Ecoterra Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor - Part XVIII. Toward the Countdown

As the escalation is unstoppable, and the limited action taken does not seriously harm or deter the Somali pirates, the chances of a generalized intervention are now stronger. As the recent developments are presented in the Ecoterra Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor - Part XVIII, I republish it integrally.

Ecoterra Intl. – SMCM (Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor). Part XVIII

Ecoterra International – Updates, Statements & Clearinghouse Citations

A Voice from the Truth- & Justice-Seekers, who sit between all chairs, because they are not part of organized white-collar or no-collar-crime in Somalia or overseas, and who neither benefit from global naval militarization, from the illegal fishing and dumping in Somali waters or the piracy of merchant vessels, nor from the booming insurance business or the exorbitant ransom-, risk-management- or security industry, while neither the protection of the sea, the development of fishing communities or the humanitarian assistance to abducted seafarers and their families is receiving the required adequate attention, care and funding.

2009-04-16 23h55:43 UTC

EA Illegal Fishing and Dumping Hotline: +254-714-747090 (confidentiality guaranteed) - email: somalia@ecoterra.net

EA Seafarers Assistance Programme Emergency Helpline: SMS to +254-738-497979 or call +254-733-633-733

"The pirates must not be allowed to destroy our dream!"

Cpt. Florent Lemaçon - F/Y Tanit - killed by attack of French commandos - 10. April 2009

None of the various, local or foreign pirate outfits we like to add -

Clearing-house

News from sea-jackings, abductions or newly attacked ships --------

Status of abducted vessels:

T/B YENEGOA OCEAN - 11 Nigerians still held partly on the tugboat and partly on land nearby at extremely difficult location Hawo (Som.= Xabo). Nigerian Government apparently not able or willing to help. Agreement was reached but owner is not acting. Longest pending case: 8 and a half month !!! A new attempt to mediate is under way.

M/V JAIKUR I - 14 Indians already repatriated. The Somali governmental order also instructs the Mogadishu port authority to sign off and release the remaining one Iraqi, one Filipino and three Pakistani of the original crew, since a replacement crew is in position to hold out with the ship until the dispute is finalized. The embassies of the Philippines, Pakistan and Iraq are helping with the repatriation of the seafarers. Finalization of case expected within the next 4 days.

MT STOLT-STRENGTH - abducted since 10th November 2008. The 23 Filipino crew is desperate. Apparently no negotiations ongoing. The families are appealing now to the Japanese beneficiary owner NISSHIN SHIPPING and its president H. Kurokawa to facilitate mediation for the messed-up negotiations. After over 5 months the Japanese beneficiary owner of the vessel has not even contacted once the families of the seafarers and their pleads have so far remained unanswered. The vessel is currently moving slowly northwards again and the Philippine authorities are now aware of the serious problems the managing owner has in handling that case.

T/B MASINDRA 7 with barge ADM 1 - tension among pirates still high since 3 unsuccessful and ill-advised attempts by the Malaysian owner to fool and force the pirates failed miserably - a situation which allowed a rival gang linked to brokers in Djibouti to take over, which makes any finalization and secure release difficult. 11 Indonesian crew in very poor condition, food and water very scarce. Chief engineer slightly sick.

MT SEA PRINCESS II - Somali businessmen and owner prepared agreed ransom. Final agreement on release modalities expected within coming days. 15 men crew with 8 Indian sailors is feeling slightly better since the vessel returned from being chased by a coastguard militia and they were allowed to call home, but food is scarce.

MV SALDANHA - Negotiations ongoing, 22 crew ok, but food stock declined. Moored near Garacad.

S/Y SERENITY - The fast catamaran is attached to the hijacked Taiwanese FV WIN FAR 161 and kept between Harardheere and Hobyo. 3 men crew with Seychelles nationality are held hostage at different locations on land.

MT NIPAYIA - Negotiations ongoing, vessel moored 6 nm from Garacad, 19 crew ok

MS INDIAN OCEAN EXPLORER - All 7 crew are of Seychelles nationality. Except for one, all crew members were taken off the boat and these 6 sailors are kept now as hostages at different locations on land.

MV HANSA STAVANGER - Due to mock attacks by a naval force the pirates took 20 of the 24 crew from the ship and hold them now as hostages on land. Only 4 essential crew remaining on the vessel. Armed militia went to the vessel to reinforce the strength of the captors. Currently near Harardheere off Hocti Darute. Negotiations stalled but efforts to allow the crew back on the vessel are under way.

