The Somali Piracy Epiphenomenon about to End. IX – Sugule Ali: MV FAINA is Free!

With the successful termination of the MV FAINA negotiations, the Somali fishermen who acted as pirates for ca. 3200 hours started leaving the MV FAINA, giving thus an end to the indescribable drama of the crew members who were held hostages for so long. What follows are excerpts from the Ecoterra 130th Press Release Update.

130th Update 2009-02-05 12h15:23 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!

New EA Seafarers Assistance Programme Emergency Helpline: +254-738-497979
East African Seafarers Assistance Programme - Media Officer: +254-733-385868
EA Illegal Fishing and Dumping Hot line: +254-714-747090 (confidentiality guaranteed)

Day 134 - 3213 long hours into the MV FAINA Crisis - Update Summary

Somali pirates have begun leaving the FAINA after receiving a ransom for the Ukrainian weapons carrier. The first groups of pirates left the vessel from early this morning after receiving their part of a ransom. Local reports say that between 80 to 105 Somalis had gathered last night on the vessel and small skiffs are going back and forth.

A Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks seized by Somali pirates in September will be freed shortly following a ransom payment, a Kenyan-based piracy monitoring group said on Thursday. "We hear the pirates are leaving the FAINA now in small groups and it will be underway shortly", said Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance Program.

Though the Ukrainian Foreign Minister already confirmed the release of the vessel to the press this morning and Kenyan as well as international media echoed this, she is not yet free to sail, a local source maintained, "though this could happen soon". Analysts, who are in contact with Ukrainian diplomats, confirmed this and explained much of the circulated information as wishful thinking. However, another one or two naval vessels seem to have arrived close to FAINA, marine observers reported.

After the last pirate will have left the vessel there will also be another procedure ensuring the safety of the vessel, cargo and crew and then we will see if she is re-fuelled or towed, one regional analyst said. "So far the ill-fated voyage of MV FAINA is still supposed to end in Mombassa", Kenyan Government officials stated under condition of anonymity.

Fourteen gunmen and the pirates' commander disembarked from the MV FAINA, which has been held by the pirates for five months, said Aden Abdi Omar, one of those who left the ship. Omar spoke to The Associated Press by satellite phone from the central Somali coastal town of Harardhere, near to where the MV FAINA is anchored. Omar said two boats have been sent to collect more than two dozen other pirates still on board. He said he would give more details later.

"We have released MV FAINA. There were only three boys remaining on board and they delayed the release for one hour, but now the ship is free", Sugule Ali, a known clown-spokesman for the pirates, told AFP by phone. "The ship and the crew members are in good shape because our boys expended tremendous efforts to protect them. We fed them well". Pirates in the town of Harardhere, off the coast of which the MV FAINA had been held since its capture on Sept. 25, said more than $3 million in ransom were paid. "The deal was $3.5 million. The owners of the ship wanted to pay only 1 million but we resisted", said one pirate on condition of anonymity. Sugule Ali confirmed a ransom was paid but would not reveal the amount, describing it only as "not huge... something to cover our expenses".

The Ukrainian presidency had earlier confirmed the ship's release in a statement and said the vessel had resumed its journey to its initial destination [which certainly is not rue at the time of this report], the Kenyan port of Mombassa. "On Feb. 4, the ship was freed after a very difficult operation carried out by the Ukrainian special services in cooperation with foreign special services", the office of President Viktor Yushchenko said. It was unclear what part the special services played but according to sources close to the pirates, the ransom money was flown from Nairobi and dropped to the pirates by parachute at approximately 1200 GMT Wednesday. The sources said the air-dropped capsule contained $3.2 million. In the final stages of the ransom negotiations, no fewer than 50 pirates were on board the ship and fishermen, elders and other witnesses in Harardhere said they saw the first groups return from the ship early Thursday.

The U.S. Navy said also it appeared the ransom was dropped Wednesday. "We have all indications that a ransom was paid regarding FAINA", Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for Bahrain-based 5th Fleet told the AP on Thursday. Christensen said U.S. Navy ships, monitoring the Ukrainian arms ship, "saw something that could be a ransom, dropped on the ship on Wednesday". Christensen did not want to elaborate, but added that U.S. ships continue to watch the FAINA.

