The MV FAINA Piracy Crisis Chronicle XII – The Latest Updates by Ecoterra

As the ongoing piracy crisis off the Somali coast at the Horn of Africa region risks triggering the world’s first major military enterprise after Iraq, in eleven previous articles of this series, I provided with a recapitulative record of the insightful press releases of the leading NGO Ecoterra; more specifically, I republished Press Release updates no 43 to 71. In the present article, I republish Ecoterra Press Release update no 72, along with the additional features.

72nd. Update 2008-12-06 23:30:52 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.

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!

New EA Seafarers Assistance Programme Emergency Helpline: +254-738-497979
East African Seafarers Assistance Programme - Media Officer: +254-733-385868

Day 73 - 1736 hours into the FAINA Crisis - Update Summary

Efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the now over two months long stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA is not yet solved finally, though intensive negotiations have continued and local reports state that the financial agreement part has been concluded.

U.S. naval ships repositioned themselves to continue their watch against any off-loading of weapons from MV FAINA, but to also provide some space for the vessel to manoeuvre during the last critical days and operations to set the ship and its crew free.

Ecoterra Intl. renewed it's call to solve the FAINA and the SIRIUS STAR cases with first priority and peaceful in order to avert a human and environmental disasters at the Somali coast. Anybody encouraging hot-headed and concerning such difficult situations inexperienced and untrained gunmen to try an attempt of a military solution must be held responsible for the surely resulting disaster.

Clearing-house

News from other abducted ships ---

Rumours about an attack against a merchant ship en route from Dar-es-Salaam / Tanzania to Salalah / Oman, whereby RPGs were said to have been fired against the ship, could not be confirmed so far.

With the latest captures and releases still at least 16 foreign vessels with a total of around 354 crew members (of which 108 are Filipinos) are held and are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which are observed off the coast of Somalia, have been reported or reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. Over 115 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) have been recorded to far for 2008 with until today 51 factual sea-jacking cases (incl. the presently held 16). Several other vessels with unclear fate, who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on the watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail.

The First Victim of War is the Truth!

As reported yesterday seven suspected pirates are in the custody of Yemeni authorities early Friday, after they were handed over to the Yemen coastguard by the commander of HDMS ABSALON. There were conflicting reports as to how the pirates were rescued. The Royal Danish Navy said one of its warships rescued the seven men Wednesday after they were found in a powerless skiff with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s aboard, navy spokesman Jesper Lynge stated and they were found approximately 75 nautical miles (140 km) off the coast of Yemen after a distress call. This account was confirmed by the operations commander from the bridge of the Danish naval ship Absalon. A reporter on board the HDMS ABSALON, Rasmus Tantholt, who works for Denmark's TV2, did not dispute the Danish navy's account as reported by CNN. However, a Yemeni Interior Ministry official offered a different account of events, saying its coast guard rescued the suspected pirates on Friday. The official said a coast guard patrol had detected a boat near a port near Balhaf, Yemen, and, believing its activity to be suspicious, chased it down.

The coast guard exchanged fire with the men on board the boat, the official said, and the Somali boat overturned. The official said the coast guard rescued the men and took them into custody. Interrogation of the men led officials to suspect that they are Somali pirates. Lynge, however, said the men "had been without propulsion on their small boat for several days without food or drinking water". After providing them with medical treatment aboard the Absalon, the ship's crew turned them over to Yemen's coast guard Friday morning, Tantholt said. The skiff's small engine was broken, and the Danish vessel sank the boat to prevent any hazard to sea traffic. Fact is so far, that the Danish navy sunk the small fishing boat (7m length) in a maschine gun shooting exercise and the relevant TV material of Mr. Rasmus Tantholt was widely aired and is also available on the internet now: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7768204.stm.

An Ecoterra contact is already in Mukallah to establish the truth also by speaking to the Somalis themselves and to find out why the seven men were kept for two days on board of the Danish naval vessel before they were handed over to Yemen. The PR-stunt part of it must also be seen in the light of the fact that Admiral Danish Fleet Headquarters wants to introduce elite military units on board freighters off the coast of Somalia so that would-be pirates meet heavy resistance if they try to board ship. "We have a plan that works like a pilot system in which freighters either take on security guards or soldiers when they enter the area, and land them on another vessel when they leave the area", says Per Bigum Christensen of Admiral Danish Fleet Headquarters. Commodore Bigum Christensen is the operational commander of the United Nations-sanctioned 10 vessels of Task Force 150 which is attempting to protect international shipping in the piracy-prone waters off Somalia. "About half of the vessels have private security companies on board, and we can see that it works. It's a sensitive issue, but it works", says Comm. Bigum Christensen.