FV WIN FAR 161 - The Taiwanese fishing vessel, which had been involved in the attack on MV ALABAMA is said to be moored now 7 nm from Garacad (together with the Catamaran S/Y SERENITY). The crew of 30 (17 Filipinos, six Indonesians, five Chinese and two Taiwanese) is still together and on board. The ship's skipper and first engineer are Taiwanese nationals. The Philippine manning agency serving usually the WIN FAR fleet owned by HSIEN LUNG YIN with address in NO.75, Yu Kang Central 2nd Rd., Chien Jenn District, Kaohsiung City 806, Taiwan says that they have no vessel with such name under contract. (see picture of vessel attached) The 700-ton long-liner has no IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) authorization.

MV MALASPINA CASTLE - Moored now 7 nm from Eyl with her crew of 24 unharmed sailors on board. Negotiations started. The relatives of 16 kidnapped Bulgarian sailors on board have been struggling to receive tit-bits of information, since the company leaves them in the dark.

FV SHUGAA -AL-MADHI - possibly Sudanese FV vessel, reported to have been arrested for illegal fishing on 9th April and detained with 13 crew at Ga'an (east of Lasqoray). Vessel is not IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) authorized. No valid fishing license.

FV MOMTAZ 1 - Egyptian fishing vessel, which is likewise said to be detained for illegal fishing since 10. April. Detained at Ga'an with 18 crew. Vessel is not IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) authorized. No valid fishing license.

Egypt is in contact with Somali clan leaders and local authorities to press for the release of two Egyptian ships captured this week, the Egyptian ambassador to Somalia said. The envoy, Said Morsi, said he hoped the 34 Egyptians on board the fishing vessels "Momtaz 1" and the "Ahmed Samara" would be released within days. Morsi, in remarks published on Egypt's state news agency MENA, said the pirates had not demanded a ransom and were holding the fisherman on board the boat. He said the captors accused the boats of fishing illegally in Somali waters.

FV AHMED SAMARAH - Egyptian fishing vessel, which is likewise said to be detained for illegal fishing since 10. April at Ga'an with 16 crew. Vessel is not IOTC (Indian Ocean Tuna Commission) authorized. No valid fishing license.

T/B BUCANEER with 2 Barges - Held near Ga'an (28 miles from Lasqoray) but due to the barges at offshore location (N 1127 / E 04737) near Cadcado. All 16 crew (10 Italians, 1 Croatian, 5 Romanians) are ok, but part of the crew still held on land. The Italian-flagged and UAE operated tugboat owned by Micoperi Marine Contractors from Italy is now said to have been detained for attempted dumping of toxic waste. International organizations, experts and the UN have been invited to inspect the content of the two barges. The validity of the claim could not yet be established, since the company didn't respond to questions requesting a declaration of the content.

MT AGIA BARBARA: WANTED FOR MURDER Somali pirates and/or crew of 6 Syrians and 6 Indians are wanted for alleged murder in one case and attempted murder in another in conjunction with armed assault concerning the cases of one dead and one surviving, but injured Somali policeman; for theft of cargo, for robbery with violence of firearms; armed assault and forced abduction concerning one agent of businessman and cargo-owner Jama Omar Abdulle; for (at least attempted) piracy and for abduction of the vessel from Mogadishu harbour with some of the fuel-cargo not delivered and 75 tonnes possibly stolen. The fate of a possible third policeman involved is still not yet known. The position and route of the vessel are now roughly known. The small tanker with the IMO number 7616004 and call sign HO4050 flies a Panama flag (possibly now changed). Registered ship owner and manager is WORLD CHAMPION MARINE. The African Union soldiers at Mogadishu harbour together with the harbour master sent the vessel out of the harbour to an outside anchorage because nearby shelling and bombings would have created a disaster, if the tanker would have been hit. The policemen dispatched for security of the vessel were overpowered, bound and thrown overboard. Harbour master, AU spokesman Captain Brigye Bahoku, the Police Commandant as well as other sailors in the harbour confirmed the incident. The Somali Government asks all authorities and naval commands in the region to arrest the crew and secure the vessel. "We are asking any one who is able to locate that ship to seize it for crime, there are murders on board", said police spokesman Abdulahi Hassan Barise.

