1/5

Piracy Situation Risk Assessment, June 2014, Issue 26

Highlights of the Past Month:

Last month has seen the similar pirate activities comparing to the month before. The

main sources reported at least 5 suspicious events in Indian Ocean/Red Sea area, two

serious incidents near Nigeria, one incident near Sierra Leone and one attempt near

Togo. There were 13 robberies or attempts reported including a major cargo theft from

a tanker in South China Sea region.

A Thai diesel oil tanker with 14 crew members en route from Singapore to Indonesia

was hijacked. The diesel oil tanker had lost contact with its owner after departing

Singapore on Tuesday 27 May. Pirates hijacked and stole the tanker’s oil cargo

onboard and destroyed the communication equipment. The crew and vessel are safe.

In April, pirates injured the captain and stole diesel fuel from another Thailand-owned

tanker off the eastern coast of Malaysia.

Experts are warning on the continuing rise of piracy in south-east Asia that cannot

simply be halted by ramping up patrols in the global piracy hot spot. They argue that

five factors are of particular importance in shaping piracy in south-east Asia: "over-

fishing, lax maritime regulations, the existence of organized crime syndicates, the

presence of radical politically motivated groups in the region, and widespread

poverty." As many as eight armed attacks by pirates took place in the Strait of

Malacca and around Singapore in the first three months of this year, compared with

one such attack in the same period the year before, according to the Regional Co-

operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia.

In April, armed pirates hijacked a Japanese oil tanker off the coast of Malaysia and

stole about 3 million liters of diesel.

On 14 May, the Egyptian Army announced that it had seized 15 tons of explosive

material from a town that straddles the Suez Canal. Five tons of the material was

seized in a truck in Al Qantara East on the eastern bank of the canal, leading to a

second seizure of 10 tons of the same material held in storage at an undisclosed

location in Al Qantara West, on the opposite bank. In a short statement, the army said

the truck was being driven by two men from the town of El-Arish, which borders the

Gaza Strip at the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula. The army gave no further details.

Two Somalis, linked to Al Shabaab, are suspected of having carried out a suicide

bombing at a restaurant in Djibouti on filled with Western military personnel on

Saturday 24 May that killed three and wounded at least 15. Several members of

European Union naval and civilian maritime security missions were among those

wounded in the attack, including three members of the Spanish military airforce.

2/5

Latest major incidents:

INDIAN OCEAN, RED SEA, PERSIAN GULF

OMAN: 21 May – 24 48.3N 057 41E. At

0800 UTC a vessel reported the sighting of 2

skiffs, one with 4 POB, the other with 3

POB, all with masked faces and one person

in each standing at the bow. The skiffs were

initially detected at 4nm and continued to be

tracked until one skiff approached to within

0.5nm when the AST fired two warnings

shots, firing a further two at 0.4nm upon

which the skiffs broke away. No ladders or

weapons were sighted. (UKTMO)

RED SEA: 20 May – 12 52.5N 43 12.03E.

At 0747 a vessel reported being approached

by 4 skiffs with 3-4 POB to within 0.7nm.

The skiffs circled around the vessel for

approximately 20/30 minutes. No weapons

or ladders were sighted. The security team

showed weapons and the skiffs moved away.

20 May – 12 35.3N 043 20.4E. At 0827

UTC the same vessel as above reported a

further 3 skiffs approaching to within 5

cables. Again the embarked security team showed weapons and the skiffs backed off.

RED SEA: 9 May – 13 31.6 N 042 34.2 E.

At 1045 UTC a vessel reported a suspicious

skiff with 7 POB drifting ahead of the vessel.

At 6 cables the AST showed weapons and

the skiff moved away. No other tripwires

were seen although a tripod structure was

seen on the bow. (UKTMO)

3/5

RED SEA: On 2 May, two skiffs made a 15

knot approach on an underway bulk carrier

near position 15:45N – 041:26E,

approximately 68 nm northwest of Al

Hudaydah, Yemen. Ship’s Master raised the

alarm, increased speed, altered course,

activated fire hoses, and mustered crew

members in the citadel while the onboard

security team fired warning flares. When the

skiffs closed to a distance of two tenths of a

mile from the ship, the onboard armed

security team fired warning shots at the skiffs, resulting in the skiffs moving away. (IMB)

WEST AFRICA

TOGO: On 21 May, a boat with eight

robbers armed with long knives attempted to

board an anchored chemical tanker near

position 06:03N – 001:14E, approximately

4nm south of Lome Port. Alert deck watch

personnel the boat with the robbers and raised

the alarm. Seeing alert crew and due to a

moderate swell the robbers were unable to

board the vessel and moved away. (IMB)

NIGERIA: On 13 May, two robbers boarded

an anchored tanker near position 04:45N –

006:59E, Port Harcourt Anchorage. The

robbers took two crewmembers hostage and

threatened them with knives. The robbers

released the crewmembers after stealing

mooring ropes. Upon release, the crew raised

the alarm and mustered on the bridge. While

mustered on the bridge the crew smelled

cargo gas and noticed a small craft alongside

the vessel near the bow stealing cargo.

