January 2009 – The Somali Piracy Records. V – A New Pirate-Guantanamo-Bay in Kenya?

Should we expect a New Pirate-Guantanamo-Bay to be set up in Kenya? This dreadful possibility and many other issues are discussed in the Ecoterra 114th Press Release Update of which I herewith publish excerpts.

114th Update 2009-01-19 20h41:53 UTC

Ecoterra Intl. - Stay Calm & Solve it Peaceful & Fast !

Ecoterra International – Update & Media Release on the stand-off concerning the Ukrainian weapons-ship hi-jacked by Somali pirates and related news.

We also can make sea-piracy in Somalia an issue of the past - with empathy and strength and through coastal and marine development as well as protection!

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Day 117 - 2790 long hours into the MV FAINA Crisis - Update Summary

Efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the now nearly four months long stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA is not yet solved, though contacts and some form of negotiations are said to have continued.

Reuters and subsequently the Kyiv Post - a Ukrainian newspaper - had reported over the bad situation on MV FAINA. Now, on the Ukrainian Governmental website the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry refutes as untrue reports about critical condition of seven crewmembers of the Ukrainian ship seized by Somali pirates. According to the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Vasyl Kyrylych, reports about the critical condition of seven crewmembers of the MV FAINA, a Ukrainian ship seized by Somali pirates, are untrue. He referred to the following statement: "Seven of the MV FAINA's crew have become sick and we are planning to take Somali doctors to treat these crew on the ship", businessman Osman Farah, who has dealings with the pirates, told Reuters on Saturday. "Rashes have appeared on their bodies, and they are suffering diarrhoea. Some have high blood pressure. We do not exactly know the disease, but we think the chemicals of the weapons on the ship have affected them", he said. The minister's spokesman, however, admitted: "Of course, the stay [of the crewmembers] in one cabin for 116 days cannot improve their condition. It is impossible to feel healthy in this situation. However, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's reports, the condition of our countrymen is not as critical as it is reported by certain media", he said. Kyrylych noted that negotiations are being currently held with the pirates and work is being carried out to take an official photo of all crewmembers and get into contact with them by phone.

The ministry's utterances were immediately also copied by Russian media like RIA Novosti, who stated in addition: "But, according to Ukraine's charge d'affairs in Kenya, their health is not as it was described by some media, as the ministry's spokesman had said". The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Volodymyr Ogryzko, who had to correct himself already three times concerning his release predictions and the level of ransom agreements published on official governmental websites - and therefore looked for scapegoats to blame - could not be reached for comment. Fact is that Volodymyr Ogryzko neither did ever bother to establish the truth on the ground himself nor did he receive a delegation of family members, who did seek an audience with him. And fact is also that the acting captain himself stated to AFP that "half the crew is sick and the other half goes mad". How can the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Ogryzko, who is preoccupied with his still unresolved gaz-wars, possibly can come to a truthful remote medical diagnosis? We again demand from both sides that access to the crew for independent medics is allowed and facilitated.

Intimidations of crew and families as expressed in a letter apparently received by the acting captain from Moscow must stop.

There is no limit to what a person can do or how far one can go to help - if one doesn't mind who gets the credit !

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Though the so called international community has - at least in terms of people with official functions - developed over the years into a mostly help- and hopeless bunch of hypocrites, the international humanitarian community must step in here and provide for an independent and unbiased, selfless force to solve the stale-mate and end the human suffering on MV FAINA. The Somali as well as the Ukrainian/Russian/Israeli sides must come to terms now and set the innocent seafarers free with first priority! And in order to avoid the destruction of the vessel and its cargo by anybody as well as the subsequent humanitarian, health and environmental horror-scenario, such can only be achieved together with the release of the ship, where also the body of deceased Cpt. Vladimir Kolobkov is still kept.

The MV FAINA is one of at least 49 ships that pirates seized last year off the Horn of Africa during a surge in piracy driven in part by Somalia's growing poverty and instability. The multimillion dollar ransoms are believed by many to be one of the only ways to "make money" in the impoverished nation. But while the many cases of sea-jacked merchant vessels on innocent passage (sailing even outside the EEZ e.g. in the Indian Ocean) constitutes clear piracy, Somali actions against illegal fishing or against any transport of illegitimate or clandestine goods has a legal standing. Ecoterra advocates to end all destructive, detrimental, criminal and illegal activities in Somali waters.