MV IRENE E.M. with 22 unharmed crew reached Eyl. Will possibly be taken to Garacad.

MV SEA HORSE: Vessel hijacked by three or four skiffs and an unknown number of pirates, east of Mogadishu is identified: IMO Nr.: 7315583, small general cargo vessel of 4,932 gross tonnage (not the large stone carrier as falsely reported and pictured in many media). The1973 built general cargo ship actually flies Togo flag and - though it has as "registered owner" listed MAS MARITIMES SA of Marshall Islands, it is owner-managed by SEALINK SARL of Jdeideh in Lebanon. Vessel was called MV SANIE when it was last inspected. The vessel is not covered by an ITF agreement, has no ITF approved CBA, only substandard accommodation and substandard safety equipment, which already provides difficult circumstances for the normally 21 men strong crew. Captors commandeer her towards Harardheere.

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 18 (19 with an unnamed sole Barge which drifted ashore, 20 with JAIKUR I whose last 4 crew members are still held in Mogadishu harbour) foreign vessels with a total of not less than 311 crew members accounted for (of which 123 are confirmed to be Filipinos) are held in Somali waters and are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) have been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases (for Somalia, incl. presently held ones) and the mistaken sinking of one vessel by a naval force. For 2009 the account stands at 54 averted or abandoned attacks and 16 sea-jackings on the Somali/Yemeni pirate side as well as one wrongful attack by friendly fire on the side of the naval forces. Mystery pirate mother-vessels Athena/Arena and Burum Ocean as well as not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (also 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. In the last four years, 22 missing ships have been traced back with different names, flags and superstructures.

Illegal fishing

After the tuna-long-liner WIN FAR 161 was sea-jacked by Somali captors, who also tried to seize a second vessel of the WIN FAR fleet a further 40 Taiwanese fishing trawlers had sought refuge in harbors in the Seychelles or left the area in the western part of the Indian Ocean altogether, reports said. Most of these vessels are not authorized by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). Also all three sister ships of Win Far returned to the Seychelles after they had reported the hijacking to their company in Kaohsiung, Henry Chen, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan confirmed. Asked if the People's Republic offered help, Chen said no such offer has been made, though China has sent a small flotilla to the Indian Ocean to protect its fishing boats against piracy. Taiwan Long-line Tuna Association chairman Wu Ming-tso rejected suggestions from ship owners that the crews should be allowed to bear arms to defend themselves against pirates. The number of management problems will increase sharply if weapons are allowed on board, Wu said. Taiwanese fishing vessels have repeatedly been hit by crew mutinies, sometimes with fatal results for the skipper. The best policy would be to avoid areas frequented by pirates altogether, and avoid direct confrontation and close contact with ships of uncertain origin, Wu said. The Win Far 161 was the fifth Taiwanese fishing boat seized in the area since 2005

Piracy related news

US-American Captain Richard Phillips arrived in the Kenyan port of Mombassa aboard the USS Bainbridge, the warship behind his rescue last weekend, as the 19 US crew members from his ship, the Maersk Alabama, separately returned home. Mombassa port police commander Ayub Gitonga confirmed Phillips was on the Bainbridge along with a fourth pirate, who survived the rescue operation in which three of his fellow teen-sea-bandits were killed by snipers. Asked whether the pirate, who had surrendered, would be tried in Kenya, Gitonga said: "The decision is yet to be made".

The eleven Somali pirates captured by a French warship on Wednesday are now being taken to Kenya to stand trial. All eleven pirates were captured by the Nivose, a French warship operating as part of a larger EU force that has been assembled to fight piracy in the area. The pirates will be tried under an agreement that had been reached by Kenya and the EU. Two alleged Somali pirates are already suing the German government for what their attorneys claim has been inhumane treatment. The pirates were captured last month by German navy troops after they had allegedly tried to seize a freighter. Their lawyers said they were not part of the group that attacked the freighter but instead were sailing to Yemen to sell arms, the German daily Berliner Zeitung reports. Oliver Wallasch, the lawyer of one defendant, said the German government has ignored this for the sake of a victory in its anti-piracy fight off the coast of Somalia. The alleged pirates have since been transferred to Kenya to be tried there under a judicial agreement between Mogadishu and the European Union. Several EU member states have manned an international anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden. Wallasch said his client was seeking some $13,000 in damages from the German government before a Berlin regional court because his client was transferred to a Kenyan prison and is suffering from inhumane treatment there. Andreas Schulz, the attorney of the second defendant, wants the German government to pay for legal representation in Kenya. Because of the pirates' unclear legal situation in Kenya, more and more German politicians are now calling for the creation of an international piracy court that could deal with detained pirates.

