COUNTER-PIRACY UPDATES
STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA, THE GULF OF ADEN AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra - 20. July 2011)
PROTECTING AND MONITORING LIFE, BIODIVERSITY AND THE ECOSYSTEM IN SOMALIA AND ITS SEAS SINCE 1986 - ECOTERRA Intl.
ECOTERRA Intl. and ECOP-marine serve concerning the counter-piracy issues as advocacy groups in their capacity as human rights, marine and maritime monitors as well as in co-operation with numerous other organizations, groups and individuals as information clearing-house. In difficult cases we have successfully served as mediators.
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STATUS-SUMMARY:
Today, 20. July 2011 at 21h00 UTC, at least 35 larger plus 18 smaller foreign vessels plus one stranded barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 610 hostages or captives - including a South-African yachting couple as well as a Danish yacht-family with three children and two friends - suffer to be released.
But even EU NAVFOR, who mostly only counts high-value, often British insured vessels, admitted now that many dozens of vessels were sea-jacked despite their multi-million Euro efforts to protect shipping.
Having come under pressure, EU NAVFOR's operation ATALANTA felt now compelled to publish their updated piracy facts for those vessels, which EU NAVFOR admits had not been protected from pirates and were abducted. EU NAVFOR also admitted in February 2011 for the first time that actually a larger number of vessels and crews is held hostage than those listed on their file.
Since EU NAVFOR's inception at the end of 2008 the piracy off Somalia started in earnest and it has now completely escalated. Only knowledgeable analysts recognized the link.
Please see the situation map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA (2011) and the CPU-ARCHIVE
ECOTERRA members can also request the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor for background info.
- see also HELD HOSTAGE BY PIRATES OFF SOMALIA
and don't forget that SOMALI PIRACY IS CUT-THROAT CAPITALISM
WHAT THE NAVIES OFF SOMALIA NEVER SEE:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/fighting_for_control_of_somali.html
What Foreign Soldiers in Somalia and even their Officers Never Seem to Realize:
The Scramble For Somalia
PEACE KEEPERS OR BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS ?
SG Ban Ki-Moon (UN) and President Ram Baran Yadav (Nepal) should resign and take the responsibility for 4,500 Haitians having been killed by a Cholera strain introduced by unchecked, so-called UN Peace-Keepers from Nepal into Haiti.
LATEST:
STILL ALMOST 600 SEAFARERS ARE HELD HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA !
ECOTERRA Intl. has been the first group to clearly and publicly state that the piracy phenomenon off the Somali coasts can only become an issue of the past again, if tangible and sustainable, appropriate and holistic development for the coastal communities kicks in. Solutions to piracy have to tackle the root causes: Abhorrent poverty, environmental degradation, injustice, outside interference. While still billions are spend for the navies, for the general militarization or for mercenaries or conferences, still no real and financially substantial help is coming forward to pacify and develop the coastal areas of Somalia.
Updates on known cases of piracy - pls see also below this latest news in the status section.
MORE SMALL CARGO VESSELS ATTACKED OFF NORTHERN SOMALIA (ecop-marine)
Local marine observers reported on 18. July 2011 that three smaller cargo vessel were attacked by a large group of sea-shifta just off Bossaso, the harbour town of the Somali regional state of Puntland.
The case could at first not be verified, since also the navies had no such record. Pakistani and Indian diplomatic channels are following up.
In the ensuing getaway bid the Somali pirates, who had taken a total of 67 seafarers from mainly Asian nations hostage caused damage to the engines in two of the boats, while struggling against the heavy swell.
The two limping vessels were then abandoned and the gang escaped in one of the cargo ships, taking with them 19 crew from India and Pakistan as hostages and human shield.
The sea-shifta with this vessel didn't bother to come to the coast but took the vessel out to the sea in order to get larger prey.
The vessel is said to be originally from Pakistan but sometimes flying UAE flag and the name given sounds like SHIHAAN. A clear identity could not yet be established.
Businessmen in Bossaso meanwhile came to the rescue of the two other ships and the Puntland coastguard is said to gear up for a major strike at one of the north-eastern pirate dens from where these pirate gangs hail.
THERE IS NO MERIT IN SHOWING THE SUFFERING OF HOSTAGES ON THE INTERNET (ecop-marine)
The despicable and heinous posting on the internet of two horrible videos showing the crew from Danish MV LEOPARD, making pleas to their government and shipowner under duress, came after all decent media had refused to buy these clips for the large amount of money demanded at first.
But obviously some deal had gone through, because since the case of the British sailing couple, the Chandlers, no visual material has left Somalia without payment. In the Chandler case for the first time larger sums were paid by a major media channel to get first pictures and then video footage.
After someone therefore must have paid for the footage and the first three Somalia websites presented them, then suddenly the clips from the MV LEOPARD crew were even dropped for free into mailboxes and posted on YouTube for everybody to see or download.
The videos are not only disrespectfully showing the distress of the severely traumatized hostages, but also created the uproar, which the hostage takers must have believed would be to their advantage.
Though it might be justified to push the vessel owner and his advisers from law firms, government or security industry to work harder for a fast solution, because the crisis already lasts now for over six month, but the hostages must not be abused to create media events or serve media interests.
The public posting on the internet of these videos will for certain only make the negotiations more difficult and prolong them, and therefore increase the suffering of the crew.