Somali pirates holding the Ukrainian ship MV FAINA with 20 men and 33 tanks on board received a $3.2 million ransom on Feb. 4 and were expected to release the vessel within hours, said a Somali who helped negotiate the deal. "The pirates are still on the ship dividing the money", the man, who asked not to be named, told Reuters from the Somali port of Haradheere. "The ship will be released in coming hours". Victor Shapovalov, father of one of 17 Ukrainian men held hostage aboard the vessel since Sept. 25, confirmed to the Kyiv Post on Feb. 4 that release was imminent. "The pirates received the ransom", said Victor Shapovalov, father of hostage Denis Shapovalov. "They are now counting the money and getting ready to leave the vessel. It happened". The MV FAINA was captured on Sept. 25 with its 21-man crew and a cargo of Soviet-era T-72 tanks plus other weapons. The ship’s Russian captain, Vladimir Kolobkov, died of a heart attack two days later. Its seizure drew international attention, not only for its dramatic military cargo, but for a controversy over the destination of the tanks. Kenya said it had bought them for its army, but foreign diplomats said the arms were bound for south Sudan – a potential embarrassment to Nairobi, which brokered a peace pact for the region on its northwestern border.

The International Court of Justice drew a new maritime border between Romania and Ukraine on Feb. 3 to settle a dispute over parts of the Black Sea believed to hold significant oil and gas reserves, Reuters reported, citing a decision at The Hague. The unanimous decision by the court's 15 judges, which both parties agreed in advance would be binding, ends a long-running dispute that began more than a decade ago and was submitted to the court in 2004. Romania had claimed a border extending into the northern part of the Black Sea, excluding an area surrounding Ukraine’s Serpent Island or Snake Island, as the rock formation located 40 kilometers offshore is known. Ukraine had claimed a border closer to the western coast of the Black Sea, saying that Serpent Island gave it territorial rights over the waters. The ruling gives Romania about four-fifths of the area it claimed, said Bogdan Aurescu, Romania's agent on the case. As part of its judgment, the court also determined that Serpent Island could be considered an island, rather than just a rocky outcrop.

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 !

The Somali side must come to terms now and set the innocent seafarers free with first priority !

Ecoterra Intl. also calls for human rights protection to be provided for all crew members, their families in Russia, the Ukraine and Latvia as well as for all well-meaning people assisting in solving the case, many of whom 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 WW II - become the shroud for its 20 seafarers. "The environment and its natural resources are all too often forgotten as the long-term casualty of war. Environmental security must no longer be viewed as a luxury but needs to be seen as a fundamental part of a long-lasting peace policy". - UNEP

The 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.

Raising public awareness through legitimate criticism of government actions is a fundamental part of human rights work. We know the Ukrainian authorities don’t welcome facts or information about allegations, but governments trying to prevent torture or other internationally outlawed human rights violations or crimes should encourage reporting of complaints, but not retaliate against human rights defenders. Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that, "Citizens also take part in the conduct of public affairs by exerting influence through public debate". States also have obligations specifically relating to protecting and ensuring the right of human rights defenders to do their work. The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders states that everyone has the right to promote the protection and realization of human rights and that individuals or groups have the right to articulate criticism and make proposals for improving the work of government bodies, among other rights. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee free speech. Government officials are expected to be more receptive to criticism than private citizens, especially when it concerns the carrying out of their official duties.

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

Finally United Arab Emirates-based Al Rashid Shipping, in Dubai, spoke out and confirmed that one of it's vessel MV JAIKUR I is held in Mogadishu port. However, "The ship is not missing. It is in the port of Mogadishu and has been there for two months with all the crew", a company official, who identified himself as Abu Ahmad, told Reuters. "Some of the cargo is damaged, and there is an insurance claim being processed. It takes some time". Seafarers had reported that the crew is being held under the gun in one of the most dangerous areas in Somalia because the owner of the vessel and the owner of the cargo are in a dispute. The First Engineer, an Iraqi sailor, had reportedly stated that the crew is held under inhuman conditions with very scarce food resources. Ecoterra Intl. demands the immediate release of the crew without any condition and the repatriation of the seamen. The crew consists of 14 Indians, 3 Pakistani, 2 Somali, 1 Filipino and 1 Iraqi (the captain). "The crew must not be held as hostages in a business dispute and must be released immediately!" an Ecoterra spokeswoman said.

Sea-jacked tug MASINDRA 7 and its barge ADM1 have been moved from Dhanaane to Ilig in order to have better anchorage while awaiting the final settlement.

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 14 foreign vessels with a total of 243 crew members accounted for (of which 57 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 (for Somalia, incl. the presently held) and the mistaken sinking of one vessel by a naval force. For 2009 the account stands at 17 averted or abandoned attacks and 6 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 -------

Opposition to Somalia's newest leader, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, gained disturbing momentum Wednesday after four factions announced plans to merge and declare war on the new government. Sheikh Hassan Mahdi, a senior member of ARS-Eritrea faction, told reporters that all the groups merged to fight new President Sheikh Sharif and the anticipated 'unity government'. He said the new group's name is Hisbi Islam ("Islamic Party") and described the four group as: Islamic Courts–Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys faction; Jabhatul Islamiya ("Islamic Front"); Mu’askar Ras Kamboni; and Anole. "The decision to form a united front came after many meetings among these groups, and we united to continue the jihad and to rule the country [Somalia] under Islamic law", Sheikh Mahdi said.

