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| Southeast Asia |
| Pirate attacks up |
| 2004-01-28 |
| "Yar!" Pirates have started using a new tactic to board merchant ships at sea and such attacks are getting deadlier, the London-based International Maritime Bureau warned in its report on the piracy situation worldwide in 2003. Released yesterday, the report cautioned that pirates have resorted to using several small but fast boats to attack a ship while simultaneously firing at the bridge. "Give em a broadside, you scurvy dogs! Standby to board!" The bureau listed 445 cases of piracy last year, up from the 370 cases reported in 2002. It’s a growth industry. Tankers are a favoured target for the new style of attacks and some 23 per cent of pirate attacks last year were made on these lumbering vessels. In one recent incident, an oil tanker nearing the Singapore Straits sailed unmanned for nearly an hour after armed pirates tied up the crew and looted items from the ship. "Yar, give us your gold!" "No gold, do you take Visa?" The new tactic of surrounding slow-moving ships while firing at them to force them to stop also drew blood. The bureau’s census showed that 21 sailors were killed last year, with 40 assaulted and 88 injured. This was an increase from 10 killed, nine assaulted and 38 injured in 2002. Attacks involving guns rose to 100 from 68 in 2000. Obviously, we need more gun control. No pirate attacks took place in Singapore waters last year but the sea lanes between Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia were described as ’piracy prone’. Singapore takes these things seriously and will cheerfully hang pirates from the yardarm. Attacks in the Malacca Straits jumped to 28 last year from 16 in 2002. Waters off Indonesia and Bangladesh are also hot spots. Tap, tap, nope. Commenting on the findings, Captain Pottengal Mukundan, a bureau director, noted: ’Ships are also hijacked in order to abduct the crew for ransom. These kidnappings are believed to be largely the work of militia groups in politically vulnerable areas.’ Translation: Gangs in corupt nation states. Incidents of sailors taken hostage ’nearly doubled’ to 359 from the previous year. Mr Roger F. Carver, 61, managing director of security company Nemesis Maritime, said the report might not tell the full story and the situation might be worse. He said: ’Sailors don’t report all incidents for various reasons. Either they were chased and nothing happened, or they could be worried the ship’s insurers would bump up the insurance.’ |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #9 I'd feel better if piracy was more generally regarded as a real chancy endeavor. The answer is applying the same analysis and tactics used by law enforcement agencies, tied in with not-so subtle government to government stick/carrots. Unfotunately, the areas where piracy occurs tend to be waters that have little government, impoverished government, corrupt government, or government that uses piracy as a tactical weapon. It is similar to the attitude taken towards hijacking some years back. Shipping companies figure the odds presently are low, and when it does happen they and the crews are out of luck materially. It wouldn't take an LPG ship to do damage, just pirates whacking container ships at choke points on a regular basis and disrupting the flow of commerce. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-1-28 11:38:16 PM |
| #8 Just a consideration - weren't we all sort of OK with the hijacking thing a few years back? Everybody remember when we'ld just get teh guy with the bullhorn out there to see why the guys had taken hostages and what we could do for them. I'd feel better if piracy was more generally regarded as a real chancy endeavor. Either way, though, I sleep fine in Indiana. They would need to boom a pretty big LP gas boat to threaten my sorry ass. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-28 9:17:54 PM |
| #7 I guess I wasn't really thinking of the shipping companies footing the bill. I don't know that we do ourselves much good by letting piracy continue. It seems to me that we could a get a pretty good Oh well, I guess I had too much Stephen Decatur jammed down my throat. I am also partial to sting operations of the lethal sort. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-28 9:09:26 PM |
| #6 Sea marshals? What, and spend money? Merchant shipping cuts costs to the bone. They make Wal-Mart look like Saks Fifth Avenue. Ah, somebody else who knows the maritime industry. The most common anti-piracy recomendations boil down to 1) keep the ship brightly lit 2) run at the highest "economical" speed through trouble areas 3) if you get boarded, go to a secure area and wait it out. Insurance (if any) will cover some of the ship's loss. As for the crew, well, jobs are hard to come by in the home country... >These pirates are just desperadoes...nowhere does it mention that the pirates typically aren't after the ship's cargo like the olde tyme variety.< There are quite a number of cases where the ship was taken and its cargo sold elsewhere. On occasion the ship is found with a new name and registry. Most of these types of attacks occur off Western Africa and the China Sea and tend to be highly organized and sponsored. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-1-28 8:17:40 PM |
| #5 Actually you could probably get by with 3 stout hearts and a MaDeuce. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-1-28 7:08:03 PM |
| #4 Skyraiders would be cool--but you could probably get by with Britten-Norman Defenders mounting Hellfires. |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-1-28 5:21:46 PM |
| #3 Are there any flightworthy Douglas Skyraiders available still? Perfect anti-piracy tool. Set up patrols and a couple of rapid reaction groups in strategic locations, and piracy will cease to be a problem. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-1-28 4:13:33 PM |
| #2 Sea marshals? What, and spend money? Merchant shipping cuts costs to the bone. They make Wal-Mart look like Saks Fifth Avenue. These pirates are just desperadoes...nowhere does it mention that the pirates typically aren't after the ship's cargo like the olde tyme variety. They simply rob the crew and take all the DVD players and TVs out of the crew's quarters. Pretty pathetic for Blackbeard's spiritual progeny. |
| Posted by: gromky 2004-1-28 12:58:51 PM |
| #1 A company could make a good living by providing sea marshals. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-28 12:07:58 PM |