Question is if the Danish then want to enter the private security market by renting out their navy-seals to merchant vessels. Commodore Bigum Christensen says that soldiers on board vessels is only part of the plan. "There will continue to be warships in the area, but we would be able to use fewer than we have at the moment if the vessels have enough helicopters that can be called up by soldiers if an attack is under way", the Commodore says. Over and above the guarding system, the plan also involves setting up a legal system that can deal with captured pirates. This could be an international court, a holding centre for pirates or even a special agreement with Kenya to try them there, was stated in the Danish publication Politiken.

But nobody has asked the Kenyan people yet, if they want that Kenya is turned in an Guantanamo-bay-like territory for the naval games of the international armada. And in another twist the Yemen news agency SABA now claimed that the international forces requested the Danish ship to hand over the eight Somali pirates to the Yemeni authorities through Mukalla Port. All signs for a total dis-ordination and confusion, which certainly could lead to much more disastrous events like the sinking of FV EKAWATNAVA 5, the death of 14 innocent sailors, the killing of two Somali and one Yemeni men on a Dhow or the rendition of a total of 12 suspected pirates to France and 18 to Kenya. NATO, CTF-150 and other players forming the international naval Armada around the Horn of Africa seem to be much less disciplined and organized than the pirates. And the pirates do also not stand accused of deliberately shooting to kill. But with the latest developments in the escalation that step is not too far. Meanwhile Yemen’s coastguard confirmed that it received seven suspected Somali pirates on Friday from a Danish warship that rescued them. "The Somali pirates were handed over to us by the Danish warship, and they are now in Mukalla", said a Yemeni coastguard officer on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The Yemeni officer refused to give further information on what will happen to the pirates. However, it is expected they will be interrogated by police and their case will be looked at after the Eid holiday.

Three weeks have passed, 14 Thai seamen are missing, presumed dead after an Indian naval vessel fired on a Thai fishing trawler off the coast of Somalia when it mistook it for a pirate ''mother ship''. A Cambodian crewman who was rescued by Yemeni fisherman after holding onto a metal barrel for six days and floating 160km is the only surviving crew member. Under normal circumstances, there would likely be accusations and recriminations, followed by inquiries and possible compensation for the victims. But little has been heard or said about this tragic incident, which has been overshadowed by domestic political turmoil and the terror attacks in Mumbai. The Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry has yet to release the names of the victims as discussions between the two countries continue through diplomatic channels. But that is little comfort to the families of the crewmen of the Ekawat Nava 5 and the ship's owner, Wicharn Sirichaiekawat, who could demand compensation from the Indian government if its navy is found to be at fault. India's navy said at the time of the sinking on Nov 18 that the INS Tabar, which was protecting merchant vessels in the area, had fired and set ablaze a pirate ''mother ship'' in self-defence.

Maritime insurers say a difficult issue to resolve in hijacking cases is whether a commercial vessel is entitled to protection, or has it suddenly become a pirate ship after being commandeered? ''There's just no legal basis for the effective pursuit of pirates'', said Dieter Berg, the head of corporate underwriting for marine clients and leading piracy specialist at the re-insurer Munich Re. ''There are no effective rights to pursue pirates or to get them into international courts. This is the problem that the international community has to solve''. The Thai Foreign Ministry has instructed Thai embassies in Kenya and Oman to find out what happened and says if the answer from the Indian government is unclear and unreasonable, it will pursue legal action and demand compensation. Mr Wicharn, who is adamant his company did everything by the book after the hijacking, says he is more concerned about the human loss and the future of the seamen's families. He is hopeful that the bodies of the victims may still be retrieved, but there appears little hope of that.

According to Ahmed Mohammed Abdulghani, chairman of the Sana’a-based al Jazeera and Gulf Studies Centre, the frantic activities also reflect the Yemen government’s concerns about the heavy presence of international forces in the region. "Yemen is concerned over the heavy presence of the international war ships in the region for its long coastline. It feels such presence demonstrates its weakness to control its coast", he said. "It is suspicious why this sudden concern from the international community and presence of its war ships. "Are pirates so strong and well-equipped that require such deployment of military ships to the region? There is concern that such international forces might exploit piracy to justify their presence in the region".