He strongly criticized Sheikh Sharif for adopting a secular constitution and "turning away from Islam", while describing the new government as "the same as [ex-President] Abdullahi Yusuf's government". According to Sheikh Mahdi, the Al Shabaab faction is not a member of the newly-formed Islamic Party, but noted that the two sides have taken "identical positions" and suggested plans to begin merger talks soon. He accused Ethiopia of re-sending soldiers to Somalia, while condemning African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) for "massacring" civilians following a roadside blast in Mogadishu. Ethiopia's government has denied sending troops back to Somalia after withdrawing last month following a deeply unpopular, two-year military occupation. However, witnesses and Islamist administrators in the central Hiran region have reported Ethiopian troops' presence along a strategic road inside Somalia's international boundaries. In Mogadishu, AMISOM is recuperating after local officials publicly blamed the peacekeepers for gunning down 39 civilians. That figure was later corrected by Somali police chief, Gen. Abdi Qeybdiid, who put the death toll at 13 victims.

The spokesman for Somali Islamist group Al Shabaab has distanced his faction from the assassination of a radio director in Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reports. Sheikh Muktar Robow "Abu Mansur" told the VOA Somali Service during a Wednesday interview that the killing of Mogadishu-based HornAfrik radio director Said Tahlil Ahmed was cruelty and sent condolences to the family. "We [Al Shabaab] did not kill Said Tahlil, who was a friend and a man working for the public", Abu Mansur said, adding that Al Shabaab is not a perfect group but they are not involved in Tahlil's murder. The director of Radio Codka Nabada ("Voice of Peace"), Mr. Abdiaziz Mohamud "Africa", had told the VOA Somali-language program that he was with Said Tahlil when gunshots to the head ended the journalist's life. He stated that a group of reporters were on their way to a press conference by Al Shabaab – and were being escorted by Al Shabaab fighters – when the fatal shooting happened. But Abu Mansur said: "Anyone who suspects us must bring proof".

Somalia's new leader is under tremendous pressure to bring change to a country that has resisted powerful forces and brought down towering figures. Sheikh Sharif, 43, is a soft-spoken Islamist politician whose claim to fame earned him praise as Mogadishu's savior when, in mid-2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) he led defeated despised warlords and restored order to the capital. He was elected president by a 550-seat parliament, which included members of a warlord-dominated interim government (TFG) and an Islamist-dominated opposition faction (ARS-Djibouti). The UN-endorsed election took place in neighboring Djibouti, another disheartening reminder of the sheer lawlessness that has paralyzed the Somali nation from reaching its full potential. Sheikh Sharif's presidency is not recognized by powerful groups inside the country that control most of the territory of the Somali Republic, including Somaliland, Puntland and Al Shabaab. But he traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to participate at the annual African Union summit as the Somali head of state, where he was heralded as the country's change leader with deep ties to the Islamist community. He vowed to African leaders that he will work harmoniously with the world community and appealed for their support.

On Wednesday, President Sheikh Sharif returned to Djibouti leading a delegation that included TFG Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein and Information Minister Ahmed Abdisalam. The BBC had reported that Sheikh Sharif asked the AU summit for help to deal with "extremists" who oppose the peace process. But Mr. Abdirahman Abdishakur, the new president's adviser and ARS member, later told the BBC Somali Service that Sheikh Sharif did not ask for foreign peacekeepers to be sent to Somalia. He was denying rumors – reportedly spread by Ethiopian officials at the AU summit – that President Sheikh Sharif has requested African governments to send more peacekeepers to Mogadishu. The 3,500-strong AMISOM force from Uganda and Burundi is short of the 8,000 peacekeepers pledged by the AU more than two years ago.

Sweden is set to send three of its naval vessels to the Gulf of Aden to help in the international effort to fight the scourge of piracy that has engulfed the seas off of Somalia. The government voted overwhelmingly to support the ongoing UN mission, code-named Operation Atalanta. Sweden will be sending two corvettes and one support ship along with a security force, the government said in a statement. The Chinese news agency Xinhua reports that Sweden’s participation in the UN mission will start before the middle of 2009, and last four months at the longest. Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt said in the statement that "Sweden’s participation is a response to the UN request for protection and security for the deliveries of food aid to Somalia from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). In addition, the operation will help combat the increasing number of acts of piracy off the coast of the country". The EU officially started its anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden on 8 December 2008. This marked the first time the 27-nation union embarked on a joint naval mission. Currently, more than 90 per cent of all WFP aid to Somalia is delivered by sea. Continued interruption by the pirates could spell disaster for the people of this nation, which is now considered the world’s most lawless.

The Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute released a report today, Contemporary Piracy off the Horn of Africa by Patrick Lennox. Patrick Lennox is the J.L. Granatstein Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Calgary's Centre for Military and Strategic Studies. Dr. Lennox spent two months embedded on Her Majesty's Canadian Ships Iroquois and Protecteur as they patrolled the Arabian Sea during Canada's most recent contribution to the maritime dimension of the American-led war on terror. This voyage demonstrated the current threat to economic security presented by the increase in piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The paper goes on to stipulate that the problem will get worse before it gets better. Lennox notes that instability in Somalia is an important reason for the increase in piracy in the area: "As Somalia fails more and more spectacularly as a state, the size, value and number of the ships Somali pirates seize can be expected to grow along with the complexity of the pirate network, the sophistication of their weapons, crafts, and techniques, and the number of functional pirates".

Furthermore this problem will only get worse as pirates begin to adapt to international responses. The paper continues on to outline why the international community has had such difficulty in curbing piracy in the area and says that the response from the international community is only growing in tandem with the threat. It will be necessary for Somali piracy to "metastasize to the point where it effectively inhibits the flow of commercial traffic through the GOA before it elicits the necessary naval response from the core state of the international political/economic system". Lennox concludes that it will be necessary to stabilize Somalia in order to begin to contain the pirate threat; however, this will not be simple as the United States has been hesitant in the area since the Black Hawk Down incident of 1993. The current efforts of countries in the area are not adequate to bring stability, nor unsettle pirate sanctuaries and their infrastructures. The complete report, Contemporary Piracy off the Horn of Africa, is available online at www.cdfai.org. CDFAI is a "think tank" pursuing authoritative research and new ideas aimed at ensuring Canada has a respected and influential voice in the international arena.

Lundin Petroleum AB, Sweden’s largest oil explorer, is selling its Lundin East Africa BV and Lundin Kenya BV subsidiaries to Africa Oil Corp. for $20 million. Lundin East Africa has interests in and is operator of production sharing contracts in the Ogaden Basin region and in the Adigala Area in Ethiopia, while Lundin Kenya has stakes in two blocks in Kenya’s Anza Basin region, the Stockholm-based company said in a statement today. The sale also includes the transfer of an option which Lundin holds over Blocks 35 and M10- A in Somalia, currently in force majeure, the company said. "In view of last year’s disappointing drilling results in Sudan, our East African acreage has less materiality to us and as a result we have decided to divest our interests", Chief Executive Officer Ashley Heppenstall said in the statement. "Our exploration efforts will continue to be focused on Norway, Russia and South East Asia". Africa Oil will buy Lundin’s East Africa subsidiaries through a loan from Lundin maturing Dec. 31, 2011, with an interest rate of U.S. dollar six-month London interbank offered rate plus 3 percent. The loan will be convertible into shares of Africa Oil on the basis of C$0.90 per share, Lundin said. Force majeure is a legal clause allowing companies to renege on supply contracts. The move comes at a time when Lundin's as well as Africa Oil Corp.'s partner the Australian Range Resources Limited came under serious pressure with the election of the new President of Somalia's breakaway region of Puntland, who had been a stout opponent to the oil-dealing of his predecessor.

Impacting news from the global village --------

Migration Minister favours resettlement in Europe. Two ministers wanted to see for themselves which people should qualify for a new life in Europe. The Belgian Migration Minister Annemie Turtelboom (Flemish liberal) has visited a Kenyan refugee camp together with her Dutch counterpart. The ministers wanted to see for themselves which people should qualify for a new life in Europe. The Kakuma refugee camp is located in northern Kenya tucked up against the border with Sudan and Somalia. It contains 50,000 refugees. Some have been here for 15 years. For many there is no way back and little future here. The UN High Commission for Refugees argues that young families with children who have no other alternative should be the first to qualify for a safe haven elsewhere. Migration Minister Turtelboom says that resettlement is the last option. Only 1% of refugees qualify. These are the refugees who have been here for ten, fifteen years, who cannot return home, who cannot integrate here. The Migration Minister is convinced Belgium should take part in resettlement programmes, but the question remains whether a political majority for this exists in the Belgian Government. Ecoterra Intl., however, warned the Belgium and Dutch authorities from another round of "Pick a Refugee" in which the U.S. of America had engaged already earlier in order to complete the human genome project and later to select suitable worker for slaughterhouses and garbage-bin operators or select the "beauties of the camps" for a green card. "This is the most perverse pseudo-aid the international community has engaged in over the last ten years!" an Ecoterra spokeswoman stated.

