Piracy & Maritime Security Incidents to 8th January 2014

It appears to be quiet off the coast of East Africa at the beginning of 2014, but not so much in Indonesia nor the West African littoral.

On 2 January, five pirates boarded a drifting gas carrier 55-nm west of Corsico in the Gulf of Guinea. The crew raised the alarm and the pirates fled. The master reported that there were several small craft without AIS in the vicinity.

On 3 January, pirates boarded the general cargo vessel San Miguel and kidnapped 3 crew members 20-miles NW of Bata, Equatorial Guinea.

On 3 January, armed robbers boarded an anchored chemical tanker in Belawan Anchorage, Indonesia while it was conducting loading operations. They took hostage the duty crewman then broke into the forecastle store room and stole ship’s property and escaped.

On 4-5 January, the Ukrainian captain and Greek engineer who were kidnapped by Nigerian pirates from the tanker Althea on 16 December 2013 were released.

On 6 January, robbers boarded an anchored chemical tanker in Belawan Outer Anchorage, Indonesia. The crew spotted the robbers and raised the alarm, whereupon the robbers fled in their small craft without stealing anything. The master alerted other ships in the vicinity via bridge-to-bridge radio.

On 7 January, armed robbers boarded a berthed container ship off Doula Port, Cameroon. The duty crewman noticed suspicious movements at the forecastle & informed the duty officer who raised the alarm. Seeing the crew response, the robbers escaped in a small craft.

On 7 January, robbers boarded an anchored chemical tanker in Gresik Inner Anchorage, Indonesia. They threatened the duty watch keeper & stole ship’s stores. The robbers fled when other crew members raised the alarm.

On 8 January, robbers boarded a berthed general cargo ship at Monrovia Port, Liberia. After hearing some noise, the duty watchman noticed a robber throwing ship’s properties overboard. Upon seeing the crew response, the robber jumped overboard and escaped. The master informed local authorities who sent a port security patrol to investigate. Port security personnel helped recover some of the stolen ship’s property that was adrift near the stern of the ship.

Source: United States Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence.

OTDIH 19 Oct 1987 US Navy attacked Iranian oil platforms during Operation Nimble Archer

An Iranian oil platform set ablaze after shelling by American destroyers during Operation Nimble Archer, 19 Oct 1987.

Piracy reports 10-18 October 2013

Attempted Boarding by Somali Pirates
On 11 October at 0918 UTC, pirates in two skiffs fired upon the tanker Island Splendor and attempted a boarding approx. 237 nautical miles east of Hobyo, Somalia. The armed security team aboard the tanker fired flares and warning shots, whereupon the pirates returned fire with an automatic weapons. The security team engaged the pirates which resulted in the skiffs aborting the attack. BZ onboard security!

Hijack of Oil Tanker by Malay Pirates
On 10 October at 0530 local time, nine hijackers wearing masks and carrying weapons boarded the oil tanker Danai 4 while underway 20 nautical miles southeast of Pulau Aur, Malaysia. The hijackers took the crew hostage, destroyed all the communications equipment, and held the vessel until 15 October. They disembarked taking cargo (marine gas oil), cash and personal belongings. Thankfully no injuries reported.

Hijack of Bulk Carrier by Indonesian Pirates
On 10 October at 0315 local time, five hijackers boarded the bulk carrier Port Hainan at anchor at Muara Berau, Indonesia. The hijackers held one crew member hostage while they broke into storage and stole ship’s stores. The officer of the watch sounded the alarm and the crew mustered on the forecastle. After the hijackers saw the alerted crew, they left the ship and escaped. BZ to crew for swift action!

Source: US Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Marine OPINTEL Report

Don’t expect the Northern Sea Route to be croweded any time soon

Although it’s possible to pilot large cargo vessels through Arctic Waters, there are a number of reasons why it is not particularly attractive to operators. You know… icebergs an’ all that. Getting insurance can be a bit of a bugger, too.

Arctic Shipping Route Plagued by Icebergs and Insurance

The new shipping route opened up through the Arctic by climate change will not be crowded any time soon.

Cargoes of coal, diesel and gas have made the trip but high insurance costs, slow going and strict environmental rules mean there will not be a rush to follow them.

Looser ice means icebergs. One vessel has already been holed, and large ice breaking vessels, not always on hand, are a must.