In times when the Somali people need all the sympathy of the world to overcome the cruel famine and shortcomings in the devastated country, which needs to be rebuilt, these videos serve for sure only those who have on their agenda the aim to let the Somalis starve to death or to lower the threshold on the trigger fingers of all those who engage in the now big and growing so called maritime security business - be it governments or private contractors.
It might even serve to distract the attention from the massive weapons-shipments crossing these seas. All without real merits.
The greedy gang of gangsters who have nothing in common any more with the former defenders of the sea and are a far cry of the subsequent first real pirate gangs obeying to a strict code of conduct in not harming the crew, actually endanger the welfare and help, which the majority of the Somali population urgently requires. The inhumane conditions, under which the hostages are held, however, are experienced by around two third of the Somali population under the prevailing famine.
Somali PM Abdiweli Names New Cabinet Despite serious in-fighting between Somalia's leadership, Prime Minister Abidweli today named his new cabinet as required by the Kampala Accord.
Sources close to the prime minister said the new ministers were suggested by the outgoing ministers. Not one of the 18 ministers who served in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Farmajo, who was forced to resign last month, was retained. The new cabinet is again made up of 18 members contrary to the plan proposed by Speaker Sharif Hassan who wanted 23 ministers.
The newly proposed cabinet was chosen based on the traditional clan 4.5 formula:
1 - Hawiye (President)
1 - Diir
1 - Darood (Prime Minister)
1 - Rahweyn (Speaker)
.5 - minority clans
The new team, if approved, will be mandated to complete the transitional tasks and prepare for fresh elections in August 2012. The parliament is set to vote on the proposed list on Saturday, according to a senior official who spoke to terror free somalia.
The prime minister's proposed list is as follows:
1- Ahmed Hassan Gaboobe (Ugaas Bille), Minister for Religious Affairs
2- Mohamed Mohamud Haaji Ibrahim, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
3- Hussein Arab Issa, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense
4- Abdiwahab Ugaas Hussein Ugaas Khalif, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry
5- Abdisamad Maalim Mohamud Sheekh Hassan, Minister of Interior and National Security
6- Abdinasir Mohamed Abdulle, Minister of Finance
7- Asha Osman Aqil, Minister of Women's Development
8- Abullahi Haji Hassan Mohamed Noor, Minister of Livestock Development
9- Dr. Abdiaziz Sheikh Yusuf, Minister of Health
10- Abdulkadir Mohamed Ahmed, Information Posts and Telecommunications
11- Mohamed Muhudin Sheikh Mursal, Minister of Youth and Sports
12- Abdirahman Sheikh Ibrahim, Minister of Fisheries and Natural Resources
13- Adan Abdullaahi Adan, Minister of Transport
14- Abdirahman Hosh Jibril, Minister of Justice and Reconciliation
15- Jaylani Noor Ikar, Minister of National Development
16- Abdulkadir Mohamed Diisow, Minister of Water and Energy
17- Prof. Ahmed Aydid Ibrahim, Minister of Education and Higher Studies
18- Abdullahi Godah Barre, Minister of Planning and International Relation
via-Abdirahman Warsame
©2011 - ecoterra / ecop-marine - articles above are exclusive reports and, if not specifically ©-marked, free for publication as long as cited correctly and the source is quoted.
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What you always wanted to know about piracy, but never dared to ask:
SEARCH THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE INTERNET PORTAL ON PIRACY
Pirate video: Danes, Filipinos plead for release By Jason Straziuso (AP)
A maritime industry group posted videos Tuesday on YouTube showing two Danes and four Filipinos held hostage by Somalia pirates pleading for the Danish government and the ship's owner to help win their freedom.
Pirates seek millions of dollars to release the ships and crews they hijack off the coast of East Africa. The pirates have made such hostage videos before, but rarely, if ever, are the videos posted on YouTube.
One of the Danish crew members, Soeren Lyngbjoern, is seen asking for the government and company to help free the crew, which was taken Jan. 12. A pirate holding the camera asks questions while three masked men holding weapons stand in the background.
Lyngbjoern said the crew are often afraid, and that he is suffering health problems. An imprint on the video indicates it was shot last Thursday, though The Associated Press could not independently authenticate the tape or when it was shot.
"I don't think I live for much more," he said in a shaky voice that sometimes cracks with emotion.
Pirates hijacked the Danish cargo ship MV Leopard in the Arabian Sea between Yemen and Somalia. Its crew consists of four Filipinos and two Danes and is operated by the shipping company Shipcraft. Six men are seen in the video, which was shot outdoors near brush.
A second hostage seen in the videos says the Leopard was carrying military equipment.
Shipcraft said in a statement Tuesday that speculation in the Danish press that the company has not been working toward the release of the hostages is not true.
"Shipcraft has since January - and with the advice from renowned security advisers and in close consultation with all relevant parties, among others the appropriate authorities - been negotiating for the fastest possible release of our crew," the company said, adding that it could not share details because it could have a negative impact on the dealings.
Shipcraft said that the crew is "under unbelievable pressure, mentally as well as physically."
The group that posted the videos, Save our Seafarers, describes itself as one of the biggest maritime industry groups, 25 maritime organizations that joined together to raise awareness of the human and economic cost of piracy.
A spokesman for Save Our Seafarers said he couldn't immediately comment on the posting but would gather information and speak later.
Pirates have been holding hostages longer in apparent hopes of winning higher ransoms. The average ransom is now around $5 million.
