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Piracy Situation Risk Assessment, November 2014, Issue 31

Highlights of the Past Month:

Last month has seen increasing level of piracy related incidents. On Indian Ocean region

at least 9 suspicious cases were officially reported. The authorities are also concerned on

the rise of the suspicious approaches in Gulf of Oman. West Africa has had significant

rise of violence and kidnapping near Bayelsa State, Nigeria. At least 6 attacks, some with

fatalities, have been reported. South China Sea region counted at least 23 incidents,

including another large scale oil cargo theft near Malaysia.

The suspicious approaches in Gulf of Aden and Southern Red Sea are following the

similar pattern as in previous months. No attempt of attacks have been reported but the

crew has sighted weapons and ladders in some cases. After warnings it becomes common

that the skiffs with potential pirates still follow the vessel, possibly to assess the

seriousness of the protection.

On October 8, the product tanker Sri

Kandi 515 left Sampit, Kalimantan,

Indonesia laden with 3,100-tonne palm

oil cargo. The vessel was en route to Gresik, East Java, but it did not show up as

scheduled. Two weeks later, on Oct 24 Malaysian fishermen picked up tanker’s crew of

11 on floating in life raft and took them to Chendering, Malaysia. According to their

story, on October 9, their vessel was hijacked by pirates. The eyes of the 11 men were

blindfolded, they were taken in captivity and were locked for 13 days. After almost a

forthright, the pirates disembarked the Sri Kandi 515's crew on a life raft (or boat) with

water and food supplies. Their vessel disappeared, search is ongoing.

Aburgus comment: This is likely that the tanker was pirated for the next cargo thefts from

larger tankers as the trend is looming now in the region.

Al-Qaeda chiefs have called on militants to destroy tankers bound for the west by

ramming them with boats laden with explosives or by hijacking the ships and running

them aground. An attack would cause "phenomenal" reaction around the world and help

ramp up oil prices, shipping rates and maritime insurance as well as military spending.

British oil workers in the Middle East are also legitimate targets according to the new Al

Qaeda magazine, Resurgence, released last week.

Ebola shows no signs of downsizing. It would be wrong to believe that crews and vessels

not travelling to the infected countries are safe from possible infection. The World Health

Organization is pointing out that it is possible that fleeing migrants may be infected with

Ebola and as the disease continues to spread with cases currently doubling every 20 days,

the number of people fleeing West Africa is massively increasing and the danger level

similarly. Therefore ship operators need to be aware of an increased risk of stowaways

and a higher probability of ships encountering fleeing migrants if/when crews’ are forced

to engage in search and rescue at sea around West and also North Africa.

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Latest major incidents:

INDIAN OCEAN, RED SEA, PERSIAN GULF

GULF OF ADEN: 28 Oct 14 – 12 37N, 047

25E - a vessel reported being approached by x

3 skiffs and a larger vessel suspected as being a

mother-ship. The embarked Armed Security

Team fired flares and warning shots, the skiffs

fell back and headed west.

BAB EL MANDEB: 27 Oct 14 – 12 36.80N, 043 19.30E – a vessel reported being approached

to within 0.5nm by x 2 skiffs with x 5/6 POB. The embarked Armed Security Team raised

weapons and the skiffs aborted their approach. The same vessel in position 12 27.7N, 043 36.8E

later reported being approached by x 1 skiff with x 6 POB to within 2.2nm.

INDIAN OCEAN: 25 Oct 14 – 22 22N, 065

55E – a vessel sent out an SSAS distress having

been approached by x 2 skiffs closing to within

8 cables. The vessel conducted evasive

maneuvers until the skiffs were at a distance of

6nm.

GULF OF OMAN: On 19 Oct 14 - 24 30N,

056 52E at 1237 UTC a vessel in posn 24 30N,

056 52E reported being approached by x 14

skiffs each with approx. 2 – 4 POB coming to

within 0.2nm. There were no confirmed

sightings of weapons/ladders nor fishing gear.