“Significant safety and navigational concerns remain an obstacle to commercial shipping in the Northern Sea route, despite recent media reports of ‘successful’ transits,” said Richard Hurley, a senior analyst at shipping intelligence publisher IHS Maritime.

“AIS (ship) tracking of vessels in the area shows all vessels are subject to deviation from direct routes as a result of ice, and many areas still cannot be navigated safely without the presence of large icebreakers able to provide assistance such as lead through to clearer waters.”

Last month, a dry bulk vessel carrying coal from Canada passed through the Northwest Passage to deliver a cargo to Finland, in a trip its operators said would save $80,000 worth of fuel and cut shipping time by a week.

The world’s top oil trader Vitol brought tankers in October with Asian diesel to Europe via the Northern Sea route over Russia, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs.

The fast-growing liquefied natural gas market, in which Arctic players like Russia and Norway play a big role, has also seen maiden Arctic voyages.

Hurley said the passage of the Yong Sheng cargo vessel in August from China to Europe via the Northern Sea was only possible with the aid of the world’s largest nuclear powered icebreaker, 50 Let Pobedy, to get it through the Lapatev Sea. Ship tracking showed only four large icebreakers were available at any one time to cover the whole Northern sea route.

Separately, a small Russian oil products tanker was holed in September in the Kara Sea, also off Russia.

“Even though damage was minimal and did not cause a pollution incident, the holing revealed fragility of emergency help,” Hurley said. “Taken together, all the inherent dangers and concerns over potential Arctic pollution count heavily against time and cost savings alone when assessing the commercial viability of the seaway.”

INSURANCE AND CONTAINERS

The market is also still nascent for insurers.

“The key obstacle here will remain the insurance, as it’s still simply too risky a proposition for standard commercial insurers,” said Michael Frodl of U.S.-based consultancy C-Level Maritime Risks, who advises insurers.

“The ships aren’t ready, the support facilities and port infrastructure are not yet in place, and the risks haven’t been figured out enough to price insurance correctly.”

Others say the commercial potential is unlikely to be viable for container ships, which transport consumer goods, partly as trade flows develop beyond China in coming decades towards other regions including Africa and South America.

“The further away global trade moves from a totally China-centric export pattern, the more a short ‘polar’ route looses its appeal,” said Jan Tiedemann, shipping analyst with consultancy Alphaliner.

“The Southern route – even if longer – will always have the advantage of serving numerous markets at the same time. Think of the Middle East. Think of transshipment via the (Malacca) Straits to Australia and New Zealand. Think of transshipment in Arabia for East Africa. Think of Med and Black Sea loops.”

Until recent years harsh weather conditions, which can drop to 40 to 50 degrees centigrade below zero, had limited Arctic shipping mostly to small freighters and ice-breakers that supplied northern communities in Canada, Norway or Russia.

According to French ship classification society Bureau Veritas, there were 40 Arctic route trading voyages in 2012 for all vessel classes including oil tankers, with around one million tonnes of cargo moved. That compared with 700 million tonnes transported through the Suez canal.

Knut Espen Solberg of Norwegian shipping and offshore classification group Det Norske Veritas, said dry bulk vessels carrying coal were best suited for Arctic shipping as the potential for environmental potential was less.

“Oil and container spills have a much bigger potential environmental impact than coal, so their shipping is likely to be restricted heavily,” said Solberg, a former Arctic mariner.

http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Arctic-Shipping-Route-Plagued-by-Icebergs-and-Insurance-2013-10-15/

Tanker Pollution Busted by Satellite Images

Officer of the Watch

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued a press notice regarding the tanker pollution conviction after use of satellite imagery as the primary evidence. At a hearing at Truro Magistrates Court, the owner of a tanker paid a total of £22,500 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to a breach of UK maritime pollution legislation.

View original post 384 more words

4 nuclear-power icebreakers escort Russian battlecruiser, ignore oil tanker in distress

So the Yuri Andropov… sorry… I mean the Petr Veliky (old Soviet leopard, new Russian spots) warrants 4 nuclear-powered icebreakers for a jaunt through the Nordenskiöld Archipelago, but a floundering tanker loaded with diesel oil is left to its own devices. There’s Soviet logic … oops… sorry… I mean Russian logic for you. What’s the harm of an ecological disaster here or there?