A spokesman for the EU Naval Force, an anti-piracy force, said the group's records show that pirates hold 19 ships and 417 hostages.
In other piracy developments, officials responsible for a small Emirati oil tanker hijacked Saturday said they have lost contact with the ship but are hopeful it will be released soon.
Omar al-Khair, general manager of the Emirates International Shipping, the vessel's manager, told The Associated Press there were 17 crew on board the United Arab Emirates-flagged MV Jubba XX. Besides the Sri Lankan captain, he said crew members were from India, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Sudan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
"I'm expecting it to get released easy ... because there are Somalis" on board, he said. There have been no demands for ransom yet, he said.
The tanker was carrying between 3,500 to 4,000 tons of refined fuel when it was hijacked, said Ali Alawi, operations coordinator at Jubba General Trading Co., the ship's Emirati owner. It was headed from the Emirati city of Umm al-Quwain to the Somali port of Berbera.
Al-Khair said the companies last had contact with a crew member by satellite phone shortly after the hijacking Saturday off the coast of Mukalla, Yemen. They have been unable to reach them by since.
Lawmaker: Pinoy seamen deserve equal protection of law (GMA)
The Democratic Independent Workers' Association (DIWA) party-list representative is asking the House committee on overseas workers affairs to look into the recent sea piracy incidents involving Filipino seafarers.
In House Resolution 1474, filed last week by DIWA party-list Rep. Emmeline Aglipay, the "inquiry in aid of legislation" would pave the way to ensure that all Filipino seamen are "accorded the equal protection of the law."
"The inadequacy of our piracy laws necessitates additional legislative measures to make them more all-encompassing, so as not to prejudice other Filipino seafarers who are likewise prone to pirate attacks," she said.
In particular, Aglipay noted that the government should provide "double compensation and benefits" to any victims of sea piracy. Under the present rules, only victims of hijacking in "high risk" zones are given double compensation, while those who become victims in other areas are left with no recourse.
"The Philippine government must take an aggressive role in addressing the plight of our Filipino seafarers who will continue… becoming victims of these illegal activities," Aglipay said, noting that the seamen have greatly boosted the Philippine economy through their remittances.
There are over 300,000 Filipino seafarers, comprising around 30 percent of an estimated 1.2 million seafarers worldwide, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. They have remitted a total of $3.8 billion in 2010, it added.
Death of some seafarers
The death of Christopher Ceprado — one of 17 Filipino crew members of chemical tanker M/T Sea King that was attacked by heavily armed pirates last May — prodded Aglipay to file the House resolution. [See related: Kin of Pinoy seafarer killed off Nigeria seek PHL govt's help]
In this incident, the pirates looted and ransacked the vessel's equipment and took personal effects of crew members while the ship was in the port of Benin's largest city, Cotonou, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Aglipay noted that prior to the killing of Ceprado, M/V Beluga Nomination was hijacked by Somali pirates 390 nautical miles north of Port Victoria in the Seychelles on Jan. 22, 2011.
Farolito Vallega, a Filipino crewman of the M/V Beluga, was shot and killed by the Somali pirates as two anti-piracy naval patrol vessels attempted a rescue mission on Jan. 26, 2011. Also, another Filipino crewman is still missing after jumping overboard during the rescue operation.
Aglipay quoted the International Chamber of Commerce as saying there have been 248 attacks and 28 vessels hijacked worldwide so far this year.
"While the waters off Somalia continues to remain the most piracy-prone area, the risk to crews and shipping off Nigeria and its neighboring states remains high as well especially since incidents are not reported," the lawmaker said.
Aglipay, citing numbers from from the International Maritime Bureau, said there are currently over 700 hostages held in over 30 vessels. Based on DFA records, at least 130 Filipino seafarers on board 11 vessels had been held captive by Somali pirates.
The MV Jubba XX was seized on Sunday. The tanker was captured in the northern Indian Ocean and had a crew of 16 on board, including Indian, Bangladeshi and Somali sailors.
It was seized while loaded with oil on a regular route from the UAE to the Somali port of Berbera.
Jubba General Trading, which is based in Sharjah, said on Tuesday they have not been able to contact the crew.
"No one is answering their phone. Occasionally, someone does pick up the phone and speaks in a language that we do not understand, "said Sayyad Alawi, a coordinator in the operations department of Jubba General Trading.
"The pirates have not put forward any ransom demand so far. We are concerned about the crew's safety."
Piracy has grown in recent years in war-ravaged, drought-stricken Somalia. The Horn of Africa nation has not had a functioning central government for more than 20 years.
A number of other UAE ships have also been hijacked, including the MV Iceberg 1, which has been held for 16 months.
Tanzania, SA vow to fight piracy scourge By Peter Fabricius (IOL)
NOT REPORTED BY NATO, EU NAVFOR OR IMB.PRC:
Indian Navy thwarts Somali pirate bid By Divyesh Singh (DNA)
The Indian Navy has proved its mettle again.
The Indian frigate INS Godavari foiled a hijack bid by Somali pirates on a Greek cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden, where it is on anti-piracy deployment since May.
On July 16 morning, eight Somali pirates tried to hijack MV Elinakos and the crew sent out a distress alert. All special task force ships and vessels of all the navies deployed in the Gulf of Aden rushed to the cargo vessel's aid.