The vessel carried out evasive maneuvering,

the pursuit lasting for 20 minutes, the skiffs

breaking off after the on-board Armed Security

Team fired warning shots. Vessel and crew are

safe. (UKMTO)

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GULF OF ADEN: On 15 October, at 10:50 UTC, a merchant vessel was approached by a

suspicious dark blue hull colored skiff with four persons onboard, near position 12:41N –

048:40E, approximately 90 nm northwest of Bosaso, Somalia. The closest point of approach was

0.9 nm. A ladder with hook was sighted, but no weapons. At a distance of 3.5nm the embarked

Armed Security Team displayed their weapons. At 2nm the vessel’s horn was sounded. At 1.5nm

four warning shots were fired. These measures had no effect on the skiff’s course and speed. At

a distance of under 1 nm two further warning shots were fired. At this point the skiff altered

course and steered to the stern of the vessel. The skiff then continued toward Somalia on a course

of 151. (NGA Maritime Safety, NATO Shipping Centre, UKMTO)

GULF OF ADEN: On 15 October, at 1510

UTC, a motor yacht reported a suspicious

approach by one skiff near position 13:33N –

050:27E, approximately 90 nm southwest of Al

Mukalla, Yemen. The skiff approached the

yacht to within 500 meters. Weapons and

ladders were reportedly sighted. Armed

embarked security team fired warning shots.

The skiff dropped back to 2 nm, but continued

to follow the vessel before departing the area.

(NATO Shipping Centre)

BAB EL MANDEB: 8 Oct 14 - 12 32 8N 043

25.8E at 1454 UTC a vessel reported being

approached, initially to 1nm, by a black skiff, 7

metres long carrying x 6 POB with no ladders

or weapons visible. The embarked Armed

Security Team fired warning shots, which did

not alter the skiff’s course or speed. At ranges

of 0.5 and 0.4 nm the AST again fired warning

shots. The skiff then changed course away from

the vessel. (UKMTO)

RED SEA: 4 Oct 14 - 16 02N 041 22.4E at

0530 UTC a vessel reported being

approached at speed to within 2 cables. The

skiff was carrying x 4 POB and the Master

reportedly sighted a long-barreled weapon.

After approximately 20 minutes the skiff

withdrew to around 2nm. The embarked

Armed Security Team monitored the skiff but

took no further action. (UKMTO)

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WEST AFRICA

NIGERIA: On 26 October, pirates attacked an oil servicing company boat, MV GRACELAND,

kidnapping the ship’s captain. The attack occurred in the Nembe-Brass Waterway near an area

called Juju Fish Town. (All Africa Global Media)

NIGERIA: On 24 October, pirates attacked a police gunboat escorting a work barge in the

Nembe waterway, stealing the gunboat and kidnapping four persons, three policemen and a

civilian boat operator. The kidnapped persons were later murdered by the pirates and their bodies

left for local authorities to find. The pirates took the rifles and uniforms of the policemen. (All

Africa Global Media)

NIGERIA: On 24 October, pirates attacked a boat in the Nembe River belonging to a local oil

servicing company, kidnapping six persons. (All Africa Global Media)

NIGERIA: On 13 October, a gun battle between Nigerian Joint Task Force and suspected pirates

left one soldier dead and another injured. The attack occurred along the Ogbia-Brass route of the

Nembe waterway of Bayelsa State. The soldiers were apparently traveling to duty areas near oil

facilities in the Nembe area and ran into an ongoing robbery by suspected pirates on another boat.

Eyewitnesses said the pirates abandoned their robbery victims and opened fire on the commercial

boat carrying the soldiers. (AllAfrica.com, Vanguard)

NIGERIA: On 11 October, gunmen attacked a passenger boat near Kiberi-Bio, on the Ogbia-

Nembe-Brass waterways in Bayelsa East Senatorial District. Press reports indicate that the

gunmen seized two women and two children, as well as valuables and cash before departing the

area. (www.saharareporters.com)

SOUTHEAST ASIA

BANGLADESH: On 24 October, twelve

robbers in two boats approached an anchored

bulk carrier near position 22:15N – 091:43E,

Chittagong Anchorage. Three robbers armed

with long knives boarded the ship using hooks

attached with ropes. They took hostage three

shore watchmen, tied them up and threatened

them with long knives. The duty crewman on

routine rounds noticed the robbers trying to

break into the forecastle store room and raised

the alarm. Crew mustered, Port Control, Coast

Guard and vessels in the vicinity informed.

Upon hearing the alarm and seeing the crew response, the robbers jumped overboard and escaped

with stolen ship's properties. A Coast Guard patrol boat was dispatched to the location and

apprehended one boat and its occupants. (IMB)

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VIETNAM: On 21 October, four small boats

approached a drifting container ship near

position 10:09N – 107:06E, 10 nm south of

Vung Tau. Two boats approached the stern and

persons in the boats asked duty crew men if they

had any scrap items available. As the crew was

distracted, the other two boats approached the

port side and five robbers armed with knives

boarded the vessel. Duty crewman spotted the

robbers and raised the alarm. At that point, the

robbers jumped overboard without stealing

anything. Local authorities notified. (IMB)

MALAYSIA: On 21 October, pirates armed

with knives and guns hijacked an underway

product tanker near position 01:48N – 104:31E,

24 nm east-southeast of Tg Sedili Besar. The

pirates took hostage the crew and had the

Master anchor the vessel. The pirates damaged

deck machinery and asked what the ship’s

cargo consisted of. Realizing the cargo was not

what they expected, the pirates stole ship’s cash

and crew valuables and departed the tanker.