Foreign navies have agreed to protect a vessel installing an undersea high-speed Internet cable from pirates off the coast of Somalia, a Kenyan minister said on Thursday. Sea gangs from lawless Somalia have been increasingly striking the Indian Ocean shipping lanes and strategic Gulf of Aden, capturing dozens of vessels and hundreds of hostages in attacks that have driven up insurance rates. Patrols by Western navies have done little to deter the attacks. Kenyan Information and Communications Minister Samuel Poghisio said the 5,000 km (3,107 miles) fiber optic cable was on course for completion in June. Last month, a government official said the route for the East African Marine Cable (TEAMS) had been shifted an extra 200 km from the coastline for fear of pirates. "These are concerns we have but they are being addressed. We know it will be secure and will land in Mombassa on time", Poghisio said in a statement on Thursday. "The process (of laying the cable) has begun and will probably take two months. It is likely that by the middle of June the ship should be anchoring in Mombassa, or rather delivering the cable to Mombassa", he added. The $130 million cable will link Kenya's coastal town of Mombassa with Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. Kenya has been putting down a terrestrial cable connecting different parts of the country to prepare for the arrival of the marine cable, which could be east Africa's first speedy but cheap telecoms link with the rest of the world. Another undersea project known as SEACOM is also expected to be operational in the second half of 2009 and two others are due to land in 2010 -- the Eastern African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and the France Telecom/Orange Sat3-wasc-Safe cable. East Africa has relied on expensive satellite connections for telephones and Internet. Telecoms operators and outsourcing firms are eagerly awaiting the cable's arrival, which is expected to slash costs and speed up connectivity.

A South Korean destroyer deployed to Somali waters Thursday began operations aimed at escorting the country's commercial vessels, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, reports the Korean Times. Tension is mounting in the region, as pirates have vowed revenge for the thwarting of a recent hijacking by the U.S. navy. The 4,500-ton Munmu the Great, carrying a crew of 300, started escorting a 12,000-ton South Korean cargo vessel, Pine Galaxy, at 8 a.m. (KST) off the coast of Oman, said Col. Lee Hyoung-kook at the JCS overseas troop deployment bureau. It was expected to take 13 hours for the destroyer to escort the commercial vessel westward along the 790-kilometer-long Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor to the coast off Djibouti, Lee told reporters. The destroyer is able to protect up to six vessels at a time but will normally escort one to three ships, he said. About 500 South Korean cargo ships sail throughout the piracy-stricken Gulf of Aden every year, and some 150 of them are categorized as vulnerable to hijacking given their size and speed, he added.

Lee said the recent surge in pirate attacks in the region poses a threat but voiced confidence the South Korean unit is ready to deal with any contingency. "We have trained with various situations in mind. We're optimally ready", said the colonel. Last month, the South Korean Navy dispatched the Cheonghae Unit to the coast off Somalia, the first-ever overseas naval deployment for combat. The Korean contingent consists of the KDX-II destroyer, a Lynx anti-submarine helicopter, rigid inflatable speedboats (RIBs) and 30 UDT/SEAL forces and an explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) team among its personnel. The KDX-II destroyer is equipped with a Mk. 45 127mm gun, Harpoon ship-to-surface missiles, RAM Mk 31 ship-to-air guided missiles, a 30mm Goalkeeper system for engaging sea-skimming anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. The 150-meter-long, 17-meter-wide ship, built in 2003, is able to sail at a top speed of 29 knots.

Anti-piracy measures

Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said today in Nairobi his government had identified many pirate leaders but needed more resources to go after them. Sharmarke told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that he was willing to share that information on pirate leaders with other governments. He said he planned to fight the bandits by building up military forces and establishing intelligence gathering posts along Somalia’s coastline. But it’s not clear how that can really take place, since his government controls only a few square blocks of the capital, Mogadishu, with the help of African peacekeepers.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced a four-point plan to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia.
The plan includes:
+ Working with partners at an international Somali peacekeeping and development meeting to help Somalia develop the capacity to police its territory;
+ Developing an "expanded multinational response" to piracy;
+ Pressing Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and regional leaders in Puntland to take action against pirates; and
+ Working with shipping and insurance companies to "address gaps in their self-defense measures".