INS Godavari, which was escorting four other cargo ships to ensure their safe passage in the Gulf of Aden, was close by and immediately dispatched a helicopter and a team of marine commandos on speed boats to rescue the Greek vessel.
The commandos spotted the Somali pirate team on a skiff near the cargo vessel. But by the time they reached the skiff, the pirates dumped their arms and ammunition into the sea.
"The pirates were not arrested because they had thrown their arms into the water. The commandos searched their boat and found nothing and so were forced to let them go," said a defence spokesperson on Tuesday.
The German naval ship Niedersachsen coordinated with INS Godavari in the operation.
Since its deployment in the Gulf of Aden in May this year, INS Godavari has safely escorted 219 cargo vessels of various countries. Last week, INS Godavari had escorted MV Islamabad with an all-Pakistani crew of 38 in the pirate-infested waters of Gulf of Aden
Since 2008, the Indian Navy has deployed warships in the Gulf of Aden and has safely escorted 1,665 cargo vessels
Canadian reveals Somali pirate secrets in new book By Merita Ilo (TheCanadianPress)
Jay Bahadur admits his parents probably wanted him to move out of their house and "do his own thing." But hanging out with pirates in the world's most dangerous country was not exactly what they had in mind.
Eager to break into journalism, the 27-year-old Toronto native, who had never been to Africa, made some phone calls, got in touch with some local journalists, and in January 2009 left his parent's home in Chicago and hopped on a plane to Somalia.
What he learned and witnessed during the three months he lived among the Somali pirates is documented in his book, "The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World," that is being released in Canada and the United States on Tuesday.
"I always intended to break into journalism by going abroad and just writing freelance," Bahadur said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"My original plan, before I thought about it for a minute, was to just go on my own and kind of stumble onto a pirate group and hope that they thought I was a little crazy ... and took pity on me," he said with a chuckle.
The only person he was counting on was a local journalist he had spoken with on the phone but had never met, and whose father had just been elected the president of Puntland, a semiautonomous pirate-infested region in northern Somalia where piracy originated.
"I was nervous about whether I would be extorted for money, or held up, or kidnapped or what not."
And there was good reason to worry.
Just four months prior to his arrival, another Canadian freelance journalist had been kidnapped by gunmen in Somalia while travelling to a refugee camp.
Amanda Lindhout, along with Australian photographer Nigel Brennan and their Somali translator, were held for 15 months and their abductors demanded millions of dollars in ransom for their release.
"I chose Somalia because originally what I wanted to do was go and cover an election that was happening in northwestern Somalia," said the University of Toronto graduate.
"And then the piracy thing happened and that was a lot more exciting story and a lot better way to get my name in print, so I essentially made a few calls to universities and to local journalists there and I ended up partnering with a local journalist."
In his book, published by Harper Collins Canada, Bahadur describes the evolution of piracy in Somalia -- from the self-proclaimed "coast guards" pretending to protect their country's waters from foreign invaders, to the deadly, organized, multi-million dollar enterprise that has become today.
One 'myth' he says he hopes his book will debunk is the assumption that international criminal organizations and terrorist groups are behind the network of Somali pirates.
"The fact of the matter is, Somalia is perfectly capable of doing it on its own.
"I did a detailed study of the economics of the piracy from the pirate's point of view -- a mission might cost as little at $10,000 dollars to launch, and that kind of money is certainly available within the country, especially now when these ransoms are coming fast and furious."
He says piracy is a home-grown movement that doesn't need outside funding.
"They say there are about 15 to 30 key investors, people who are actually mapping the networks.
"It's more like some (Somali) expats going home and trying to make some money on the side by financing piracy missions."
Bahadur thinks that such "misconceptions" help shape the multibillion dollar fight against piracy.
However, he admits that his conclusions were drawn from stories that were 'filtered" through people surrounding him, all members of a clan in power, often while sitting around chewing a narcotic drug called khat.
As for the book deal, the young Canadian, who says he gave a Toronto Blue Jays baseball T-shirt as a gift to a pirate leader, admits the timing of his trip certainly helped him find a publisher.
"Shortly after I got back from the first trip (March 2009), the Maersk Alabama incident happened and that kind of drove interest in the book and it sold shortly after that."
On April 8, 2009, Somali pirates boarded Maersk Alabama, a container ship en route to Kenya. The hijacking ended when U.S. navy sharpshooters killed two pirates holding the ship's American captain.
In the summer of 2010, Bahadur was invited to share his findings on Somalia piracy with officials at the U.S. State Department. His articles on Somalia were published in many newspapers, including The New York Times, The Times (London) and the Financial Times.
Asked about his future in journalism, Bahadur says he's now turning his attention to citizen journalism. He is starting a website -- that he hopes will be a home for all newsworthy YouTube videos -- and hopes any publicity he gets from the book will help generate interest in his new project.
"I tried to skip a few steps successfully so far in journalism ... to become editor-in-chief," he says with a laugh.
Secrets of Somali pirates revealed in new book By Katharine Houreld (AP)
The pirates were nervous. A rookie author - a white man from Canada - had unexpectedly arrived in their cliff-top Somali village to ask about the captured ship anchored offshore.
Locals fearing a showdown quietly melted away into a small collection of shacks.
The encounter with the deadly gang forms the final chapter of "The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World," a first-of-its kind book that saw author Jay Bahadur live among the pirates. Bahadur's book is being released Tuesday in the U.S.