Other related news -----

A moderate Islamist Somali opposition leader in Djibouti, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, has called for the "immediate and unconditional" release of all hostages being held in war-torn Somalia, reports reaching here said Saturday. Sheik Ahmed's faction of the opposition coalition, the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), has reached a power-sharing deal with the Somali transitional government in a series of peace talks in neighboring Djibouti where his group is based. "We call on those holding any hostages whether they are Somalisor foreigners to release them immediately and unconditionally", the ARS leader told reporters in Djibouti. He condemned the continuing fighting in Somalia, calling on all Somali people to support the agreement his group and Somali government signed last month. "We warn those who continue to kill, loot and humiliate innocent Somali people", he said and added: "The international community should fight illegal fishing vessels and those dumping waste in our seas like they are fighting the pirates".

Risk consultancy International Security Solutions Ltd has sold the world's first piracy insurance policy, covering potential ransom payouts on kidnapped crew. Kidnap and ransom insurance is well-established but has traditionally been offered only for individuals working in commercially sensitive positions or people whose fame or wealth may attract interest from criminals. The policy provides maximum cover of $US 3 million (AUS $4.7 million) per insured event. Between 12.5 per cent and 25 per cent of the premium is returnable if no claim is made. ISSL founding director John Wick said his company would also provide risk-management advice, train crews and provide "target hardening" of a vessel. This generally involves the installation of an anti-pirate "long-range acoustic device", which fires a blast of sound at would-be attackers. Mr Wick said in the event of the ship being damaged "the policy, if it pays out, will also cover the fees of any public relations advisers in the event of the shipowner being criticised for any damage done to the environment".

Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has stated that through the offices of trustworthy mediators, his government has actually reached an understanding with the pirates who have been holding the Saudi super oil tanker MT SIRIUS STAR off the Somali coast since last week. In an interview with Al-Sharq al-Awsat by telephone, he said that he expects the crisis of the Saudi oil tanker and its 25-crew member of various nationalities to end in the next few days without payment of ransom. He refused to reveal the details of the agreement, but noted that it was reached through mediators. He added that his country is holding contacts with five Arab countries -- Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, and Qatar -- to offer financial and material support for the establishment of a 10,000-strong Somali force to replace the Ethiopian forces which will withdraw from Somalia before the end of his year. He accused the Somali president Abdullahi Yussuf of harming the reconciliation process in his country because he finds no personal interest in this process.

Minister Youssouf added: "Piracy is a result of the deteriorating security and politcal situation in Somalia. If we want to address the problem of piracy we must first address its root cause of piracy, which has begun to harm the international community. The competent parties are in a state of alert and are making concerted efforts to examine this phenomenon and find a solution to it. We in Djibouti have initiated a process of negotiations between the Somali government and the opposition, and have reached a general comprehensive political agreement to form a national unity government and an interim parliament comprising all political parties. Afterwards, a new president can be elected. Naturally, this process should be implemented after the withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces, which have actually started withdrawing and will complete their withdrawal before the end of this year. We must move fast because time is running out and we cannot wait until a security vacuum occurs in Somalia, which might be exploited by extremist and terrorist organizations to control the capital Mogadishu or adjacent areas. The governments of Djibouti and neighboring countries absolutely reject groups claiming to be the African branch of Al-Qa'ida taking over Mogadishu or adjacent areas. These groups are behind the latest bombings in Bossasso and Hargeysa, where they targeted civilians and civic establishments to serve their political agenda. Clearly, we will hold contacts and coordinate with certain Arab countries to address this problem. The Somali president is floundering as far as the reconciliation process is concerned because he believes that it is not in his personal interest that the negotiations reach a compromise to address the key issues. As for as the Asmara-based Somali opposition, we are surprised that Eritrea, of which we never heard just 17 years ago, has suddenly begun to show interest in the Somali issue. I maintain that anyone who objects to reconciliation is an enemy of peace in Somalia".

