in order to be left alone. As I noted a few posts back, a pirate spokesman boasted of having administrative clout over a pretty broad spectrum, even to the point of having international representative agencies.

Some have suggested hitting these guys at home; that is, bringing the mailed fist to bear on their onshore facilities. I wasn't originally a fan of this approach, but my mind is changing. Or maybe it's being changed by an apparent intensification of pirate activity. Or maybe that apparent intensification is really a manifestation of the prevention activities by various navies.

 

[dragonfire]

Indian Fisherman killed by Pirates

This is getting worse - Although a ship is very costly and ship owners are rich the mariners mostly are poor and often the sole bread winners of their families. These pirates shouldnt kill if their objectives are to earn ransoms - then they shd stick to tht -killing is going to create trouble for them
--
Indian fisherman killed by pirates off Saudi Arabia coast
Chennai (IANS): A 38-year-old Indian operator of a small fishing craft in Saudi Arabia has been shot dead by pirates, family sources said on Monday. The victim, Diyanson, was from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200901191380.htm

 

[John Sansom]

Assuming this report is correct, please put me on the list of those supporting assaults on the pirates' home ports and onshore installations.
Acknowledging, however, that these nasty little people still hold hostages, perhaps ramping up the aggression factor offshore may encourage them to think twice. Go get e'm, guys.

 

[funtz]

Indian Fishermen have been fired on by our own neighbouring nations, that too without warning, and many have also been detained for a long time, as we have also detained fishermen from other nations fishing in our waters.

NAGAPPATTINAM: Two Indian fisherman were killed when a Sri Lankan Navy vessel allegedly opened fire on their fishing boat, a survivor of the incident said here on Saturday.

The bodies of the fishermen were brought ashore after K Murali, a fisherman injured in the shooting in the wee hours of Saturday, tipped off relatives on a mobile phone that his mates S Vasagan and N Narayanswamy were killed in "unprovoked" firing by the Sri Lankan Navy in the Palk Straits.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1177281

The death is tragic, it always is, i hope people take precaution and do not go near somalian waters for fishing, life is more important.

 

[alexsa]

This is getting worse - Although a ship is very costly and ship owners are rich the mariners mostly are poor and often the sole bread winners of their families. These pirates shouldnt kill if their objectives are to earn ransoms - then they shd stick to tht -killing is going to create trouble for them ......
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200901191380.htm

Not all ship owners are rich. The current economic pinch combined with the fact the industry is coming off a peak means many ship owners are under considerable financial stress (some of it self imposed).

The risk hers is that some lower tier ship owners will simply not have the ready cash (or desire) to apy the ransom and you may find the situaton where the ship (and its crew) are smply left in the hands of the pirates which is hardly a desirable situaion.

If you doubt this is possible then have a look at the instances of ships being arrested by virtue of an action in rem and simply being abandoned by operators.

Here's the problem, Alexsa. Nobody can "give" another country authority over its own citizens or loosely related groupings. How would it be done with Somalia?

Hi John. I have not suggested this as a solution so I am a little perplexed by the response. The domestic laws of the warships involved are also relevant as they must also act in accordance with those. The internaional communitiy can only react in a more forward and intrusive manner with the sanction of the UN and this is slowing evolving as the problem is now well and truely ion the international stage. With increased naval presence and better UN resolutions the situation will hopefully improve but only while the Naval units remain. The only long term solution is to fix the Somalia issue ......... not a simple task.

It should be recognised that ships crews (not all of them poor and bereft) have been putting up with being shot at for quite some time (notibly in SE Asia, West coast of Africa and some places in South America) as well as violent robbery. There has also been some suggestion that the military of some larger countries may have facilitated (not stopped) the theft of cargoes (Have a look at the Petro Ranger incident). This ongoing problem has not raised the level of international awareness or action.

The issue here is that the action is concentrated, very violent, against large vessels and is for ransom rather than simple theaft so the incident is not over quickly. I would add that it is also astride one of the worlds major shipping routes, however, piracy in the Malacca Straits is no different. The one significant difference is that Malyasia and Singapore actively patrol their waters

 

[swerve]

There has also been some suggestion that the military of some larger countries may have facilitated (not stopped) the theft of cargoes (Have a look at the Petro Ranger incident).

The Chang Sheng incident appears to have caused higher-ups in China to clamp down on the local authorities who seem to have been abetting piracy. They went too far: killing the entire 23-man crew, including CCP members, of a Chinese ship was a mistake - and I expect that someone high up also got concerned about the damage to Chinese business & trade.

The leader of the Chang Sheng pirates implicated a friend of ex-president of Indonesa Soeharto, in his trial in China. Perhaps the change of regime in Indonesia has been part of the cause of declining piracy in Indonesian waters.

 

[John Sansom]

Thanks for the clarification, Alexsa...and, I must admit, I was starting to confuse myself.

Perhaps that's a common and expected result when we (namely, me) start to entangle fact with speculation on policy and subsequent action. I can't believe I'm not alone in this, so perhaps the simplest and most direct approach is the best.

