Monthly Piracy Report June 2012

South East Asia & Indian Sub Continent

Africa & Red Sea

PIRACY & ARMED ROBBERY REPORTS during last week of June

• 30.06.2012: 0620 LT: 02:38.9N – 006:09.5E: Around 120nm SW of Bonny Island, Nigeria.- A container ship adrift awaiting berthing instructions was approached by five armed pirates in a wooden speed boat with two outboard engines. The pirates fired upon the vessel damaging some bridge windows and equipment. The vessel raised alarm, activated SSAS, started main engines and manoeuvred away from the approaching boat.
• 30.06.2012:0615 LT: Posn: 02:40.0N – 006:08.3E, Around 115nm SW of Bonny Island, Nigeria – Six pirates armed with guns chased and fired upon an Oil Tanker underway. Master enforced anti-piracy measures and managed to evade the boarding.
• 30.06.2012: 0210 LT: Posn: 04:01.7N – 006:06.1E, Around 70nm SW of Port Harcourt, Nigeria – Armed pirates in a boat chased and fired upon a product tanker underway from Bonny River. The Nigerian armed naval personnel onboard the tanker exchanged fire with the pirates resulting in the pirates aborted the attempted attack after 15 minutes of firing. Crew and vessel safe.
• 27.06.2012: 0430 LT: Posn: 10:41.60N – 106:45.00E, Nha Be Terminal, Ho Chi Minh City Port, Vietnam – Robbers boarded a berthed chemical tanker during cargo operations, stole the fire wire and escaped. Duty A/B on rounds noticed traces of foot prints and noticed the missing fire wire. Alarm raised, authorities informed and crew made a search but could not find the robbers.
• 27.06.2012: 1030 UTC: Posn: 14:22.59N – 054:38.26E Around 110nm north of Socotra Island, Yemen, (Off Somalia) – Pirates in a dhow approached a bulk carrier underway. Master raised alarm and took evasive manoeuvres. As the dhow closed the onboard armed security team fired warning shots. The dhow continued to ignore the warning shots and continued to approach. Two pirates hiding under a blanket appeared with guns and fired upon the ship, there was an exchange of fire between the onboard security team and the pirates until the pirates aborted the attack and moved away. No injuries to crew.
• 26.06.2012: 2215 LT: Posn: 22:10.5N – 091:42.6E, Chittagong Anchorage ‘B’, Bangladesh – Two robbers armed with knives boarded an anchored container ship just after a heavy rain shower. One of the robbers attacked the deck watch-keeper at the aft station who immediately reported to the bridge and managed to run inside the accommodation. By the time the crew mustered it was noticed that around 15 robbers in the boat were moving way with stolen ship stores.
• 25.06.2012:1516 UTC: Posn: 25:15N-057:16.4E, About 48NM East of Fujairah, Oman (Off Somalia) – Pirates armed with guns, in two skiffs approached an LPG tanker underway and closed to 0.6nm. Master fired warning flares and pyrotechnics, increased speed and manoeuvred the vessel to keep the skiffs right astern. UKMTO and navies in vicinity informed. An Iranian Naval warship responded and escorted the tanker until the skiffs were clear.
• 20.06.2012: 1200 UTC: Posn: 20:29N – 059:03E, Around 13nm East of Masirah, Oman, (Off Somalia) – Pirates hijacked a dhow and took her seven crew members as hostage.
• 20.06.2012: 0505 UTC: Posn: 20:50.8N-059:30.2E (Around 35nm NE of Masirah Island, Oman), Off Somalia – Pirates in a dhow armed with guns fired upon a LNG tanker underway. Pirates were also armed with RPG. The dhow closed in to 50meters from the ship and fired shots from their guns, of which three hit the vessel. Master enforced anti-piracy measures and managed to evade boarding.
• 18.06.2012: 1105 UTC: Posn: 12:19N – 043:57E, Gulf of Aden – Six skiffs with 4-6 pirates in each skiff approached a bulk carrier underway at 25 knots from the stbd bow. Master raised alarm, increased speed, altered course and sent distress message. The skiffs attempted to close onto the vessel from the stbd beam and stbd quarter and one skiff tried to approach from the port bow. The onboard armed security team fired eight warning flares but the pirates continued their attempts. Weapons and ladders were identified in the skiff. After nearly 40 minutes the security team fired six warning shots and the pirates aborted and moved away.