As the European Union's anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia prepares for the start of operations on Monday, doubts are raised by governments and experts as the pirates themselves offer indifferent responses, Deutsche Welle reported. The EU's naval force for Somalia "Atalanta" mission, which consists of six warships and three maritime reconnaissance aircraft, is due to start escorting merchant ships and World Food Program vessels delivering food aid to Africa on Monday. Arguing that foreign fishing fleets have for years plundered Somali fishing resources illegally, pirates have secured strong support from the coastal communities in a country ravaged by conflict and starvation. "The presence of European war ships will undermine the Somalis' ability to protect their natural resources from illegal fishing", said Mohamed Said, a pirate leader whose group has held the Saudi super-tanker Sirius Star for ransom since November 15. "Many of the polluters of Somalia's waters, those who dump toxic waste, are Europeans. This force will contribute to giving them unimpeded access to our waters", he told reporters. With five of six EU ships expected in Somali waters this month, the international naval presence in the region will be further enhanced, restricting the pirates' room for manoeuvre. But despite the added support of NATO, the US navy and Asian powers, experts argue the number of war ships will remain insufficient to root out piracy. "Everything needs to be done to change Somalia from a failed to state to a country where the authorities are in a position to maintain law and order", Vice Admiral Gerard Vallin, who heads France's naval forces in the Indian Ocean, told reporters.

"Arresting people suspected of piracy is not the primary objective of the (German) operation", foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and defence minister Franz Josef Jung wrote in a letter addressed to lawmakers, according to ARD public television and Saturday's edition of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. In the letter Berlin had drawn up a list of priority cases in which it is willing to deploy its navy to combat the pirates. A decision setting out the terms of Germany's contribution to the mission is due to be made public on next Wednesday. "We must protect civilian boats in this order of priority: World Food Programme boats, other ships delivering humanitarian aid, vessels from EU member states or involving a third country, (and) other boats", the document said. The report has drawn criticism from Germany's opposition, which has accused the government of being too defensive. "We must actively fight the pirates and take their boats. After all, a pirate without a boat is quite ridiculous", said Rainer Stinner from the liberal Free Democrats party (FDP). The EU operation will from this month see five or six warships patrol Somalia's Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean waters, where increased piracy is threatening to choke one of the world's busiest sea trade routes.

The Ethiopians are pulling out their troops by the end of this month, which could leave a power vacuum. Civilians have taken the brunt of the violence surrounding the insurgency, with thousands killed or maimed by mortar shells, machine-gun crossfire and grenades. The United Nations says there are about 300,000 acutely malnourished children in Somalia, but attacks and kidnappings of aid workers have shut down many humanitarian projects. Ethiopia's foreign ministry, which announced last month it would pull its troops out of Somalia by the end of the year, however, said Saturday it could extend its deployment by "a few days". The announcement of Ethiopia's hasty withdrawal had sowed panic among the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). "Ethiopia accepted it had a moral obligation to AMISOM and it would do whatever necessary to see that its withdrawal did not harm AMISOM", the foreign ministry said in a statement. "This did not imply any delay in withdrawal but might allow for some flexibility in terms of a few days, if necessary, but this would be for AMISOM to assess", the statement added.

"It will be bloody", predicted Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst at the International Crisis Group, a research institute that tracks conflicts worldwide. "The Ethiopians have decided to let the transitional government sink. The chaos will spread from the south to the north. Warlordism will be back".

Mr. Rashid sees Somalia deteriorating into an Afghanistan-like cauldron of militant Islamism, drawing in hard-core fighters from the Comoros, Zanzibar, Kenya and other neighboring Islamic areas, a process that seems to have already started. Those men will eventually go home, spreading the killer ethos. "Somalia has now reached a very dangerous phase", he said. "The whole region is in for more chaos, I’m afraid".

The United States failed disastrously in its peacekeeping mission in the early 1990s. (Remember "Black Hawk Down"?) In 2005 and 2006, the C.I.A. paid some of Somalia’s most reviled warlords to fight the Islamists. That backfired. In the winter of 2006, the United States took a third approach, encouraging Ethiopia to invade and backing them with American air strikes and intelligence. "The Bush administration made a major miscalculation", said Dan Connell, who teaches African politics at Simmons College in Boston. He compared the situation to America’s involvement in Lebanon in the 1980s, "when a regional ally, Israel, pulled us into a failed state in a quixotic effort to transform a hostile neighbor into a pliant ally". That only radicalized the population, he said, adding that in Somalia, "Again, we will be in its sights".