"They were paranoid beyond belief. They thought I was a CIA agent," the tall, soft-spoken writer told The Associated Press. "I thought they were going to shoot us."
Sweating with heat and nerves, Bahadur questioned the pirates and secretly filmed them before being whisked off by his own gang of armed bodyguards.
Bahadur spent months in Somalia at a time when pirate attacks were skyrocketing in both frequency and violence. His book takes readers through the evolution of the pirate groups from garrulous, self-proclaimed vigilantes who claimed they were protecting Somalia's waters from illegal fishing vessels to the deadly criminal gangs they are today.
The author, now 27, was living with his parents and writing marketing reports about pet food and napkins when he began planning his trip to Somalia. He had never been to Africa before.
"I was thinking I better get picked up at the airport because if I hadn't I would have been kidnapped in 30 minutes," he said. "I was frantically making friends on the plane and I was going to beg one to take me home if no one was there."
But the bodyguards he had arranged for did indeed pick him up, and after a few shaky starts Bahadur was calling on pirates at home, wearing local robes and indulging in local pastimes such as chewing on narcotic khat leaves and gossiping about women and guns.
Bahadur needed the protection. Pirates have turned dangerously violent over the last year, as spiraling ransoms attracted ruthless criminals to a trade once dominated by aggrieved local fishermen. Hijacked crew members have been tortured and ships set on fire. In February, pirates hijacked a yacht and killed the four Americans aboard.
In a trip to the pirate stronghold of Eyl, Bahadur discovered pirates who are afraid of phantom U.S. navy divers and believe in psychic powers. He even describes an incident of panty-thieving on the high seas.
He also found that many widely held beliefs about pirates are wrong, including allegations that they are controlled by international criminal cartels, have alliances with Islamist rebels or use sophisticated intelligence networks. Such assumptions help shape the multibillion dollar fight against piracy.
"You have a lot of people with agendas making claims that aren't backed up by anything," said Bahadur. "I don't really have an agenda. I just tried to use common sense. ... I actually met these people and spoke to them. Most of them had no idea of the outside world."
But it wasn't always easy to get the information he wanted.
Bahadur spent time with a pirate who hit him up for car repairs and even asked for the jeans he was wearing, a request Bahadur politely declined. Eventually the man helped provide a detailed ransom breakdown, matching pirate accounts with the recollections of crew members about the ransom division.
Bahadur discovered that though pirates were paid a $1.8 million ransom to release the Victoria - the ship he saw in Eyl - the guards on board made only $12,000 each, which averaged out to about $10.40 an hour. The biggest share went to the investor backing the pirate team.
The high risks - of arrest, injury or death - that the low-ranking pirates take for a relatively small cut of the ransom reminded him of the situation faced by teenage drug dealers on the corners of American streets.
"Piracy in Somalia and the drug trade in the U.S. have a lot in common," said Bahadur. "They both provide status and an opportunity to advance in society that would be hard to get otherwise."
Bahadur's own relationship to the pirates is complex. He was protected by bodyguards supplied by the son of the president of Puntland, a semiautonomous pirate-infested region in the north, and he does not speak Somali.
One group he interviewed allowed him to test-fire a rifle during a picnic, and he brought back a Toronto Blue Jays baseball T-shirt as a gift for a pirate leader. By his own admission, Bahadur feet some slight admiration for the "reckless courage" of the men he interviewed.
But by the end of the book, the young author was forced to confront the new generation of pirates, gunmen from the interior drawn by the lure of riches and controlled by wealthy financiers. During the tense back-and-forth on the Somali cliff top, a pirate insisted that his hostages are being so well-fed that they would prefer to stay captive.
Bahadur later learned that one hostage was already dead, another gravely wounded.
"I had had the distinct impression that the Dhanane gang would have been as perfectly at ease with slaughtering their captives as ransoming them," he wrote. "Later, when reading news of the casualties the crew had suffered, I was struck by the chilling realization that I had shared tea with murderers."
These men, Bahadur concludes, are the future of piracy.
EU: "Not enough money to feed Somali children", BUT
Mauritius gets 3 mln euros for pirate trials (Reuters)
Mauritius has secured 3 million euros ($4.25 million) from the European Union for the trial and detention of suspected Somali pirates, the Indian ocean island nation said. Rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia has made it the world's most dangerous shipping lane, earned Somali sea bandits tens of millions of dollars in ransoms and raised insurance premiums for shipping firms. "If it (piracy) is allowed to grow at the pace it has in recent years, it could cause considerable damage to our fishing industry, to shipping, to the tourism industry and indeed to our ambition of developing the potential of our exclusive maritime zone," Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth told reporters. International navies trying to counter piracy off Somalia are often reluctant to take suspects to their own countries either because they lack the jurisdiction to put them on trial there or they fear the pirates may seek asylum. Pirates arrested on the high seas are frequently returned to Somalia's lawless shores. "Mauritius has to pass a law on piracy and ... to start implementing the assistance which will come from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC)," Alessandro Mariani, the European Union's ambassador to Mauritius, told Reuters. Mariani said a mission from UNODC was expected in Mauritius in mid-August and by the end of September all the elements should be in place for Mauritius to be able to hold trials of suspected pirates and to jail those convicted.
Outstanding U.S.American naval investigations:
A) Commander of USS STERETT for:
a) Endangering shipping and the marine environment by causing the tanker to float as ghost-ship for two month unattended in the Indian Ocean - thus creating serious danger to navigation and endangering the marine ecosystems in the EEZ of the Seychelles;
b) SY QUEST tragedy provokation.
