Friday, 05 April 2013 | 00:00
Regional Considerations:
All masters are advised to maintain heightened vigilance when at anchor and when loitering/queuing as there may be a higher likelihood of these vessels being targeted by pirates. The uniform risk to merchant vessels throughout the HRA is a reminder of the need to be alert for such activity at all times. In order to mitigate any vulnerability, it is strongly recommended that all vessels maintain a high state of readiness, implementing BMPs and citadel preparedness, while in the HRA.
All masters are advised to maintain heightened vigilance when at anchor and when loitering/queuing as there may be a higher likelihood of these vessels being targeted by pirates. The uniform risk to merchant vessels throughout the HRA is a reminder of the need to be alert for such activity at all times. In order to mitigate any vulnerability, it is strongly recommended that all vessels maintain a high state of readiness, implementing BMPs and citadel preparedness, while in the HRA.
Sailing yachts
should avoid transiting the HRA. Past activity has shown that pirates will
attack both large and small yachts passing their way. Despite the fact that
attacks on merchant vessels appear to have decreased, the possibility of attacks
and the successful pirating of sailing vessels remains likely due to their
vulnerability and the reduction of revenue sources from pirated merchant
vessels.
There have been a number of incidents reported to counter-piracy
organisations in the HRA involving small craft approaches to merchant vessels.
Although these incidents may appear to be piracy related, the majority actually
are not and have been assessed as non-piracy related activity common to the
pattern of life in the area. This can include fishing, small vessel trade,
smuggling and other local traffic.
Fishing vessels may approach a merchant
ship to maximize fishing opportunities or to safeguard fishing nets and
fishermen may carry small arms. It is not uncommon for fishing vessels to follow
merchant and large vessels in order to capitalise on the often increased numbers
of fish in the resultant wake. Please note that, if the NATO Shipping Centre
assesses an approach or incident to be piracy-related, we will issue relevant
warnings.
Weather:
With the onset of the transition period following the North East Monsoon, sea states have become increasingly conducive to piracy operations.
With the onset of the transition period following the North East Monsoon, sea states have become increasingly conducive to piracy operations.
Piracy Threat:
The threat of piracy against merchant shipping continues throughout the entire HRA. Successful disruptions by naval forces over the past few months, in conjunction with masters’ adherence and implementation of BMP4, have significantly reduced the pirates’ ability to capture vessels. However, pirates are able to act far off the coast of Somalia and are likely in search of vessels of opportunity.
The threat of piracy against merchant shipping continues throughout the entire HRA. Successful disruptions by naval forces over the past few months, in conjunction with masters’ adherence and implementation of BMP4, have significantly reduced the pirates’ ability to capture vessels. However, pirates are able to act far off the coast of Somalia and are likely in search of vessels of opportunity.
Pirate Tactics:
Pirate Attack Groups (PAGs) have made “soft-approaches” on merchant ships transiting the HRA. A skiff will often approach a vessel to probe the reactivity of its embarked security team, if present. If they elicit no response, the pirates may then proceed with an attack, sometimes accompanied by a second skiff. This practice seems designed to allow pirates to avoid needless expenditures of ammunition and personal risk without a significant probability of success.
Continued Vigilance and the use of BMP:
Pirate Attack Groups (PAGs) have made “soft-approaches” on merchant ships transiting the HRA. A skiff will often approach a vessel to probe the reactivity of its embarked security team, if present. If they elicit no response, the pirates may then proceed with an attack, sometimes accompanied by a second skiff. This practice seems designed to allow pirates to avoid needless expenditures of ammunition and personal risk without a significant probability of success.
Continued Vigilance and the use of BMP:
Merchant vessels are advised to remain vigilant throughout the
HRA and ensure that Self Protection Measures are implemented as recommended in
BMP4. Prudent and timely implementation of all recommended actions and ship
hardening measures in BMP4 can make the critical difference of being approached,
attacked, or pirated. NSC would like to remind masters that BMP4 highly
recommends maintaining best possible vessel speed when transiting the HRA to
deter pirate boardings.
Registration & Incident Reporting:
As per Section 5 of BMP4, early registration with MSCHOA before entering the HRA and initial and regular reporting to UKMTO are highly recommended to ensure military authorities are aware of a vessel’s passage and vulnerabilities.
As per Section 5 of BMP4, early registration with MSCHOA before entering the HRA and initial and regular reporting to UKMTO are highly recommended to ensure military authorities are aware of a vessel’s passage and vulnerabilities.
It has been
observed that some Masters are choosing to phone their Company Security Officer
(CSO) first in the event of a piracy incident. However, one of the fundamental
requirements of BMP4 is that UKMTO is the primary point of contact for merchant
vessels during piracy incidents in the HRA.
This aims to avoid unnecessary delay
and prevent inaccurate or incomplete information from reaching military
commanders. CSOs should ensure their ships’ security plans reinforce the BMP4
recommendation that UKMTO be immediately telephoned at +971 50 55 23215 in the
event of any piracy activity. UKMTO will then make it a priority to contact the
CSO with any information received whilst ensuring the relevant information
reaches the military commanders without delay.
Masters should provide as much
accurate information as possible. This will ensure the incident can be fully
assessed and information is quickly provided to other ships in the area for
their awareness and vigilance.
Masters should provide as much information as
possible about the incident. If Masters are able to take pictures and/or video
of the suspicious activity safely, please provide these via email to UKMTO at
ukmto@eim.ae, NATO Shipping Centre (NSC) at info@shipping.nato.int or MSCHOA at
postmaster@mschoa.org. This information will be used by Counter Piracy forces.
Pictures supplied from an attack on a merchant vessel have previously led to the
rapid release of a pirated dhow.
Source: NATO Shipping Centre
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