John J. Metzler writes: Barack Obama’s incoming administration could be stuck on the horn of a security dilemma in the strategic but unstable horn of Africa. A widening Somali crisis which has challenged both George Bush I and the Clinton Administrations, with disastrous consequences, now confronts Obama with the spectre of "Blackhawk down" in Mogadishu. The combination of a failed state, a widening humanitarian disaster, and the growth of offshore piracy against international shipping, creates a dangerous vortex in East Africa astride strategic shipping lanes of communication. It also throws down the gauntlet to the incoming administration and NATO to ensure maritime security in the troubled waters off East Africa. An Italian delegate Aldo Mantovani concurred stating that the fight against piracy needed to be more "coordinated and more effective" but "piracy resulted from Somali’s dire humanitarian and political crisis". The pirate challenge threatens merchant shipping in the narrow maritime choke point between the Horn of Africa and Yemen-the passage way from the Suez Canal and a vital sea lane for global commerce. Needless to say the landward threat for ongoing Somali instability is not lesser as the spillover of refugees, militia violence, and instability threatens neighbours such as Ethiopia and Kenya. Given incoming president Obama’s family ties to Kenya, one should not discount deliberate destabilization efforts against that country by Islamic fundamentalists. Once again we see how a regional crisis in a forgotten and forsaken corner of the world takes on a global impact. The new American administration will be forced to focus on Somalia’s failed state and its seaborne buccaneers.

Diplomats assigned to the Arab League Saturday agreed to immediately work on the rehabilitation of Somalia's non-existent national army and called for sanctions against Islamist militants spearheading the killings of civilians there, Pana reported. The team of permanent representatives also called for full cooperation between the Arabs and the African countries in the contribution of troops to enable the full deployment of an African force in Somalia to enable them carry out their duties after the Ethiopian pull-out. In a 10-point communiqué issued Saturday after an emergency meeting of the Ambassadors accredited to the League, the diplomats called for the implementation of the UN-backed Djibouti agreement on the setting up of a new Somali government. The diplomats, who were joined by officials of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations, urged the Arab League states to make financial and logistical contributions to the deployment of the forces in Somalia. The diplomats also welcomed the intended withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in Somalia and pledged to immediately mobilise for the deployment of a foreign stabilization force to reinforce peace in Somalia, where militia activities have recently risen. "The Arab League Council calls upon all the Somali factions to use dialogue as the only means for settling their differences and to show commitment to the implementation of all the peace agreements concluded in Djibouti", the communiqué read in part. African Union peacekeepers in Somalia (AMISOM) should urgently be empowered to police the pirate-infested Somali coastline as efforts continue to set up a United Nations (UN) sponsored force, the Arab League said Saturday.

The Arab League has also offered to play a major role in the proposed Somali international conference, which it says must focus on raising funds for the urgent reconstruction of the non-existent institutions, including security organs such as the army and the Police. The Arab League said as part of efforts to combat piracy in Somalia, AMISOM's mandate should be renewed and its work extended to the sea to check excessive use of force by pirates who have succeeded in hijacking huge vessels transiting the region. The review of the AMISOM mandate, the Arab League said, should enable them to contribute to the maintenance of security in all parts of Somalia and on its shores while considering the fight against piracy part of the process of restoring Somalia's sovereignty. The pledges were contained in a communiqué issued by the regional body after an emergency meeting in Cairo, Egypt, where the regional states agreed to immediately provide funds for the rehabilitation of Somali's national army.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are ready to fulfil tasks on fighting piracy in the territorial waters of other countries and in the global ocean, Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Serhiy Kyrychenko stated. "Preparations for performing an operation to fight piracy under the aegis of the European Union are being financed by member states of this large-scale event. Therefore, the issues linked to the participation of the [Ukrainian] Armed Forces in fighting piracy depend on a political decision and respective financial and economic provision", he said. Kyrychenko said that the Ukrainian Navy could make its contribution to the joint operation to fight piracy.

The headline "U.S. cruise ship outruns pirates" no doubt delighted Oceania Cruises, the operators of the attacked passenger ship the M/S Nautica, and served to perpetuate a long standing ruse of the cruise and shipping industry. The M/S Nautica, like virtually all cruise ships, is registered under a "Flag of Convenience", in this case the Republic of the Marshall Islands. American ship operators and owners have made extensive use of these "Flags of Convenience" since the end of World War II in order to avoid or circumvent American taxes, safety and construction standards, legal responsibility and the hiring of American mariners. The ship has no allegiance to the government of the United States and has a multinational crew, few of which, if any, are U.S citizens. It, like all of the foreign flag passenger ships that call in the United States, could not be flagged as a U.S. passenger ship unless it underwent an extensive overhaul to bring it up to the safety and construction standards set by the U.S. Coast Guard.