Crew managed to repair deck equipment to

raise the anchor and get underway. A local Naval patrol boat dispatched to search the area. No

injuries to crew reported. (IMB)

BANGLADESH: On 15 October, two robbers boarded an anchored bulk carrier near position

21:46N – 091:47E, Chittagong Lightering Anchorage. Duty crewman on routine rounds saw the

robbers, who threatened then attacked him. Duty crewman notified Duty Officer who raised the

alarm. The robbers escaped with some of the ship’s provisions. The duty crewman suffered minor

head wounds from the attack. Local Coast Guard force and other vessel at anchor notified of the

boarding. (IMB)

VIETNAM: On 11 October, three robbers boarded a moored bulk carrier near position 10:43N

- 106:46E, Mooring Buoys, Ho Chi Minh City. During routine rounds duty cadet noticed the

paint storeroom’s lock missing. Upon approaching the storeroom the cadet was confronted by

three robbers and taken hostage. When he did not respond to calls from the bridge the duty officer

sent a duty crewman to investigate. The cadet was found lying on the deck with a bag over his

head and his hands tied up. Alarm raised and all crew mustered. The robbers had already escaped

with stolen ship’s stores. The cadet suffered injuries due to being beaten. (IMB)

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MALAYSIA: On 09 October, pirates hijacked the 3,200-dwt SRI KANDI 515 which was en

route from Gresik from Kalimantan with 3,100 tons of palm oil. The vessel left on 8 October,

but by 17 October it had not reached its destination. The captain and 10 crewmembers aged

between 24 and 45 were later picked up by Malaysian fishermen safe and well after having been

dumped into lifeboats by the hijackers. They had been held captive for 13 days. The ship owner

was reportedly heading to Malaysia to bring the men back. The vessel has not been located.

(Tradewinds)

INDONESIA: On 2 October, the Vietnam-

flagged oil tanker SUNRISE 689 went missing

and is presumed to have been hijacked soon

after leaving Singapore. The SUNRISE 689

was carrying a cargo of 5,226 tons of oil

products and a crew of 18. The ship was

released on 9 October and was safely escorted

into Vietnamese waters where authorities

began an investigation into the incident. The

product tanker's captain informed the maritime

authorities that armed people with knives and guns boarded his ship and siphoned the gas oil

from Sunrise 689 to their ship. The armed men damaged the communication equipment of the

tanker ship and two crew members were slightly injured. (gCaptain, NASDAQ.com, Bloomberg,

Vessel Finder)

BANGLADESH: On 27 September, four robbers armed with knives boarded an anchored

product tanker using hooks attached to ropes near position 21:51N – 091:48E, Chittagong

Anchorage. They took hostage a duty crewman who was on routine rounds, seized his radio, and

stole ship’s stores. The duty crew managed to escape with cuts on his hands and raise the alarm.

The crew mustered and sounded the fog horn. Seeing the crew response, the robbers fled with

the stolen items. Coast guard and port control were informed. (IMB)

INDONESIA: 25.09.2014: 0530 LT: Posn:

01:24.21N – 104:35.46E, Around 10nm North

of Bintan Island, Indonesia. Ten robbers armed

with guns, machetes and long knives

approached an anchored bunkering tanker.

Seven robbers boarded the tanker, took hostage

all crew members, tied them up, ransacked

crew cabins and stole their personal

belongings. They also stole the ships safety

deposit box and ship’s properties before

escaping with their accomplices waiting in

their boat.

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Summary and recommendations:

The activity of suspicious skiffs around Southern Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman

and Somali coast will likely continue and possible attack against any not clearly protected

vessel is likely. The advice is to keep the security guards on vessels and make well use

of the visible deterrence measures according to the BMP4. If there is no easy access to be

spotted the pirates will not go for it.

Tankers are at serious and growing risk of attacks and theft of cargo on South China Sea

region. The model of this organized crime syndicate(s) has developed for some time now

and the inability of local law enforcement to counter them will likely increase they thirst.

The pirates are operating a fleet of smaller and possibly medium size tankers, so be extra

careful if spotting such vessels. In case of encountering other tankers it is advised to make

radio contact and try to get the identification to determine if the vessel is safe or pirated.

In case of any suspicion immediately boost up your defenses and actions according to

BMP4 and report your observations to the closest authorities.