{sigh} They don’t make this easy, you know, renaming ships an’ all. The Andropov is the Veliky, the Ural is the “50 Years of Victory or Fiftieth Anniversary of Victory”, the Nordvik is the Volgoneft. You know what this is? Maskirovka! 😉

Four icebreakers for missile cruiser – none for damaged tanker

The Northern Fleet’s flag ship «Petr Veliky» was escorted by no less than four nuclear-powered icebreakers on its voyage eastwards along the Northern Sea Route. At the same time a damaged tanker fully loaded with diesel fuel has been waiting for assistance for a week after it was struck by an ice floe.

Nuclear icebreakers escorting Russia’s heavy missile cruiser “Petr Veliky” along the Northern Sea Route. (Photo: mil.ru)

A vessel group consisting of ten different vessels from the Northern Fleet and led by the heavy missile cruiser “Petr Veliky” yesterday sailed through the Matisen Strait north of the Taymyr Peninsula, the Defense Ministry’s web site reads. The group was escorted by no less than four of Atomflot’s nuclear-powered icebreakers, among them the two largest and most powerful icebreakers in the world, “50 Let Pobedy” and “Yamal”. Also the two shallow-water nuclear icebreakers “Vaygach” and “Taymyr” were put in to escort the world’s largest battlecruiser through the crumbling ice.

Watch video from the Northern Fleet’s voyage along the Northern Sea Route on TV Zvezda.

Matisen Strait is the same place where a nearly 30 year old tanker loaded with diesel oil has been waiting for assistance for a week after it collided with an ice floe and started taking in water.

The 6403 dwt tanker “Nordvik” was struck by ice in the area last Wednesday while sailing in medium ice conditions – in all probability without icebreaker escort, while it only had permission to sail in light ice conditions. In the first information about the accident – which came from the Seafarer’s Union of Russia and not from any governmental source, it was said that the vessel was on its way to Murmansk, but later information from the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport revealed that the tanker was drifting in the area, waiting for another tanker to come and unload the diesel and for an icebreaker to come and escort the vessel to port.

Ship-to-ship reloading of oil in ice conditions is considered to be a risky business, but in this situation it is probably safer than trying to sail the damaged ship to port.

http://barentsobserver.com/en/arctic/2013/09/four-icebreakers-missile-cruiser-none-damaged-tanker-11-09

Iranian “fleet” to patrol international waters

Iran talks of numbered fleets like cheap hotels talk about how many rooms they have. If you start numbering from 26 or 27 then people might not realise how few ships you have.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy currently has 3 Alvand-class (Vosper Thornycroft Mk5) frigates, 3 Moudge-class (reverse-engineered Mk5) frigates, and 2 Bayandor-class (US PF-103) corvettes. From this they conjure a 27th Fleet.

It was also a nice touch by the Iranian media to claim the the Karg is a “helicopter carrier” instead of an Ol-class replenishment oiler. Bless ’em… they mean well.

Iran naval fleet to secure oil tankers in international waters

File photo shows Iran’s Kharg helicopter carrier.

Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari says the Islamic Republic’s 27th naval fleet has been dispatched to international waters.

“The 27th naval fleet of the Navy has set sail for high seas in order to secure commercial vessels and oil tankers of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Sayyari said in a Tuesday interview.

The naval fleet comprises the Sabalan destroyer and Kharg helicopter carrier warship, he said.

The Iranian commander noted that the new naval fleet was dispatched after the Navy’s 26th fleet –which comprised Bandar Abbas logistic warship and Alvand destroyer — ended its mission in the Gulf of Aden and returned to Iran on Monday.

The Navy’s 26th fleet was dispatched on June 2 to patrol waters in the north of the Indian Ocean and pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea.

The Iranian Navy also plans to dispatch its 28th fleet to the Atlantic, Pacific or South Indian oceans in the near future.

In recent years, Iran Navy has been increasing its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers.

In line with the international efforts to combat piracy, the Iranian Navy has also been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard the vessels involved in maritime trade, especially the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.

ASH/KA

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/20/319641/iran-naval-fleet-to-secure-oil-tankers/

Nigerian Navy battles pirates in Gulf of Guinea

The Nigerian Navy has killed 12 pirates in a 30-minute gun battle in the Gulf of Guinea. BZ to the Nigerians for what they do. But we can (and should!) do more to help them.