Mr. Vadim Alperin (alias Vadim Oltrena Alperin, aka Vadim Galperin), a businessman from Odessa with an Israeli passport, was named in the Ukrainian parliament as the real owner of the vessel, while Mr. Viktor Murenko is believed to act as the managing proprietor of TOMEX and operator of the vessel from Odessa / Ukraine with Mrs. E. Kopitsyna as executive director.

Ecoterra Intl. demands immediate humanitarian assistance to be allowed, facilitated and dispatched to the vessel, and calls for human rights protection to be provided for all crew members, their families in Russia and Ukraine as well as for all well-meaning people assisting in solving the case, which have been subjected already to serious threats, acts of intimidation and persecution.

Ecoterra Intl. repeats its call to solve the FAINA case now with absolute top priority and peaceful in order to avert a human and environmental disasters at the Somali coast. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed by the captors and facilitated by the owners. Anybody encouraging hot-headed and concerning such difficult situations inexperienced and untrained gunmen or those, who believe they would be capable to try an attempt of a military solution, must be held fully responsible for the surely resulting disaster. The saga and secrecy surrounding MV FAINA must not - like in the MS ESTONIA case, which is the worst naval disaster in Europe since WWII - become the shroud for its 20 seafarers.

Clearing-house:

News from other abducted or newly attacked ships --

Games Crazy People Play: Kidnapping, Pirating, and War - Naval War-games to protect Fish-piracy and to cover the real agenda

The vessel, sea-jacked two days ago in the Gulf of Aden, - but reported nowhere else so far - actually is a fuel transporter, who was destined for Boosaaso, marine observers on the ground learned. The Indian ship coming from Oman or UAE is now being held north of Eyl and a dispute has erupted between a wealthy Somali businessman, who is said to own the fuel consignment, the pirates and the local forces from the Puntland government. In addition, an Indian Dhow has been reported as abducted earlier in the same area.

MV CHEMSTAR VENUS has been taken now also to Ga'ba, just 10 nm north of Eyl. The captors on this vessel are a specifically unruly, aggressive and poorly lead gang. They so far also failed to adhere to certain humanitarian requests and demands by their elders.

George, brother of Palaswamy Sarvanan who hails from Tamil Nadu - one of the 3 Indian hostages abducted from a vessel belonging to Southern Engineering Ltd. of Alpha Group in Kenya - said the pirates were holding three Indians hostage after setting free eight Kenyan sailors. "We were informed about the incident a day after the vessel was hijacked. After that, we have not heard from the company or the government. The company has declined to pay any ransom", he claimed. The wife of the maritime technician, Siva, met city commissioner of police N Sambasiva Rao and urged him to use his good offices to find the whereabouts of her husband. "We were told about the abduction by the company on January 9 and since then there was no contact with the company officials", she said. The 3 Indian hostages reportedly have been taken now to the outskirts of Kismaayo. The captors apparently have called again and issued their reduced demands.

Five Somali pirates will be at Dutch court, if Denmark hands them over to the Netherlands. A Danish support vessel picked them up when they jumped overboard from their pirate ship. A Dutch cargo vessel was attacked by them, but it was foiled. However, to prosecute the pirates the Dutch court has to use a criminal code which was never used before. The code writes, a captain of a pirate ship can be sentenced to 12 years in prison, while the crew-members may get 8 years. It is not clear, the pirates can be sent back to Somalia after their prison's time, should they indeed be sentenced.

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 15 foreign vessels with a total of 273 crew members accounted for (of which 44 are 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 (incl. the presently held) and the mistaken sinking of one vessel by naval forces. For 2009 the account stands at 11 abandoned attacks and 2 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.

Directly related news ------

The chairman of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed urged Monday Somali people to support peace and solidarity after Ethiopian troop pull out. Sheik Sharif returned back to Mogadishu from Djibouti yesterday and spoke to the reporters in Lafwein Hotel in north Mogadishu. He said that he would continue consultations among the Somali people to maintain activities to support the peace and reconciliation. He described the withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops as a great achievement. The Ethiopian troops withdrew from the capital four days ago and now pulled back to Baidoa, the seat of the transitional parliament.