Terror attacks threat in Northern African coasts from Strait of Gibraltar to Suez Canal

(included) is likely on the rise. The self-proclaimed Islamic State and Al Qaeda will use

any mean possible to harm the West’s economy. Therefore the deadly attacks against the

commercial vessels and also travelling Western seafarers are real risks. The advice is to

enforce the BMP4 protocol before the risk area, pass the choke points as fast as possible,

keep your crew alert and water cannons ready to counter any possible small craft reaching

the vessel as it may contain explosives. Plan your route as far as possible from Morocco

and Libya coasts as those countries have the rising problem with terrorist movements.

Although the risk of getting infected to Ebola on vessels is rather small it is still smart to

apply the protection protocol and supply the vessels with the basic protective items (see

the next page). For more sophisticated approach please see the IMO Circular Letter No.

3484. It is also highly advised to avoid any crew change via infected countries. First, it

will put into risk the same people and also the whole crew in case of joining crew. Second,

the seafarers may get banned to enter for some time (usually 21 days) to many other

countries in the region once their travel documents show the recent travel to the countries

of risk (see the Live Map link provided on the next page).

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!

Follow Aburgus Risk Assessments and other risk related alerts/news/research:

Aburgus Aburgus Risk Management @AburgusRM Aburgus RM Aburgus

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

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Advice to protect your crew against Ebola threat

Keep tracking the Ebola cases on the live map: http://healthmap.org/ebola

It is highly advised to supply the vessels operating anywhere near Africa

with the following basic items:

Alcohol Hand Rub to sterilize hands in case of possible contact with anyone in risk area

Rubber gloves to avoid direct contact in case of handling captured stowaways etc.

Filtering face masks to protect from the possible virus from exhalation of suspected

infected person

Protective goggles to protect the eyes against possible spitting or spray of cough etc.

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Aburgus

Aburgus is Estonian (EU) veterans owned Risk

Management Company designed to mitigate and

solve the security related issues that our clients may

face in today’s unstable environments.

Aburgus’ trademarks are quick response to client’s

needs, highest adoptability and discipline in tasks

plus flexibility in solutions. This experience forms

the highest quality one can expect. We do understand

the complexity of problems, being that crew’s

hesitations or logistics on land. However, we always

find solutions that will assure the best result. Simply

said, Aburgus fulfils the promises and delivers the

results as expected and agreed.

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

Why we are better than many others?

First, Estonians are known by innovativeness,

Nordic type calmness, decisiveness and

dedication to the mission in hand. We never quit

on the task no matter how impossible it may

seem. Our peoples’ motto is that there are no

problems, only challenges.

Second, we truly do take care of your physical

security since the first guard steps on board until

the last one steps off. Our eyes are on the target

24/7 no matter if it is a risk area or loading time

in seemingly safe port. We do build up your

defenses and drill your crew for the worst case

scenarios so they can survive the best. We never give up.

We take care! Yours sincerely,

Rene Toomse, CEO

Certificates and recognitions:

10/10

Testimonials of Aburgus Clients

I was very impressed with their security expertise, professionalism, and flexibility during a

challenging transit. Their previous combat experience, excellent English communication skills,

and sharp uniformed appearance make them outstanding maritime security professionals.

CDR US Navy

During guard duty they were always professional and vigilant. All ship's staff felt safe and

confident regarding security team procedures in dealing with one or two cases of suspicious

situations during the voyage. In my observations, compared with other security companies,

Aburgus OU security guards are at a better level. Master and in behalf of the whole ship's staff

would like Aburgus OU security guards to have onboard again in future transit to HRA.

Captain Jimmy

The armguard displayed their professionalism, vigilance and exemplary service onboard. They

lead by setting examples and have shown enthusiasm as officers and gentlemen. They are

excellent instructors on their field nevertheless they are masters of their profession. We

recommend fully, without any reservations, the Aburgus armguards to any vessels of our fleet in

future transit of HRA either in GOA or in West Africa.

Captain Danilo

The team's professionalism and quality operational service round-the-clock has been very good.

Documents were properly provided and level of regulatory compliance has been shown to

conform to the required attributes. Communication between crew and security group has been

effective and notably good.

Captain Adrian

My strongest personal recommendation for ABURGUS security force. I have had the pleasure of

observing their performance at sea and it has been nothing short of impressive. During our time

at sea, ABURGUS security detachment's approach to security and safety of ship and personnel

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experienced on all things security related. Please accept my highest possible reference for this

outstanding, professional, and experienced security team. I strongly recommended ABURGUS

for future service.

CDR US Navy