The Nigerian Navy currently boasts a 1970s German frigate, a 1960s US Coast Guard cutter rebadged as frigate, and four 1960s/70s Vosper Thronycroft corvettes. A couple of decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates under the Foreign Assistance Act wouldn’t go amiss. Nor would paid off Type 22 frigates that were sold at a pittance for scrap. It is well-and-good for the US, UK, EU and allied partners to provide standing naval forces in the fight against piracy, but regional navies must be brought up to strength with adequate equipment and training in order to truly defeat the scourge.

Nigerian navy says kills 12 pirates in gun battle

(Reuters) – The Nigerian navy killed 12 pirates in a gun battle as they tried to flee from a fuel tanker they hijacked off the coast of the Gulf of Guinea last week, the navy said on Monday.

Pirates took control of the St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged MT Notre on August 15, but an emergency signal was sent to the navy and several gunships were deployed to recover the vessel, Navy Flag Officer Rear Admiral Sidi-Ali Hassan told reporters.

Navy gunships caught up with the vessel and forced it into Nigerian waters but while negotiating the ship’s release, the pirates tried to escape on a speed boat. The navy boats pursued but were fired upon by the hijackers.

“The gun battle lasted for about 30 minutes after which they were overpowered. On taking over the speed boat, four of the militants were alive and unhurt while the rest of the pirates were killed in the crossfire,” Sidi-Ali Hussan said.

The crew were all rescued unharmed from the MT Notre, which was carrying 17,000 metric tons of gasoline, he said.

Pirate attacks off West Africa’s mineral-rich coastline have almost doubled from last year and threaten to jeopardize the shipping of commodities from the region. They have already jacked up insurance costs.

It is rare for the navy to engage pirates in gun battles offshore, as vessels are usually released after being robbed of cargo and valuables. Sometimes crew are kidnapped for ransom.

(Reporting by Tife Owolabi; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/19/us-nigeria-piracy-idUSBRE97I0PY20130819

Map of most dangerous areas in the world due to pirate attacks

Map by Control Risks.

Pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, July 2013

Source: Office of Naval Intelligence (unclassified)

19 July: The Vanuatu-flagged offshore supply vessel C Viking (2197 GT) was boarded at the Usari Oil Field off the coast of Nigeria. Pirates looted the vessel and destroyed equipment on the bridge before disembarking.

18 July: The United States-flagged bulk carrier Liberty Grace (28836 GT) experienced an attempted boarding attempt in the Lome anchorage area off the coast of Togo. The crew of the bulk carrier used a spotlight, fire hoses and flares to repel the boarding attempt. A patrol boat from the Togo Navy arrived after the incident.

16 July: The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Ocean Centurion (23328 GT) was hijacked at 05:29N – 001:38 E, approximately 46nm southeast of Lome, Togo. Armed pirates in 2 speed boats approached, boarded and hijacked the tanker while underway. They took hostage all the crew members, looted personal belongings, and ordered the Master to steer towards the Togo/Benin border. The pirates disembarked and escaped via speedboat, 12nm from the coastline. Two crew members were injured during the hijacking and were transferred ashore for medical treatment. A patrol boat from the Togo Navy arrived after the incident.

15 July: The Malta-flagged chemical tanker Cotton (23248 GT) was hijacked at 00:26 S – 008:51 E, approximately 13nm off Port Gentil, Gabon while underway. Approximately 25 gunmen armed with AK-47 assault rifles hijacked the tanker and took its crew hostage. The vessel was released, with all crew safe, on 22 July.

14 July: The Gabon-flagged landing craft Renovation (940 GT) was boarded while underway off Port Gentil, Gabon. Approximately 20 gunmen boarded the landing craft, looted the crew’s personal possessions and escaped.

10 July: An anchored chemical tanker experienced a suspicious approach at 06:17 N, – 003:21 E, approximately 5.4nm southwest of Fairway Buoy, Lagos. The tanker’s armed security team fired one warning shot when the small boat came within 50m of the vessel, causing the boat to depart the area.

7 July: Gunmen boarded a supply vessel at 04:24 N – 007:03 E, in the vicinity of the New Calabar River, Nigeria while the vessel was underway. The captain, chief engineer and a deckhand were reported to have been taken hostage.

5 July: An anchored bulk carrier was boarded at 06:26 N – 003:23 E at Lagos, Nigeria. Armed men were spotted by the boatswain who alerted the duty officer. The boatswain was wounded by gunfire before other crew members came to his assistance. The gunmen escaped by speedboat. The injured crew member was hospitalized for treatment.