Yusuf Gelle Ugas, a member of Somali PM Nur Hassan Husein's cabinet deputy minister of ports, has warned for the Somali people not start a war between them again which the Ethiopian troops can return back to Mogadishu on Sunday. The deputy minister Mr. Gelle has told reporters that it is possible the Ethiopian troops to return back Mogadishu if the Somali people fight once again and said that it is logical the UN send peace keeping forces in Somalia which the Ethiopian troops are part of. Mr. Gelle has urged the Somali people to take calls from the Somali religious and traditional elders which are to be away anything that can cause discord between the Somali society so as to solve all the problems and reach development though the Somali people have been in a conflicts since twenty years. The statement of the deputy minister of the ports Mr. Gelle comes as many of the Somali clerics called for the Somali people not start another fighting between them if the Ethiopian troops left from the Somali capital Mogadishu and many other regions in Somalia.

More Ethiopian troops with their military trucks have vacated Bardhere town in southwest Somalia early on Monday, witnesses told Radio Shabelle. The Ethiopian troops and Somali militias led by Col. Barre Adan Shire (Hiralle) pulled out from the town. Locals say Ethiopian troops also vacated Dinsor town south of Baidoa where they have been for the last two weeks. Islamist insurgents have been controlling both Bardhere and Dinsor towns before the Ethiopian troops and their allied Somalia militia captured them. It is not known why the Ethiopian troops withdrew from the towns. No fighting has been reported.

At least two people were killed Sunday when Al Shabaab fighters targeted AU soldiers with mortars, witness said. One of the dead victims was an insurgent who was killed when AU peacekeepers responded with artillery fire, which also wounded four other insurgents in the explosion. At least 14 people were wounded in all, including 10 civilians inside Bakara Market who were injured after shells slammed into a hotel. Gunmen speaking for Al Shabaab on Mogadishu radio stations claimed responsibility for the attack, calling the AU peacekeepers "occupiers" and claiming success in the attacks. But AU military officials who confirmed the attack rejected the claims, saying that the AU peacekeeping force defended itself against the insurgent attack, according to AP. Fadumo Ali, a nurse at Medina hospital, said nine civilians wounded in the attack were brought to her hospital. The AU peacekeepers' spokesman Barigye Bahoku said the force did not suffer any casualties. Al-Shabab spokesman Sheik Muktar Robow told local radio stations his group carried out the attack. On Sunday, AU troops patrolled parts of Mogadishu in tanks.

The traditional elders from the dominant Hawiye clan in the Somali capital have categorically rejected any further violence among the Somali population, and called for immediate ceasefire in all the regions in Somalia. "I urge all the Islamists warriors who have been fighting inside Somalia to immediately come together to the negotiation table, and sort out differences. We know the objective was one and it was to jointly to fight with the Ethiopian troops who have illegitimately invaded in our soil and now they are completely out of the capital Mogadishu and gradually they will pullout from the country as whole. So there is no need the Islamists still adhere to the gun, and create once again displacement to the civilians who are now saying that the thorn in the flesh is removed and will to return to their homes" said the spokesman of Hawiya traditional elders Ahmed Diriye Ali speaking to Somaliweyn radio. The spokesman also urged the radical Al-Shabab movement and Muaskar Raskambooni to stop the violence among the Somali people who have been living in war for the past two decades.

Al-Shabab has condemned calls for a halt on the fighting and attacks in Mogadishu. An Al-Shabab official, Sheikh Ali Muhammad Hussein, who is in charge of Banadir Region, held a press conference on telephone and said they are opposed to calls by religious leaders and scholars in Mogadishu over the last few days that there should be no more fighting in Banadir Region. He said the fighting would continue until the rules of the Holy Book [Koran] are obeyed and implemented throughout Somalia and the whole world. Sheikh Ali Muhammad Hussein also said there are some men calling themselves religious leaders who are calling for an end to the jihad. The statement by Al-Shabab comes at a time when religious leaders and Somali scholars have called for an end to fighting in Mogadishu. Al-Shabab spokesman, Shaykh Muqtar Robow Abu Mansur, recently held a press conference in which he vowed to continue attacking bases belonging to African Union Mission in Somalia [AMISOM] troops base in KM-4 and Mogadishu airport.

