PIRATES - Gulf of Aden (Sunday 22 June)

[sugar and spice]

The US Sixth Fleet currently has a task force specifically targeting piracy in that area.

Its a BIG Ocean with lots of little boats.



Am I sailing, no........I am currently sitting in the desert
Al Taqaddum, Iraq

[sandy daugherty]

If the conditions continue to exist that propagate piracy, then piracy will propagate continuously. Its like killing cockroaches by stepping on them. Very satifying, but but completely futile.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by sugar and spice

The US Sixth Fleet currently has a task force specifically targeting piracy in that area.

6th Fleet is in the Med. 5th Fleet has a task force (CTF 150) in "that area". I think it's wrong to say they're "specifically targeting piracy" as anti-piracy is only a small part of what they do, and it is not their raison d'etre.

Kevin

[GordMay]

As Lodesman indicates, the U.S. 5TH Fleet's area of responsibility encompasses about 7.5 million square miles and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean. This expanse, comprised of 27 countries, includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.
http://www.cusnc.navy.mil/mission/index.html

The U.S. 6TH Fleet’s AOR is the Mediterranean.

[cooper]

Lodesman...tell us what you know ! You have a huge amount of information that I would not be able to access. THE most important thing to a "cruising yacht site" is serious advice for travel. Debate over safety is interesting. But for the yacht that is accessing this web site, trying to make decisions on its passage ...what is the advice that you have ? Noon site seems to be more relevant to the traveling yacht.

[Lodesman]

Cooper,

You have access to more info than you think. Anything else I have access to can't be put out in public; and I'm very careful about not saying anything that isn't already in the public domain. Not that it matters - there's nothing I could give that would be of more use to cruisers than what is already available. Noonsite is an excellent reference. I also recommend visiting these sites: http://www.secure-marine.com/piracy_update.pdf
http://www.rncom.mod.uk/uploadedFile...027_8Jun06.pdf
and http://www.cargolaw.com/presentation...l#type_attacks as well as the IMB piracy reporting page. There's also some good advice on CF http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...plan-1683.html
That said, there is no absolute defence other than not sailing there. The pirates have evolving tactics, and the situation changes often enough that what works today may not tomorrow. But the basic advice should remain more or less the same. IMB recommends staying 200 NM off the Somali coast (the East coast), but in the same report they state that pirate attacks have occured up to 300 NM off the coast - so I would avoid by at least that. Don't go through the Socotra archipelago but avoid it by at least 100 NM. The current advice is to stay 35-40 NM off the Yemen coast - any closer and you'll be running into the fishing fleets which have their own hazards. I would add that you can see the major hotspots for piracy on the IMB page, and I would plan to transit those areas at night, either with no lights or lit like a Yemeni fishing vessel. I suggest participating in the voluntary reporting schemes. You can read all sorts of advice on the web, but in the end it's up to you to make your own mind up about what tactics to use. I'd make comments on active countermeasures, but I don't want the discussion to degenerate into a pro vs anti gun rant. Hope this helps.

Kevin

[cooper]

Thanks......

[Alondra]

The fishing fleet Lodesman is referring to is more the fishing nets. Stay out of the shallow area, generally used for fishing nets as displayed on the charts. The (yemenite) fishing boats itself are harmless asking you only for water and food but can be a little annoying. Further stay close to the yemen coast and travel in convoy, avoind radio contact (use ony 2watt) and keep sight of each other. Only sailing by night is impossible as the ditances between ports is to far.

[cat man do]

Some stories I read recently

PDRM hands over seized ship to Indonesian police (not G of A)

Pirates seize MISC tanker off Somalia's coast

Pirates hijack MISC tanker

MISC tanker on way to pirates' port of Eyl

Global piracy attacks up 20%

Zero-piracy in Straits of Malacca (not G of A)

Dave

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Alondra

Only sailing by night is impossible as the ditances between ports is to far.

