Piracy and armed robery against ships

[Leo]

Update as of 25 Feb 2010.

25 February 10 PAWW.pdf

[Leo]

Update as of 03 March 10 PAWW.

03 March 10 PAWW.pdf

[Παναγιώτης]

Even with monsoon wind blowing we had an incident as we read in report. I think that we'll have a dificult month with the end of winder monsoon season in med March.

[Natsios]

Below article might be an alert for the expansion of piracy attacks region



Greek ship evades
A Greek bulker survived a 12-hour assault by pirates deep in the Indian Ocean at the weekend.
In what could prove a worrying expansion of Somali piracy, attackers in numerous boats repeatedly tried but failed to board the 27,500-dwt Melina 1 (built 1980) around 350 miles west of the south-west tip of India.
The attack on the Malta-flagged unit began at around 13:00 GMT on Friday when the master reported a number of suspicious boats in the area. A spokesperson for its owner, Athens-based Tramp Maritime Enterprises, told TradeWinds two skiffs and three larger craft were involved in the attack.
[IMG]file://192.0.0.1/dms$/dms/in/2010/3/8/39974842-001image001.jpg[/IMG]
The pirates chased the bulker for 12 hours, attempting to board the ship at many points, until abandoning their assault at around 04:00 local time on Saturday.
The master had immediately informed the owner who pressed an emergency response team into action in Greece. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard were informed and an aircraft was dispatched to aid the vessel.
Numerous media reports indicate the incident occurred some 200 miles west of India’s Lakshadweep Islands which are about 150 miles west of the coast of Kerala state.
No shots were fired during the attack and there are no reports of any injuries to the 23 Ukrainian and Filipino crew.
The Melina 1was en route from Ukraine to Paradip, India with a cargo of coal when it was attacked.
Although no pirate suspects were found following the assault, the incident bears all the hallmarks of a Somali pirate attack. If Somali pirates were involved, the attack could signal their ability to strike at much further distances from Somalia’s coast, increasing the risk to shipping deeper into the Indian Ocean.
Elsewhere in the region, Somali pirates reportedly received a $4m ransom before freeing a Thai fishing vessel which was held for over four months. The Thai Union 3 was released on Sunday having been taken on 29 October in the Somali Basin with 25 crew onboard.
Also, a Norwegian chemical tanker seized on Friday has reportedly now reached the Somali pirate stronghold of Haradhere in Puntland. The 9,380-dwt UBT Ocean(built 2009), owned by Brovigs Rederi, was snatched north of Madagascar on Friaday with 21 Myanmarese crew.

Source: Kite Warren & Wilson insurance brokers

[Leo]

Update as of 10 March 10 PAWW

10 March 10 PAWW.pdf

[Leo]

Two latest updates

17 March 10 PAWW.pdf

24 March 10 PAWW.pdf

[Leo]

Weekly update for your guidance, things getting worse.

08 April 10 PAWW.pdf

[Leo]

Regular weekly update enhanced by ONI report.

15 April 10 PAWW.pdf

WWTTS 041510.pdf

[Leo]

Worldwide hijackings fall but pirates expand area of operation


During the first quarter of 2010, Somali pirates were responsible for 35 of the 67 piracy incidents reported worldwide which is a sharp drop from the 102 attacks that were reported during the first quarter of 2009. The reduction may be attributed to the continued success of the navies present in the Gulf of Aden and the more robust anti-piracy measures adopted by the merchant navy fleet.
Eleven vessels were hijacked. A total of 194 crew members were taken hostage, 12 of whom were injured.
Even as the total number of incidents decline, the range of action by Somali pirates has expanded, spreading from the Gulf of Aden and the southern part of the Red Sea to the coasts off Kenya, Tanzania, the Seychelles, and even Madagascar in the Indian Ocean and Oman in the Arabian Sea. Some attacks, in fact, have taken place 1,000 nautical miles to the East from the Somali coast.
In Nigerian waters, only two incidents have been reported. Violence towards crews remains high. In one of the two reported incidents, two crew members were injured and had to be taken ashore for medical treatment.
Indonesia has reported eight piracy incidents during the first quarter of 2010, compared with only one incident reported during the first quarter of 2009. It should be noted that many incidents were attacks on vessels at anchor or at berth. Due regard and caution should be exercised while transiting Indonesian waters.
In the first quarter of 2010, no incidents were reported in the Malacca and Singapore Straits, and only one incident was reported off the coast of Bangladesh.

Source: ICC - IMB

[Leo]

Weekly update as of 21 Apr 2010

21 April 10 PAWW.pdf