Holding a news conference in Mogadishu Sunday, Ras Kamboni Camp [Mujahidin] spokesman Barre Ali Barre told AMISOM [African Union Mission to Somalia] troops to hand over their weapons or leave the country. The Ras Kamboni Camp spokesman stated that they would not stop fighting, saying that the jihad would continue until Somalia was ruled by the Islamic shari'ah.

A press statement released by Raas Kambooni Camp at the news conference was read out by Sadaq Muhammad Mursal (Abu Hamza) and it is as follows: "After seeing the new developments in Somalia, Raas Kamboni Camp felt obliged to issue a call, which addresses the matter. We call on the mujahidin, wherever they may be, to unite their ranks and keep away from anything that could result in disintegration and conflict. We thank God for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops and their puppets, which happened as a result of God's will and because of the cooperation between the mujahidin and the Somali people. We make it clear to the Somali people that the jihad is not over yet. The jihad will continue until God's shari'ah is complied with and disbelief is eliminated from the whole of Somalia. We are resolutely against the foreign troops in Somalia as well as the proposed deployment of fresh ones to our country. Any country trying [to send troops] will bear responsibility for problems arising from that. We also make it clear that there is no difference between infidel AMISOM troops and Ethiopian soldiers. God willing, we will fight AMISOM troops as long as they are in our country, Somalia. We also call on all jihad-loving mujahidin not to occupy themselves taking over areas vacated by the enemies. Instead, they should be prepared to continue the jihad and to cleanse the country [of enemies]. We warn the Somali people of the enemy's new ploy to pit the population against the mujahidin and to revive warlords dressed up as religious groups. We urge the Somali people to steer clear of instigating internecine fighting and dividing the Muslim people. Finally, we make it clear to the mujahidin to never accept any government formed in the country that does not govern by the shari'ah of God". AMISOM peacekeeping troops in Mogadishu have not yet commented on the statement of the Ras Kamboni Camp and it is unclear how AMISOM troops will respond to the statement of the Ras Kamboni Camp.

The Nigeria government has agreed to deploy troops to Somalia. In a meeting in Addis Ababa, the seat of the Africa Union, on Saturday, the Nigeria government agreed to deploy troops for a peace-keeping mission to the conflict-ridden region following the withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces from the horn of Africa. In a telephone conversation, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Ministry of Defence, Chris Yemitola, acknowledged the development and confirmed that the modalities for the deployment are being worked out. "To deploy the troops, we need to determine the rules of engagement, [the] numbers of troops, the duration of the mission and [the] mode of operation. So all of these have to be worked out before we can determine when the troops will take out", he said.

New Pirate-Guantanamo-Bay in Kenya? US to sign Kenya deal to prosecute Somali pirates, revealed Lloyds list and published that the US-American government is understood to be nearing a deal with Kenya to detain and prosecute pirates captured off Somalia. It would be the second country after the United Kingdom - the former colonial power of Kenya - to secure such a deal. If successful, the deal will join a growing number of bilateral agreements between countries engaged in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and states willing to take pirates into custody.

Many European countries object to such solutions, since Kenya has not yet abolished the death-penalty and its maximum security prisons Shimo-la-Tewa and Kamiti are infamous for atrocities and human rights violations against priisoners. Critics of such developments include business-leaders in the tourism industry, which has in Kenya seriously declined after the post-election-violence with 1.500 people killed, who maintain that any such move like serving as a regional detention centre, would tarnish Kenya's reputation and affect tourism. Others fear that Kenya would further move into the crosshair-sights of potential terrorist attackers.

The British warship HMS Portland has been ordered to track down gunmen before they can hijack merchant ships. Once pirate boats have been identified, Lynx helicopters filled with snipers will be scrambled from the Type 23 frigate. The British Royal Marines will then board for close combat with the pirates — who use machine guns and grenade launchers to overpower crews then blackmail ship owners. The US-led mission — expected to involve ten nations — is an assault on the chaos in waters off the Somali coast, the Sun reports.