Given the extraordinarily sophisticated surveillance methods available today, forces in the area should have a detailed and comprehensive (and shared) picture of the situation; a picture which should be contributing enormously to co-ordinated corrective action.

Here's the question: Is there full co-operation on the basis of openly shared intelligence between the various nations with assets in theatre?

 

[alexsa]

The leader of the Chang Sheng pirates implicated a friend of ex-president of Indonesa Soeharto, in his trial in China. Perhaps the change of regime in Indonesia has been part of the cause of declining piracy in Indonesian waters.

I would question the suggestion there has been a decline in Indonesian waters over the last 20 years due to a change in Regime in 1998. In fact up until 2006 incidents were still on the rise in SE asia. The figures in the attached link are quite dated but give a good idea of the trend:

http://home.wanadoo.nl/m.bruyneel/archive/modern/figures.htm

For more up to date informtion the IMO piracty reports are very useful but you need to combine the data to ascertain trends.

If anything the current president Yudiono may have had more to do with it (he has been on a strong anti corrupotion drive) when combined with active patrolling from neighbouring states.

It remains to be seen if the current anti corruption drive will pay dividens inthe long run but (from my own experaince) some still consider the kick pack as a pay supplement. Most officies are poorly apid and turning a blind eye or providing information to pirates provides additional income.

 

[gf0012-aust]

If anything the current president Yudiono may have had more to do with it (he has been on a strong anti corrupotion drive) when combined with active patrolling from neighbouring states.

Yudhoyono has been effective in some areas. eg he recently replaced a ground forces commander in Sunda Island. That commander was considered to be acting like a warlord and was even buying military equipment without going through the normal processes - ie he was considered to be setting up his own army. He was removed and placed into another command spot. The common view was that this commander was taking kickbacks if not funding some of the Malaccan pirate attacks.

In the last year, major vessel attacks have gone down - so there may well be a relationship of association.

 

[John Sansom]

All this begs the question: How stable is the Yuhoyono presidency...and what kind of resistance has been building up as a result of his reforms? For instance, I would imagine that the re-asssigned area commander is not too pleased with his new job and may have friends and "business" acquaintances who might like to see a return to the status quo ante.

 

[Feanor]

Here's an interesting piece I found. The Bazalt government research-production group received an order to outfit a civilian vessel with defences in case of a pirate attack.

http://arms-tass.su/?page=article&aid=65342&cid=25

It says that the request came through Rosoboroneksport. It doesn't mention the country, only that it's a country from the Malaysian region. It says that the defences may be based on the RPG-64.

Rather lacking in detail but possibly a trend starter. What do you guys think?

 

[riksavage]

Most international shipping companies and private yacht owners over a certain size are required to take pro-active measures against piracy as laid out in the ISPS code regulations. this includes safe rooms, contingency plans and emergency reporting procedures in the event of an attack.

Unfortunately most commercial vessels operate with minimal crews. The larger international companies employ private maritime security providers in the Gulf of Aden and/or the Malacca Straits, but these due to cost tend to be pretty small (2 x watches 1 or 2 men per watch). Most tend to be armed with either L-RAD or M-RAD acoustic devices because these can be carried without the need for a firearms licence. Bringing weapons on board a ship causes huge legal problems when transiting between ports. In the Malacca Straits this is extremely rare unless you operate an escort service on a separate vessel and return to the same port were you have the appropriate licenses / agreements with the host Government.

In areas off the Gulf of Aden most private teams buy weapons in Aden (RPD'S AK47's), and once the escort is complete try and return there or risk having to dump the kit over board. Even with AK's / RPD's you will still be out gunned by the average Somali Pirate who my out number you and have RPG's in their arsenal.

At the end of the day the best solution is that provided by Governments as seen now in the Gulf. A coordinated response, which allows for robust action. The only real concern is what to do with the Pirates once you arrest them? There's even talk about setting up a court in Kenya to deal with the issue under international law.

Governments are already looking at upgrading resources, The UK for example following the Cornwall debacle and previous incidents where crews have been killed are buying 40 armed and armoured riverine craft to try and increase the odds. Link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7846086.stm

Moving forward in Asia (and assuming the credit crunch is only temporary) we can expect to see increased numbers of super-yachts being berthed in new mariners under construction in Thailand, Singapore and elsewhere. These offer very rich pickings for pirates because they tend to carry large amounts of cash and high-end valuables owned by the wealthy proprietor. This potentially target rich environment makes the risk worth the reward.

 

[alexsa]

Most international shipping companies and private yacht owners over a certain size are required to take pro-active measures against piracy as laid out in the ISPS code regulations. this includes safe rooms, contingency plans and emergency reporting procedures in the event of an attack..

Where did you find the requirement for 'safe rooms' in the ISPS Code? are you are referring to secure areas?

By the way only part A of the code is mandatory (by virtue of SOLAS), Part B is recomendatory.