Category Archives: Piracy

Vessel Hijacked in Southeast Asian Waters Released

On 11 June, the owners of the Malaysia-flagged tanker ORKIM HARMONY lost contact with the vessel and reported the event to authorities, fearing the vessel had been hijacked. Over the following days, the vessel remained undetected until it was located on 18 June in Cambodian waters.

Military and marine police forces from Malaysia and Australia had been trailing the vessel, with Malaysian authorities indicating that they were in contact with eight of the pirates on board the vessel and that they were trying to negotiate a peaceful surrender.

On Friday, Malaysian navy and maritime officials disclosed that the hijacked oil tanker ORKIM HARMONY has been released by pirates, who fled in the ship’s rescue boat. According to officials, the vessel was now being escorted by the navy to Malaysia’s Kuantan Port. Malaysia’s Chief of Navy Admiral Abdul Aziz Jaafar indicated that after the tanker was hijacked, the pirates repainted the ship and changed the vessel’s name to Kim Harmon. One member of the 22 crewmembers on board the vessel, sustained injuries during the attack, suffering a gunshot wound to the thigh.

On 22 June, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) reported that five pirates involved in the hijacking of the ORKIM HARMONY remained at large. Last week, eight Indonesian pirates were apprehended by the Vietnam Coast Guard, just a day after the vessel was located. The group was reportedly trying to escape from navy ships and aircraft in the ORKIM HARMONY’s life boat. At a press conference on Monday, the MMEA’s deputy director-general, Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar, disclosed that there were a total of 13 attackers involved in the hijacking, adding that the five pirates still at large are believed to have been separated from the group that was apprehended last week. According to the deputy director-general, they were responsible for manning a tugboat, which was first used to approach the vessel. The tugboat was found abandoned in Batam, Indonesia, over the weekend however there were no signs of the pirates. Ahmad Puzi has disclosed that all thirteen assailants are believed to be professional maritime criminals, additionally, he disclosed that those who are currently in custody have a high-degree of seafaring knowledge and criminal records for piracy. Malaysia is currently in the process of extraditing the eight assailants that were detained by Vietnamese authorities. The group is believed to be part of a larger piracy network that operates in Southeast Asian waters.

This hijacking is the second seizure of a tanker by pirates operating in Southeast Asia this month, and has raised concerns about further such attacks in the region. On 4 June, an oil tanker, ORKIM VICTORY, carrying diesel loaded from Petronas, was hijacked in the same area and on the same route. The vessel was later released by the hijackers after they siphoned off about 770 metric tonnes (6,000 barrels) of its cargo.

US CENTCOM Vice Admiral refutes threats from ISIL to commercial shipping routes

US Central Command Vice admiral John Miller said last week that ISIL does not pose a significant threat to commercial shipping routes, such as the Strait of Hormuz, in the Middle East.

Miller made the comments at a conference in Abu Dhabi, after an article by the Daily Mail suggested that ISIL militants are working with sea-faring human traffickers in the Mediterranean to engage in piracy similar to that which occurs off the coast of Somalia.

The Daily Mail quotes an Italian defence magazine, Rivista Italiana Difesa, which said, that Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) could “repeat the scenario that has dominated the maritime region between Somalia and [the Gulf of] Aden for the last ten years’. The article also warns that ISILcould send boats “crammed with migrants” for use in “kamikaze” missions in the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean, particularly off the coasts of Europe.

Miller emphasised that the international maritime presence in the region had minimised threats from ISIL. However, he acknowledged that the group still has the capability to conduct surprise operations. He states, “As dynamic as the region is today, what we have seen over the past years is the maritime atmosphere has been safe, the free flow of commerce has been stable and secure.”

Currently the greatest cause for concern, according to Miller, is the unrest in Yemen. The combination of political instability and the presence of the very active terrorist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have created a “very dynamic situation.” Miller states that the instability in the country could “lead to instability in the strait of Bab el Mandab in the Gulf of Aden in the southern part of the Red Sea, all of which is cause for concern”.

Yet, Miller adds in regard to potential surprise from Islamic State, “An organisation like ISIL is capable of surprising us … so we want to work hard to eliminate that opportunity for surprise and we do that through a robust presence ‎in the maritime environment.”

The combined international maritime security forces have as many as 70 vessels on the water per day. The Suez Canal Company has also increased security measures, despite the unrest in Sinai that has on occasion targeted ships in the canal.

The Strait of Hormuz, linking the Arabian Gulf to the Indian Ocean is a key shipping route, accounting for around 20% of total oil shipments by sea alone in 2013, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Pirates hijack military gunboat in Nigeria’s oil delta

Nigeria’s military says pirates hijacked a military gunboat and three soldiers are missing after an ambush in the southern oil-rich state of Bayelsa.  Spokesman Col. Mustapha Anka says a team on patrol was ambushed Sunday 21 December 2014 on the Santa Barbara River, an area rife with pirates.  Anka said a search-and-rescue operation is continuing to locate the missing soldiers.  In October, pirates on the same river attacked a military escort for a barge carrying oil. They killed three soldiers and fled with a military gunboat.  Pirates in Nigeria steal oil and also kidnap for ransom.  The Nigerian military’s combined Joint Task Force continues to conduct operations to safeguard energy assets throughout the Niger Delta region.  A resurgence of violence by bandits and former members of MEND is an unwelcome distraction for the Nigerian authorities who are engaged in major counter-insurgency tasks in the north east of the country tackling Boko Haram militants whilst managing the effects of reduced oil prices and the consequences to the Nigerian economy.  MS Risk forecasts further security challenges in the region in the coming year.

Southeast Asia Vessel Hijackings are Increasing and Becoming Deadlier

The killing of a crewmember on board a Vietnamese tanker by pirates earlier this week has marked a deadly escalation in hijackings in waters in Southeast Asia. The attack further highlights the growing threat of piracy in Southeast Asian waters and the fact that the region has developed into the new global hotspot for piracy.