Russia is to set up a military base on Socotra Island but the timing for the establishment of the base has not been identified yet, Russian military officials have said. The officials were cited as saying Russia has decided to set up three navy bases in three Arab countries including Yemen. The other two bases would be in the Syrian city of Tartus and the Libyan city of Tripoli. The move comes with the goal to protect Russian interests in the region, the officials said, pointing out that the base on the Yemeni Socotra Island will provide security to Russian civil vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. However, a number of Russian sources denied the news but said that the naval base would be set up "within a few years". "It is premature to name any countries as possible locations for naval bases", said an official from the office of the military’s chief of staff. The announcement was made at a time when Yemeni-US relations are somewhat tense due to different views over many issues related to the war on terror, piracy, democracy and human rights. Socotra, which is much closer to Somalia than Yemen, has a long and troublesome history. Socotra considered as the "jewel" of biodiversity in the Arabian sea, is a small archipelago of four islands and islets in the Indian Ocean off the coast of the Horn of Africa. The island was recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a world natural heritage site in July 2008. The islands passed under the control of the Mahra sultans in 1511. Later, in 1886 it became a British protectorate, along with the remainder of the Mahra State of Qishn and Socotra. For the British it was an important strategic stop-over.

In October 1967 the Mahra sultanate was abolished. One of the last living direct descendents of the ruling Mahra sultanate, Dushi Parameswaran, is currently residing in Chicago, Illinois, USA. On November 30th Socotra became part of the People's Republic of South Yemen (later to become the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen). Today it is part of the Republic of Yemen. Russia's involvement in Somalia became infamous in the time after 1973, when it cleansed the so called Bajuni Islands off the South coast of Somalia from its ethnic Bajuni people of Shirazi origin, who had settled there and persued their livestyle as skilled fisher-people for hundreds of years.

Tukey's President Abdullah Gül has thanked Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh for the support Djibouti provided a Turkish frigate fighting with pirates, who hijacked a Turkish ship off the coast of Somalia near the Gulf of Aden last October. President Gül said Djibouti and Turkey have long historical ties dating back to the Ottoman Empire, Turkish media Zamman reported . However there was no fight which had taken place and the Turkish vessel was released peacefully after a ransom was paid.

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) welcomes with profound relief the safe release of Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi after 146 days in captivity by kidnappers who abducted him with Canadian journalist Amanda Lindout and Australian journalist Nigel Brenan on 23 August 2008. Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi, freelance photojournalist, was released Thursday night, 15 January 2009, with two drivers, Mahad Isse and Marwali, who were with the three journalists when they were abducted. Elmi said that they blindfolded them and then put them in a four-wheel drive vehicle that took them to Mogadishu's Bakara market. When asked about the whereabouts of Lindout and Brenan, Elmi (told NUSOJ that they were separated and being held in two separated locations from the day they were kidnapped. He stated that he was only being held with the two Somali drivers. "We are very pleased that our colleague Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi was released unhurt and in good health but even as we give a standing ovation for this excellent news, we remain tremendously concerned over the destiny of our colleagues Amanda Lindout and Nigel Brenan", said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General. "We call upon the transitional government, the alliance of re-liberation of Somalia and traditional elders to make use of the current political change in the country to secure the safe release of Amanda and Nigel. We demand their immediate release", Omar Faruk added. However, in another journalist hi-jacking case in Puntland it became obvious that the Somali journalist-counterpart was - if not instrumental - at least involved with the abductors.

The UAE Government has joined 23 other nations to fight piracy off Somalia’s coast. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs delegation led by undersecretary Saif Sultan Mubarak al Aryani attended the first meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, in New York last week. The UAE envoy joined delegates from Britain, the US, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Somalia in the new organisation. The UAE ambassador to the UN, Ahmed al Jarman, estimated that about half of the ships falling victim to pirates are from the UAE, as small trading dhows present an easy target. "The Government of the UAE is committed to working together with neighbour countries and our international partners to tackle the danger of piracy that has emerged in this region", Mr. al Jarman said. Merchant seamen moored on Dubai Creek have become so fearful of pirates that security firms have begun hiring out heavily armed guards to accompany them. But the US assistant secretary of state Mark Kimmitt said the likelihood of being attacked by the pirates was less than one per cent, and less than half of the vessels attacked last year were eventually boarded and taken hostage. "But that’s still not good enough", Mr Kimmitt said after the closed summit at UN headquarters on Wednesday.