• 17.06.2012: 1330 LT: Posn: 01:38.24N-110:28.43E, Kuching Anchorage, Malaysia – Robbers boarded an anchored tug and barge. They broke open containers, stole the cargo and escaped unnoticed.
• 17.06.2012: 0030 LT: 17:00N – 082:18E, Kakinada Anchorage, India – Robbers boarded an anchored bulk carrier. Duty A/B on rounds heard two robbers talking to each other on the forecastle. He immediately informed the 2/O on bridge who raised the alarm and sounded ship’s whistle continuously. The duty A/B heard a motor boat moving away from the vicinity of the forecastle. On inspection a new mooring rope was found partially hacked into small pieces on the deck.
• 12.06.2012: 0520 UTC: Posn: 12:49.6N – 43:15.9E, Off Mauyyun Island, Red Sea – Six skiffs with 3 to 8 persons in each approached a LNG Tanker underway at speeds between 14 to 20 knots. Weapons were sighted in three skiffs. The skiffs approached and started tailing the vessels stern at a distance of around 200/300meters. The onboard security team was deployed and they showed their weapons to the approaching skiffs resulting in the skiffs backing off. Over the next 2.5hrs the skiffs approached the vessel five times from port and stbd sides before moving away.
• 12.06.2012: 0300 UTC: Posn: 13:20.2N – 042:56.9E, Red Sea – A tanker underway noticed a white skiff with two outboard motors approach her at more than 25 knots. Initially two pirates were observed in the skiff and as the skiff closed five more were observed to surface from the skiff floor. As the skiff continued to approach aggressively and at a distance of around 200 meters from the tanker the Master authorized the armed team to fire warning shots. After around 1 hour 25 minutes another two white skiffs with twin outboard motors and doing more than 25 knots were observed approaching the tanker. The armed team again showed their weapons, fired rocket flares and at a distance of 200 meters fired warning shots. In both incidents the non essential crew retreated into the citadel, a distress was sent for assistance.
• SUSPICIOUS INCIDENT – 09.06.2012: 1736 UTC: Posn: 24:52.1N – 056:38.3E (Around 12nm East of Al Bulaydah, Oman), Off Somalia – Persons in four boats chased a chemical tanker underway. Two boats spread in an interval of 20 mins and one boat approached from stern and positioned itself not more than five metres from the tanker’s poop deck. Master raised alarm, took evasive manoeuvres and non-essential crew mustered in the citadel. Ship’s whistle was sounded continuously and the search light directed towards the third boat. The boat altered course and moved away. The remaining three boats passed very close to the tanker’s side without stopping. After 20 mins a further two boats approached the tanker from stern, one from port and the other from stbd. Master took anti-piracy preventive measures, directed search light and noticed four persons in one boat and five on the other boat. After 15 mins, the boats increased speed and moved away due to the hardening measures observed on the tanker.
• 10.06.2012: 1745 UTC: Posn: 31:13.7N – 029:42.4E, El Dekheila Anchorage, Egypt – An anchored bulk carrier was boarded by robbers via the hawse pipe by forcibly removing the secured anchor chain cover. The portside watertight door padlock was broken open and contents from the port liferaft stolen. Alarm was raised when D/O noticed that the portside watertight door was partly opened and duty A/B and boatswain investigated. Upon hearing the alarm, the robbers escaped in a small boat with the stolen stores.
• SUSPICIOUS INCIDENT – 09.06.2012: 0800 UTC: Posn: 12:22.9N – 043:49.7E, Gulf of Aden – A fishing trawler and four skiffs chased a vehicle carrier underway. Master raised alarm, increased speed, altered course, activated fire pump and crew mustered in bridge. The skiffs followed the ship and later moved away. Incident reported to UKMTO. Before and after the suspicious approach on the vehicle carrier, the fishing boat and skiffs were reported to have followed a container vessel and a tanker in the vicinity respectively.