On Sunday, crewmember Tran Duc Dat, 34, was shot in the forehead after pirates boarded the VP Asphalt 2, owned by VP Petrochemical Transport Co in Haiphong. According to the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, the vessel, which had just left Singapore, was en route to Vietnam. It was attacked at 4:30 AM local time, 60 nautical miles from Singapore waters near Aur island off southern Johor state. The attack occurred in the vicinity where the Vietnamese ship Sunrise 689 was attacked in October. According to sources, the sixteen crewmembers on board the VP Asphalt 2 were tied up as the pirates searched the ship. The hijackers fled with only personal belongings of the crewmembers. The vessel was carrying 2,300 metric tones of liquid asphalt and it is believed that the ship was likely targeted by the pirates in the belief that it was carrying oil products. The tanker has since returned to Singapore and an investigation into the incident is currently underway.

While Sunday’s killing of a crewmember is the first such incident to occur in Malaysian waters in almost two years, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has on previous occasions warned about the growing threat of piracy in Southeast Asia, with officials reporting in October that the area accounted for a majority of piracy incidents reported globally. Ship hijackings in waters in Southeast Asia have been on the rise in recent months; with the IMB reporting at least twelve such attacks this year. According to Noel Choong, head of the IMB’s piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur, “it appears groups or syndicates are targeting gas-oil,” adding “they are making a lot of money off of it. They are getting away with it. As long as there is no deterrent, they will continue to hijack ships.”

According to the IMB, in the first three quarters of 2014, there were 103 pirate attacks in Southeast Asia, out of 178 that occurred globally. The IMB has warned that “gangs of thieves armed with knives and guns” are increasingly attacking small tankers carrying either oil or diesel and hijacking them to steal the cargo. According to Mr Choong, pirates can earn US $2 million or more for each hijacked tanker that is carrying oil products.

New Report Highlights Piracy Threat to UK Economy

According to a new UK Chamber of Shipping study, published 10 July 2014, a lack of security off the coast of Nigeria not only threatens seafarers transiting the region, but it will also have an impact on the United Kingdom’s economy.

The new report indicates that maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea region exposes almost all of the UK’s £6.3 billion (US $10.7 billion) annual trade with the region, including 12% of oil that is imported into the UK. By 2050, the region is set to hold 25% of the world’s oil production, however the lack of security in the Gulf of Guinea is now affecting the UK’s economy as its economic interests are being placed at risk.

While over the past year, the rise in piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea has effectively transformed the region into the new global piracy hotspot, overtaking piracy off the coast of Somalia; the issue of maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea is not new. This is echoed by Guy Platten, chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping, who states that while “most people are aware of pirate activity off Somalia…lawlessness in the Gulf of Guinea is a major threat to our seafarers, the UK’s energy and trade security, and to the economic development in the region,” adding “Nigeria and other states in the region have known for 30 years that piracy was a problem, but too little has been done.”

One issue is the continued under reporting of incidents in the region, which has resulted in the lack of comprehensive data, in turn making it difficult to provide accurate statistics concerning maritime crime in the region. While the study indicates that vessels transiting the region are attacked at least once per week, it does note that a significant proportion, estimated to be up to two-thirds of attacks, go un-reported. Of those reported attacks, 60% occurred within Nigerian territorial waters.     Such under reporting has been attributed to two reasons: bureaucracy and a lack of suitable reporting organization.

What Does This Mean For the UK Economy?

Oil and Gas

Although Nigeria is the primary source of energy from the Gulf of Guinea, with proven reserves of 37.2 billion barrels (11^th in the world) and a production of 2.5 million barrels per day (12^th in the world), all of the country’s oil is exported by sea despite the prevalence of maritime crime.

This insecurity effectively places the UK energy security at risk during transportation through insecure shipping routes, such as those in the Gulf of Guinea region.

Gas exports from the region are not yet as proportionally significant. In 2012, 6% of the EU’s LNG came from the Gulf of Guinea. Maritime security is vital to this source of energy as deepwater fields in the Gulf of Guinea account for 800,000 bpd in Nigeria, and are forecast to provide 60% of total Nigerian production. While there is a plan for an LNG pipeline, which will transport gas across the Sahara, currently all of these energy exports are conducted by sea.

Non Oil Trade

Nigeria is the second largest market for goods in Africa while the region as a whole contributes to the food security of the UK, including bananas, cocoa and palm oil; as well as other produce, including rubber and timber.

The UK also has a direct trade in minerals with West Africa and holds investments in third party trade.   These minerals are transported by sea and therefore are affected by the poor maritime governance in the Gulf of Guinea.

Solutions

Combatting the threat of piracy and maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea will not be simple as vessels transiting the region use routes that pass through multiple jurisdictions. Consequently any solution to this issue will have to be multilateral.

Although some UK policies are already focusing on reducing maritime crime in the region, including how to protect seafarers and how to address the maritime manifestation of oil theft, the study notes that any UK activity aimed at enhancing security in the region should be proportional to its risks and can only be based on soft power.

Conclusion

While the UK Chamber of Shipping report focuses primarily on maritime security in waters off Nigeria, the study provides evidence to support both continued and additional UK involvement, adding that solutions must be multilateral and cannot focus on one sole country.

The study concludes by indicating that Ghana is an excellent example of how maritime security can be successfully provided in the region. According to the study, “investors in Ghana provide directly to maritime security projects, and this public/private partnership has been seen to be another example of success.” The report adds that Ghana “…demonstrates that the GoG is not an ungovernable region, but that third-party supported, regionally hosted maritime security has significant commercial and social benefits.”