Nigerian Navy contacted and ships in the vicinity warned on VHF Channel 16. The Navy

responded by sending a small speed boat, which circled the vessel and then left. Robbers

escaped and all crew safe. (IMB)

4/5

SIERRA LEONE: On 5 May, two robbers

armed with knives boarded a berthed bulk

carrier at position 08:29N - 013:13W, Berth

No.2, Freetown Port. The robbers took

hostage the duty cadet on rounds. They then

stole the aft mooring ropes before releasing

the cadet and escaping. On being released

the cadet informed the duty officer who

raised the alarm. (IMB)

NIGERIA: On 4 May, three Dutch citizens and two Nigerian citizens were kidnapped near

the settlement of Letugbene, a river community in Bayelsa State. The group was reportedly

touring the area to promote work on a local hospital. They reportedly had local guides, but not

an armed escort. Up to ten heavily armed bandits were involved in the kidnapping, utilizing

several speedboats. The Nigerian citizens were later released, but the Dutch citizens are still

being held. (Premium Times of Nigeria)

SOUTHEAST ASIA

SINGAPORE - INDONESIA, May 31. A Thai diesel oil tanker with 14 crew members en

route from Singapore to Indonesia was hijacked. Authorities lost contact with the MT Orapin

4 after it departed from a terminal in Singapore on May 27, according to a report by the IMB.

It was headed for Pontianak, Indonesia. Pirates hijacked and stole the tanker’s oil cargo

onboard and destroyed the communication equipment. The crew and vessel are safe now and

the vessel arrived at Sri Racha Port in Thailand on Sunday. (Reuters, South China Morning

Post)

MALAYSIA: On 25 May, armed pirates

boarded an underway tanker near position

01:51N – 104:31E, 30 nm south of Pulau

Aur. They stole cash, crew personal effects

and provisions while also damaging

equipment before leaving the vessel. All

crew safe and vessel continued her passage

to the next port. (IMB)

INDONESIA: On 1 May at 0430 local time, a duty crewman on board an anchored general

cargo ship saw a small boat approaching from astern near position : 01:24 N – 104:35 E, 10

nm north of Pulau Bintan. The small boat then came alongside carrying six robbers armed

with handguns. Alarm raised and ship’s horn sounded. The robbers aborted the attempted

boarding and moved away. (IMB)

5/5

Summary and recommendations:

Continuous suspicious activity by number of skiffs in vicinity of Strait of Bab el-

Mandeb, Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Oman advises to keep extreme caution and

alertness within those areas. The possible pirates are likely monitoring and are ready

to take action on unprotected vessels.

The recent hijack and theft of cargo from the tanker in Malaysian waters indicates the

possible pattern of a more sophisticated criminal group activity in the area. The exact

details of the last incident are not known by the date but extreme caution and vigilant

watch keeping needs to be rehearsed within the whole region. The piracy incidents,

more serious than random theft, show signs of rise.

Despite the likely stabilizing situation in Egypt the extremist groups still do exist and

are preparing actions against the new rule. The found explosives near Suez Canal are

worrying signs to the international fleet passing Suez Canal. The vessels are advised to

minimize the exposure of the crew on deck while passing the Canal.

The attack against restaurant used by Western military personnel in Djibouti is an

indication of the will and determination of terrorist groups to intimidate the Western

efforts against insurgency and pro-stability in Somalia. All Westerners are advised to

minimize their presence in public places and unprotected areas.

Sources: ICC, NATO, ONI, NGA, UKMTO, Oceanus Live, Shipping Position, Maritime

Bulletin, Marsecreview, Reuters, CNN, BBC, NYT, Al Jazeera, All Africa, cCaptain, Hellenic

Shipping News, Want China Times, DefenceWeb, New Straits Times, Sahara Reporters, IHS

Maritime, Maritime Security Asia, Handy Shipping Guide, International Business Times etc.

We wish you safe voyages!

For monthly Risk Assessments and other news follow ABURGUS:

The same can be viewed in our Facebook page Aburgus Risk Management:

Also all will be tweeted in Twitter @AburgusRM:

Or visit our webpage www.aburgus.com for our provided services to assist you:

Aburgus is an Estonian (EU) based and managed Risk Management Company.

Our services include:

- Risk assessments, counselling and training of crews to mitigate the risks

- Protection of vessels with armed teams including enhancement of BMP4

- Fast, precise and flexible solutions to the client’s needs in security

Let us know your concerns and we will come up with the feasible solutions.

We take care!