I didn't say "only sail at night." If you look at the IMB incident map, you'll see that the bulk of the recent attacks are concentrated in a relatively small area at the mouth of the GoA - my suggestion was to plan to go through as much of that little area, as is possible, at night-time. This specifically reduces the chance that you will be seen and targeted by pirates. There is no indication that the pirates use sophisticated means to track targets, like using radio direction-finding equipment. So your transmission wattage is less important than minding what you say - that is, don't give your position over the radio or leak any information that would tend to indicate where you will be travelling.

[cat man do]

I was just reading this story

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/28/wo...tml?ref=africa

Pirates Seek $35 Million for Ship


NAIROBI, Kenya —Pirates in a hijacked ship carrying more than 30 battle tanks were anchored off the coast of Somalia near a notorious pirate den on Saturday, and they vowed not to release the ship until a $35 million ransom was paid, Somali and Kenyan officials said.
<snip>
According to Mohamed Osman Aden, a Somali diplomat in Kenya, the hijacked ship, a Ukrainian-owned vessel, was headed on Saturday afternoon to Xarardheere, on the barren Somali coast. Xarardheere is an isolated fishing village that has thrived on organized crime and has frequently been used as a pirate hide-out and a place to keep seized ships.

Where along that bit of inhospitable coastline do you hide a ship?

Xarardheere - Google Maps

Some more stories, sounds like a spot to avoid

US destroyer watching hijacked ship off Somalia


Piracy booming along key shipping hub


Ethiopia very concerned over level of piracy


Yemen establishes anti-piracy unit





Dave

[Conrad30]

I imagine the russian battle cruiser on its way will recover the ship quite easily.

[cat man do]

Wow, just read another story

Pirates release Bunga Melati Lima


NAIROBI: Somali pirates have released the Malaysian tanker Bunga Melati Lima following the payment of a US$2 million (RM6.87 million) ransom.
However, they have seized a Greek chemical tanker in the notorious Gulf of Eden as well as an Ukrainian freighter carrying weaponry.

Somali pirates are now holding some 15 ships and are attacking further out to sea and on two fronts to evade international security, said Noel Choong, the head of the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre.

"Despite the increase in security patrols by the coalition forces in the Gulf of Aden, we are still receiving reports of attacks and hijacks," said Choong.

He warned ships to be on alert even if sailing in the security corridor patrolled by United States-led coalition forces.
A Malta-flagged Iranian oil tanker, a massive vessel the size of a football pitch, had a narrow escape after being pursued by pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades.

<snip> more here

Pirates release Bunga Melati Lima

I wonder if the Russian and Yank Naval ships will have a shootout and get the other 15 ships while getting the one with the tanks

Dave

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by Conrad30

I imagine the russian battle cruiser on its way will recover the ship quite easily.

On the face of it, who could disagree?

However, you have a ship, cargo and captured crew to be concerned about. No warship can arrive on the scene of a pirated ship and start shooting as Kenya wants it's battle tanks, the ship owners want their ship back, and none of the crew wish to be killed.

Hasn't anyone noticed that the size of the ships they are attacking are getting larger? Whatever deterrents against piracy that are being deployed clearly aren't working.

Warships are great if they appear before the pirates attack. They might be more effective if instead of heading for a captued ship, they head for one of Somalia's ports and begin sinking suspected Pirate ships (tagged in advance by aircraft) at anchor. The Pirates will definately get the message.

[Chiroeurope]

Lithium Hydride is a very simple solution. Only getting the UN and members of th IMB/WTO to give permission to use it is another story completely.

Having spoken recently to a chief on a Merchant vessel the rules right now for them is avoid A of G when ever possible and stay 200 NM off of Nigeria at all times unless arriving at a Nigerian port (than it is straight in and out with NO liberty for anyone).

So Lithium Hydride but be the cheapest, quickest, and most direct solution the world has for this problem. I am sure the Russians have one or two of these devices they would not mind legally disposing of.

Michael