"We believe that 2009 will be a year where we can turn this problem around if we come together as a group of nations working not simply the military aspect, but the judicial aspect, the financial aspect, the industry aspect", Mr Kimmitt said. Many analysts argue that defeating piracy off Somalia’s coast would involve dealing with the many problems of one of Africa’s most troubled nations. "Piracy is a symptom of a wider lack of security and rule of law in Somalia, and continues to constitute a threat to regional stability", the contact group said in a statement. Security Council members unanimously passed a US-sponsored resolution on Friday calling for a peacekeeping mission in Somalia by June 1. UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, previously rejected the proposal, saying there weren’t enough troops available to deploy in the country.

The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) is to is to establish a counter-piracy coordination centre among other measures to fight an ancient scourge that last year became a significant hazard to shipping and global commerce for the first time since the defeat of the Barbary pirates over two hundred years ago. The centre, to be established near Somali waters "will coordinate information relevant to piracy and armed robbery at sea" as soon as possible. Pending its establishment, interim arrangements are being put in place. "The CGPCS asks participating states, international and regional organisations to support both the interim and follow-on facilities", the ad hoc grouping said in a media release after their inaugural meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday. Attending were representatives from Australia, China, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, The Netherlands, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia TFG, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Yemen, as well as the African Union, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the UN Secretariat, and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

The group says it is agreed that "better operational information is needed in order to address the problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia" and it therefore calls on UN member states "to contribute additional operational information and surveillance assets to the region". The body also says they recognise the importance of apprehending and prosecuting suspected pirates. "The CGPCS calls on state parties to implement their obligations under relevant treaties and applicable international law, including in particular the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea with respect to suppressing piracy, establishing jurisdiction, and accepting delivery of suspected pirates, and to discuss, as appropriate, the applicability of other international instruments including the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation ("SUA Convention"), and the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime". For this reason the group undertook to "examine practical options for strengthening the ability of countries willing to detain and prosecute suspected pirates".

It will also examine options for developing other mechanisms to address piracy, including international judicial mechanisms. "The Group welcomes the efforts of states, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the UN Development Program to build judicial capacity and commends the government of Kenya in particular for supporting the prosecution of suspected pirates". The "Group" notes the work of the maritime shipping industry and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to establish measures to prevent and suppress acts of piracy and armed robbery for commercial vessels transiting the region. "Of note is the adoption by the world’s leading shipping, cargo, and insurance organisations of a set of common best management practices which were based on recommendations by the EU"s Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSC-HOA). The CGPCS will continue to work with the IMO, shipping industry representatives, and shipping companies to increase the distribution and voluntary employment of best practices and threat information", the release by the US State Department added.

"The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia reaffirms its respect for Somalia"s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and sovereign rights over natural resources, and its participants ensure that their flagged vessels respect these rights. In that regard they condemned the prevalence of illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping off the coast of Somalia, "which adversely affects the Somali economy and marine environment". As such, the group says "piracy issues must be kept in mind as one element of a larger challenge, and international support for initiatives such as the international Contact Group on Somalia must be encouraged as well as support for the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia. The CGPCS considers its activities as part of wider international efforts to secure peace and stability in Somalia". CGPCS membership is open to "any nation or international organisation making a tangible contribution to the counter-piracy effort, or any country significantly affected by piracy off the coast of Somalia". As such, the group extended invitations to Belgium, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and the Arab League at its meeting.

Lloyd’s has advised underwriters that the area off the Horn of Africa deemed at high risk of piracy attack now extends deep into the Indian Ocean. The market’s Joint War Committee has warned that shipping is in danger up to 600 nautical miles from the coast of east Africa. "Ports, places and coasts which feature on the list have been assessed by the independent consultants to exceed an enhanced risk benchmark established by them", the note stated. The review comes as Somali pirate attacks have become bolder and increasingly longer range, with the high-profile capture of the fully-laden very large crude carrier Sirius Star in November occurring 450 nautical miles south-east of the Kenyan port of Mombasa. JWC’s listed areas detail shipping lanes and areas of ocean that are in danger of hull war, strikes, terrorism and other related perils. The new area extends from the coast of eastern Africa south of latitude 15° N and north of latitude 10° S, but excludes the coastal waters of Kenya and Tanzania. Previously, the market advisory group’s danger zone extended 250 nautical miles from the eastern coast of Somalia, south of latitude 10 degrees north. The JWC comprises underwriting representatives from both the Lloyd’s and IUA company markets and employs Aegis Defence Services as its advisor on maritime security issues.

End of the Ecoterra 114th Press Release Update