B) The cowards of Labad (USS OSCAR AUSTIN)
C) The killing, among others, of the Taiwanese captain of FV JIH CHUN TSAI 68, Cpt. Wu Lai-yu by U.S.America naval soldiers (USS STEPHEN GROVES)
etc., etc.
No. 2 officer on San Diego Navy ship Green Bay fired (Sandiego)
The second in command of the San Diego-based amphibious ship Green Bay was fired last Wednesday for what the Navy called personal misconduct. Cmdr. Ralph Jones, the Green Bay's executive officer, was on the ship in the Arabian Sea region as part of a regular deployment of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit when the relief-of-command announcement was made. It is the Green Bay's maiden deployment. A Navy spokesman in San Diego said allegations of personal conduct were confirmed by an investigation of Jones' behavior. The Navy refused to release any more details, citing "privacy concerns."
From the SMCM (Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor): (and with a view on news with an impact on Somalia)
The articles below - except where stated otherwise - are reproduced in accordance with Section 107 of title 17 of the Copyright Law of the United States relating to fair-use and are for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions held by ECOTERRA Intl.
Articles below were vetted and basically found to report correctly - or otherwise are commented.
Somalis say:
NO TO UN-TRUSTEESHIP OVER SOMALIA OR AU AND IGAD MILITARIZATION
NO to military governance on land or naval governance on the Somali seas.
NO to any threat to the sovereignty of Somalia, especially concerning the 200nm territorial waters, given since 1972 and the 200nm EEZ already in place since 1989.
Jerry Rowlings is also scheduled to hold talks with Somalia's TFG president, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and Speaker of the national Assembly, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.
In his trip to Somalia, the African Union special representative to Somalia, Jerry Rowlings, is accompanied by Somalia's ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Ali America.
Mogadishu (Sunatimes) A high-ranking Somali presidential security officer died and two others seriously wounded after Somalia's presidential guards clashed with the security details of speaker of parliament inside the heavily fortified Somalia's presidential palace in Mogadishu.
During the clash, the three principals of the Somali government, President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, his newly appointed Prime Minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and the speaker of the national Assembly, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan were holding close door meeting inside the presidential palace.
A fierce exchange of gunfire ensued shortly after presidential guards manning the presidential palace refused an entry to the meeting hall, one of the security details of the speaker of Parliament, who was by then armed with pistol.
Reports say, Ali Sharif, a close relative attached to the security details of speaker of the parliament has been but behind bars for creating upheavals in the presidential palace.
This comes a time when the highly expected naming of the Somali cabinet has been postponed indefinitely.
Arab League to send aid to Somalia (AhramOnline) The Arab League News Facebook page published a statement by the League making an urgent call for all Arab states, specialised organisations, Red Crescent societies and civil society organisations to make their resources available to rescue the Somali people from their plight following a severe drought that hit Somalia this summer.The League also stressed the importance of aiding those displaced or taking refuge as a result of the disaster.
The king of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber, has offered $10 million package of aid to help drought-hit population in Somalia.
Somali consul in Kuwait, Abib Muse Farah, told Bar-kulan that Kuwait offered the aid package to Somalia's drought-stricken people after president Sharif called for immediate humanitarian help for drought victims in Somalia.
The $10 million aid package will be managed by the Kuwait's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with the Kuwait Red Crescent Society to provide medicine, food and other necessity desperately needed by the drought displaced people in Somalia
Abib Muse Farah said two flights from Kuwait carrying relief aid to drought victims in Mogadishu is expected to jet in on Wednesday.
Somali is currently facing what the United Nations' refugee agency chief, Antonio guterres, called it as the worst drought in six decades.
Somali children at risk of death on the front line By Alex Duval Smith (TheIndependent)
Armed groups such as al-Shabaab use Somali teenagers to plant explosives in Mogadishu, paying them $1-$100
The brutal reality of childhood in Somalia is laid bare today in a harrowing report that says children under the age of 15 were systematically recruited to fight in the country's decades-long civil war.
Amnesty International warned of a "lost generation" caused by the escalating fighting amid further warnings from the UN that two million children were threatened by a food crisis unfolding in the Horn of Africa. The report said that more thought and money went into protecting shipments of consumer goods from being attacked by pirates off Somalia than on saving children whose lives were destroyed by the war.
"Somalia is not only a humanitarian crisis; it is a human rights crisis. As a child in Somalia you risk death all the time," said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty's deputy director for Africa.
"You can be killed, recruited [as a soldier] and sent to the front line, punished by al-Shabaab for listening to music or wearing the wrong clothes. The humanitarian crisis facing children in Somalia is also the result of al-Shabaab denying access to aid in the last couple of years," she said.
The organisation met children who recounted being at school or playing football when al-Shabaab came to recruit. A 13-year-old girl from Mogadishu said: "Al-Shabaab came in one morning. They said to the teachers that all of the children should move out of class. There was a car outside and they forced the children in. One teacher was killed because he refused to obey."
Testimonies of those that were forced to attend al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam training camps suggest boys are trained to handle guns and explosives while girls are used for domestic work or are forced to marry commanders. A 21-year-old man told researchers that armed groups including al-Shabaab and Jabathul Islamiya used teenagers to plant explosives in Mogadishu. "The bombs given to them came from Yemen and Eritrea. One of the leaders used to give young people between $1 and $100 and give maps and instructions to the young people to do it."