No real peace in sight

Witnesses said armed gunmen opened fire on a Toyota Hilux Surf that commander Sharif Mohamud Hassan better known as Kariye was driving on the Factory Street in Mogadishu and he died instantly. The commander and one of his security guards were killed in the attack. Sources say that commander was targeted because he refused al-Shabab Islamists to fire mortars in many places in the capital. Elsewhere a roadside bomb targeted a convoy of AMISOM troops in Mogadishu but no casualties have been reported. A member of Somalia's newly expanded parliament was shot and killed Wednesday in the country's capital Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reports. MP Abdullahi Isse Abtidon, who joined the Somali parliament in January, died at the scene after a group of suspected insurgents shot him, parliament officials said.

The Somali parliament's second Deputy Speaker, Mr. Osman Elmi Boqorre, confirmed the death and sent condolences to the family of the victim. It is the first time a Somali MP was killed in Mogadishu since the Transitional Federal Parliament was doubled to 550 MPs to include an Islamist-led opposition faction last January. Two Somali lawmakers were wounded in Mogadishu in separate incidents this month alone. In 2008, two lawmakers were gunned down in the southwestern town of Baidoa, where the parliament was then based. No group has claimed responsibility for killing MP Abtidon yet, but insurgents issued death threats to government officials and wounded Interior Minister Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali Omar last month. Islamist rebels have rejected the new Government of National Unity, led by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, former head of Somalia's Islamic Courts movement. The rebels have demanded the withdrawal of African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM), who protect government facilities in Mogadishu. The Islamic Courts splintered into several factions in 2007, with two groups in particular - Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam - calling for a new war against President Sheikh Sharif's interim government. The newly expanded government, which has a two-year mandate, is the 15th attempt to restore national order since civil war erupted in 1991.

Impacting news from the global village

A Danish national was secretly questioned by US agents in Africa while his family were left to think he was dead, reports the respected Copenhagen Post. A Danish citizen, who was being held by Ethiopian security forces, was secretly interrogated by US authorities in Africa back in 2007. It is the first time someone has confirmed that the Danish authorities were aware of the US rendition program, where prisoners were allegedly transported secretly across borders and interrogated without legal representation. In an interview with Politiken newspaper, ‘Allan’ spoke of how he had traveled to Somalia to support an armed uprising by the Islamic Courts Union – an organization intent on returning Sharia law to the country. The 36-year-old Danish Muslim convert was captured by Ethiopian forces at the start of 2007 and for more than a month was subjected to daily interrogations by US agents. According to Politiken, it was the US authorities that alerted their Danish counterparts to Allan’s whereabouts, but it was two months before the Danes could gain access to Allan in his Ethiopian cell.

During this time he had no access to legal representatives or contact with his family, who believed he had died. Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller has in the past denied any knowledge of alleged US secret rendition prisons and said that in this particular case the Danish government had done nothing wrong. "At no time did this particular prisoner tell the Foreign Ministry that he had been abused, restrained or transported by the Americans. As a result I have not done anything in particular about the American issue in my domestic political contacts", said Møller in a written response. According to Anders Ladekarl of the Danish Red Cross, this case highlights that the US was hiding and interrogating prisoners without affording them their rights. "If the Danish government was aware of the case, it also holds a moral responsibility", said Ladekarl, adding that the US should have informed the Danes of Allan’s location immediately. "You can’t just let people disappear for months at a time. If that happens, we are destroying everything our civilisation is built on". Allan was later questioned by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET), but no charges were brought against him. Neither PET nor the Justice Ministry would comment on the reasons for his release. Allan now lives in the West African country of Mauritania with his family.

Press Contacts:

ECOP-marine
East-Africa
+254-714-747090
marine@ecop.info
www.ecop.info

ECOTERRA Intl.
Nairobi Node
africanode@ecoterra.net
+254-733-633-733

EA Seafarers Assistance Programme
SAP Media Officers
+254-722-613858
+254-733-385868
sap@ecoterra.net

End of the Ecoterra Press Release

Note
Picture: MT STOLT-STRENGTH - abducted since 10th November 2008
From: http://www.odin.tc/pics/stoltstrength.jpg