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Weekly Piracy Report - 7 to 13 June 2005
 Somalian waters: Serious attacks have resumed off the eastern coast of Somalia. Since [March 31 2005], five incidents were reported where pirates armed with guns and grenades have attacked ships and fired upon them. In three incidents crew were held hostage and ransom demanded. Some of these attacks took place far away from Somali coast. Eastern and northeastern coasts of Somalia continue to be high-risk areas for hijackings. Ships not making scheduled calls to ports in these areas should stay at least 50 miles or as far away as practical from the eastern coast of Somalia.Anambas/Natuna islands,Indonesia: Six incidents have been reported since [April 03 2005] in the vicinity of Anambas/Natuna islands. Groups of pirates armed with guns and long knives have boarded ships underway and robbed ships' cash and personal belongings. Bonny River, Nigeria: Four incidents have been reported since [May 24 2005] around Fairway Buoy. Suspicious Crafts [June 10 2005] at 1130 LT in position 19:48N - 069:19E, 95nm off Gujarat coast, Arabian Sea. Six dark coloured boats, about 20m length were spotted by a container ship underway. Boats with 4/5 persons in each boat and without fishing nets followed the ship. Master raised alarm, took evasive manoeuvres and crew mustered. Boats moved away. [June 10 2005] at 0820LT at position 03:55.1N — 07:08E, 20 miles SW of fairway buoy, Bonny River, Onne, Nigeria. Five persons wearing yellow raincoats in a 20 ft blue coloured fibreglass craft followed a supply ship underway. Supply boat took evasive manoeuvres and craft moved away. Craft had similar appearance as craft involved in two incidents on [May 24 2005]. Recently reported incidents [June 13 2005] at 2100 UTC off Langkawi Island, Malacca Straits. Ten pirates armed with weapons in a speedboat hijacked a tanker underway. One crew managed to escape in the boat used by pirates. He landed ashore and contacted marine police at Langkawi island. Police despatched a patrol boat and located the hijacked tanker off Pulau Lebar. Subsequently, pirates surrendered and they were taken to Langkawi for investigations. [June 12 2005] at 0145 UTC at Takoradi Anchorage, Ghana. Three armed robbers boarded a general cargo ship at forecastle. They stole ship's stores and escaped in a boat. Master informed port control who sent officials to investigate. [June 07 2005] at 2350 LT at Kota Baru Anchorage, Indonesia. Five robbers armed with long knives board a bulk carrier at anchor. They tied up duty A/B. Other crew raised alarm. Robbers stole one life raft and escaped. [June 07 2005] at 2130 UTC at Belawan Anchorage, Indonesia. Six robbers armed with long knives boarded a general cargo ship. Alert crew raised alarm and mustered. Robbers escaped in their speedboat. [June 07 2005] at 0120 LT in position 04:12.3N - 006:57.3E, Bonny River Anchorage, Nigeria. Five robbers armed with machine guns attempted to board a reefer using hooks attached to ropes. Alert A/B raised alarm and crew mustered. Robbers fired several shots and escaped. Bullets hit bulwark but no injuries to crew. [May 24 2005] at 2359 LT, Vicinity of Bonny River fairway buoy, Onne, Nigeria. Robbers armed with guns boarded a container ship at anchor. They beat up crewmembers and fired gunshots. Robbers stole ship's cash and stores and crew personal belongings. They escaped in a blue coloured 20ft high speed motorboat. [May 24 2005] at 2110 LT in position 04:12.6N - 006:55.6E, off Bonny River fairway buoy, Onne, Nigeria. Armed and aggressive robbers boarded a container ship at anchor. They injured several crewmembers and wounded one crewmember with gunshot. Robbers escaped in high powered speed boat with ship's cash, bonded stores and crew personal belongings. Guess the 'Nigerian letter' scam isn't as profitable as it used to be... Posted by: Pappy 2005-06-15 |
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