The 90-page study, based on interviews with 200 Somalis who have fled to neighbouring Kenya and Djibouti, reports that children as young as the age of eight have been recruited by fighting groups.
In the past 20 years of fighting in Somalia, more than 2.5 million people are believed to have fled their homes and 750,000 of them are registered as refugees in neighbouring countries. Somalia has become a huddle of warlord chieftainships using Islam to control land and undermine the western-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the peacekeepers of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).
The Amnesty report states that in the first two weeks of May this year, 398 of the 933 patients being treated for weapons-related injuries in Mogadishu hospitals were children under five. The report quotes a man from Beledweyne, near the border with Ethiopia, whose five children were killed by stray projectiles. "I had to pick up their bodies and bury them. The oldest was 12 and the youngest was two years old."
Citing UN figures that one in four children in Somalia is undernourished, Amnesty says al-Shabaab contributed to the current food crisis in the Horn of Africa by blocking aid because it considers food agencies to be linked to the TFG, Amisom or their donors. In recent weeks, however, as the drought in the Horn of Africa has got worse, al-Shabaab has lifted its ban of foreign aid organisations, and food has been delivered to areas of the war-torn country controlled by the Islamist group.
Children in Somalia victims of war crimes, rights group says (dpa)
Children in Somalia face myriad human rights violations, including illegal recruitment as soldiers, harassment by Islamist groups and a life plagued by fear, according to a report by rights group Amnesty International released Wednesday.
Many have been orphaned by the country's civil war, ongoing since the collapse of the central government in 1991, leaving them to fend for themselves, said the report, entitled In the Line of Fire. With a war raging, the school and health systems have collapsed.
Like all Somalis, children face the constant threat of dying in the conflict's crossfire, and the recent recurrence of a severe drought in the past year is forcing more to flee their homes in search of means to survive.
'The international community, including donors, have devoted a huge amount of financial and political resources to the fight against crimes of piracy off the coast of Somalia,' said Benedicte Goderiaux, Amnesty's Somalia researcher and the author of the report.
'In direct contrast, nothing has been done to address accountability for the war crimes which continue to be committed in Somalia and which affect millions of children,' Goderiaux told the German Press Agency dpa.
According to the report, the internationally supported Transitional Federal Government, the Islamist al-Shabab militia and even the African Union peace force in the country are all guilty of violating children's rights.
Amnesty singled out al-Shabab, an extremist group, as blocking the delivery of aid to civilians who are suffering in the humanitarian crisis, while also actively denying children the chance of an education.
According to the UN, only 23 per cent of children of primary school age are enrolled in or attend class, while the mortality rate of those under five is on the rise.
'Children have been victims of floggings and witnessed other horrific human rights abuses, including stonings, amputations and killings carried out in public by armed Islamist groups,' said the rights group.
The report calls for an international Commission of Inquiry to investigate the abuses, while urging world powers to act to protect Somali children.
Eleven Million at Risk in Horn of Africa By Denis Foynes (IPS)
"I have never seen anything like it. Many mothers have lost three or four children. It's a tragedy out here," Austin Kennan, regional director for the Horn of Africa for Concern Worldwide, told IPS from within the crisis zone.
The United Nations and humanitarian workers report that food insecurity is now at emergency levels across the Horn of Africa, affecting Kenya, Ethiopia and especially south Somalia, with 11 million people in dire need of emergency assistance due in part to a major prolonged drought.
"From our point of view, this is the worst drought we have seen in Africa since the 1950s, but it must be remembered that this is not the only factor that led to this level of crisis," Alun McDonald, media and communications officer for the Horn, East and Central Africa at Oxfam, explained to IPS.
"The effects of high staple food prices and the conflicts in the region over the last few decades have become all the more devastating due to the drought," said McDonald, who is based in Nairobi. "This combination has wreaked havoc in the region."
So dire is the situation that the Islamic terror group Al-Shabaab has lifted restrictions on foreign aid workers coming into the areas in Somalia they control.
But many aid workers and agencies are wary of returning. For example, the U.N. World Food Programme states that it won't even consider returning to Al-Shabaab-controlled territory until after an 18-month absence.
Valerie Amos, the U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, spent two days in the region earlier this month. "I spoke with a woman who walked five hours with her children to get help," Amos said. "More and more children are malnourished. Livestock has died as has a way of life. People have lost everything."
Many Somalis have simply abandoned their bone-dry farms and moved into the capital Mogadishu in hopes of avoiding starvation.
Scores of civilians have gone further. The rate of refugees arriving from Somalia into Ethiopia surged from 5,000 a month to 30,000 in the second week of June alone.
The influx is even larger in neighbouring Kenya. The U.N. states that thousands of Somalis crossing the borders are arriving in the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab, in Kenya.
The camp intended for 90,000 people now has around 380,000 refugees and is unable to cope, the U.N. says.
A few miles away from Dadaab lies a brand-new refugee camp built by the U.N. for 20 million dollars in 2010.
Yet it lies empty due to complaints from the Kenyan government that opening the camp will bring too many refugees and provide cover for the Somali terrorist group Al Shabaab among others who have targeted the country in the past.
International Aid
Late last week, a group of UK aid agencies including Concern and Oxfam launched a TV and radio fundraising appeal. The British government has also pledged 52 million pounds in aid to the region.