Strategy Page on deadly wars in the shadows: The bloodiest war since World War II, is fought largely in the shadows, at least as far as the mass media is concerned. Over the last decade, over five million have died in the Congo, from the effects of the wars in the eastern part of the country. Sudan has been another slaughterhouse (over 300,000 dead, and millions of refugees, plus some slaving) that gets a bit more publicity, but is largely ignored compared to, say, Israel (7,000 dead in the last decade).

Somalia has suffered 16,000 dead in the last two years, and more than twice that in the last twenty years. But all you really hear about is the pirates up north (who kill hardly anyone, except some of the thousands of the refugees they try to smuggle into Yemen, when they aren't trying to kidnap passing merchant ships and fishing boats.) The most ignored war is in the island nation (off the southern coast of India) of Sri Lanka, where a civil war has killed over 80,000 in the last 25 years (and about 10,000 in the last year alone). India itself suffers over 2,000 dead a year from terrorists (mostly tribal and communist). Neighboring Pakistan has suffered 14,000 dead from Islamic terrorism in the past six years, and Afghanistan has lost that number in the last three years. We hear a lot about Afghanistan, mainly because U.S. and NATO troops are there (nearly 300 were killed there in the last year.)

Iraq got a lot of mass media coverage in the past six years, most of it false, misleading or outright propaganda. The dead there amounted to about 150,000 (including 4,400 Americans, 80 percent of them in combat). But most of the Iraqi dead were killed by fellow Moslems, most of them Iraqis trying to replace democracy with a new dictatorship.

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Google Earth allows web users to explore world's oceans in 3D. The Ocean tool combines renderings of underwater terrain with expert content from marine biologists and oceanographers, allowing web surfers to swim around virtual underwater volcanoes, watch videos about exotic marine life, read about nearby shipwrecks, and contribute photos and videos of their favourite diving spots. Google said that humans had only ever explored around five per cent of the world's oceans, which cover more than 70 per cent of the earth's surface and contain 80 per cent of all life. Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, said the launch of Ocean in Google Earth provided an opportunity to change people's perspective about the importance of the oceanic ecosystem in the overall health of the planet. "In discussions about climate change, the world's oceans are often overlooked, despite being an integral part of the issue", he said. "Biodiversity loss in our oceans in the next 20 to 30 years will be roughly equivalent to losing an entire Amazon rainforest, but this goes unnoticed because we can't see it". The Ocean feature is included in the newest version of Google Earth. As users zoom in on the ocean they will see a dynamic water surface, which they can then "dive" beneath to navigate the sea floor. Areas available for exploration include the Mid-Ocean Ridge, the world's longest underwater mountain range, which stretches 50,000km around the globe. Many of the world's leading scientists, researchers and ocean explorers have contributed to the fact files, videos and information sheets within the tool. There is even new and unseen footage from the archives of Jacques Cousteau, as well as the ability to track satellite-tagged sea animals, such as whales.

Indian Ocean linked to Australian droughts. Droughts in Australia have traditionally been linked to El Nino events in the Pacific Ocean, but a new study says the key driver of major droughts has been a warming and cooling cycle in the Indian Ocean, reports Reuters. The research shows Australia's major droughts over the past 120 years, including the Federation drought (1895-1902), the World War Two drought (1937-1945), and the present drought (post-1995), all coincide with fluctuations in ocean temperature known as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) say their study explains why a series of La Nina weather events, which usually bring Pacific rains to Australia, have failed to break the current drought, the worst in 100 years. When the IOD is in a negative phase it creates cool Indian Ocean water west of Australia and warm Timor Sea water to the north. This generates winds that pick up moisture from the ocean and sweep across southern Australia, delivering wet conditions. In a positive phase, the pattern of Indian Ocean temperatures is reversed, weakening the winds and reducing the amount of moisture picked up and transported across Australia, said the study to be published in Geophysical Research Letters. "What we have found is that there has not been a single wet event, not a single negative event in the Indian Ocean Dipole since 1992", said Caroline Ummenhofer from the UNSW Climate Change Research Center, who led the research. "That means all you are left with in southeast Australia is dry events. The cause of the "Big Dry", the current drought, is actually due to a lack of negative Indian Ocean Dipole events that remove the wet years from southeast Australia".

End of the Ecoterra 130th Press Release Update