Since last year, when USAID's Famine Relief Warning System Network saw the crisis coming, the U.S. government has provided a total of 383 million dollars in emergency food and water, health care and hygiene supplies, including 348,000 metric tonnes of food.
But if a swift intervention is not organised by the international community, there are fears of a repeat of the famine in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s, when around one million people died.
"More money and assistance is needed to provide the required levels food and water," McDonald said. "We estimate that around 800 million dollars will be needed to effectively tackle the problem. Slow pledges are being made but quicker action must start now. "
The U.N. is expected shortly to declare the crisis to be a famine in parts of southern Somalia.
The announcement will likely be made by Mark Bowden, humanitarian co- coordinator for Somalia in Nairobi, based on data collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization.
The use of the word "famine" is based on rates of hunger, death and malnutrition. These levels must also be widespread in order to justify the use of the term.
The use of the term is expected to focus more world attention and hence more aid to the troubled area.
McDonald stressed to IPS that, "The work must not stop once this crisis has passed. In the long term, we need to fix a broken system so this doesn't occur again. Issues such as food prices, agriculture dependency and grazing rights need to be tackled."
"We used to see a serious drought in Africa every 10 years, then it became five and now it's every two or three years," he added, in a reference to the global climate changes now occurring due to fossil fuel emissions.
U.N. Special Advisor Jeffrey Sachs agreed, saying at a press conference that, "The famine crisis in Kenya and the Horn of Africa will never be solved by emergency relief operations like what we are seeing now. What is needed is sustained investment in dry lands of the region to pull people out of the extreme poverty."
"The pastoralists have been so poor that whenever they experience drought, they are totally devastated. They need massive investments to strengthen them, not relief supplies," he said.
WHY ONLY NOW?
UN to formally declare famine in Somalia (CTV)
The United Nations is set to declare a famine in drought-ravaged southern Somalia, the first time such a declaration has been made since the early 1990s.
More than 10 million people in the Horn of Africa are in need of emergency assistance due to drought and ongoing conflict, according to the UN
The famine announcement is expected Wednesday in Nairobi, and will be the first time the UN has declared a famine since 1992. It signals to donors the extreme need for more aid, and warns insurgents in Somalia that the population's suffering is taken seriously by the world community.
The formal conditions for famine are two adult deaths or four children deaths from hunger per 10,000 people a day, more than 30 per cent of children must be suffering from acute malnutrition and the population must have access to less than 2,100 kilocalories of food per day.
The drought, the worst seen in the region in 60 years, decimated the region's livestock and fields, both the only source of income and food for many people.
Thousands of people are arriving daily at large refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, raising fears of disease due to poor sanitation and overcrowding.
The population in Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in Kenya, has swelled to more than 380,000 people.
On Tuesday, the UN said that it needs further safety guarantees from armed groups in Somalia if it is to help those in need.
Somalia's most dangerous militant group, al-Shabab, has promised aid groups limited access to areas under their control. The group banned foreign agencies two years ago.
Oxfam said on Tuesday night that only around $200 million in new money has been provided for relief efforts so far. An estimated $1 billion is needed to stave off a major humanitarian catastrophe.
Meanwhile, top Canadian charities have banded together to address the Somalia crisis.
A network of five Canadian NGOs, including CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Quebec, Plan Canada and Save the Children Canada, are uniting to tackle the relief efforts.
The Humanitarian Coalition aims to reduce unnecessary competition, better educate the public on humanitarian needs, increase the impact of Canadian humanitarian responses and reduce administrative costs.
Canada has contributed more than $11 million to the crisis.
SOMALIA: Time for immediate action on famine (IRIN)
The humanitarian crisis in Somalia has degenerated into a famine in two regions and could get worse because respite from drought, a major cause of the crisis, which is compounded by insecurity, lack of aid and food price inflation, is unlikely until December or January 2012, the UN warned.
"We still do not have all the resources for food, clean water, shelter and health services to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Somalis in desperate need," Mark Bowden, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said. Immediate action was required to avoid famine spreading to all eight regions of southern Somalia.
"Every day of delay is literally a matter of life or death for children and their families in the famine-affected areas," Bowden told a news conference in Nairobi on 20 July.
"This is a time for exceptional actions" in terms of the speed at which aid is delivered, and the conditions under which donors should be willing to give, he added.
With malnutrition rates topping 50 percent in some districts, the UN announced that famine had hit Lower Shabelle and southern Bakool regions.
A recent assessment, Bowden said, highlighted "the shocking severity of the crisis", confirming that the rest of Somalia was "close to famine conditions".
According to the Integrated Phase Classification's five-point scale [: http://irinnews.org/printreport.aspx?reportid=93151 ], a famine is declared when at least 20 percent of households face extreme food shortages with limited ability to cope, the prevalence of global acute malnutrition exceeds 30 percent and crude death rates exceed two deaths per 10,000 people per day.
But naming a food crisis a famine does not legally require action in the way that announcing a genocide would, despite the politicization of the term and the gravity of the label.
"Morally speaking, famine is a term that must elicit moral indignation," said Bruno Geddo, a representative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
"Emotionally, it should push people to do more." World Food Programme (WFP) executive director, Josette Sheeran, said: "WFP saw this emergency coming... It is now vital that the coalition of international action - involving United Nations agencies, governments, non-governmental organizations and regional organizations - quickly receive generous support and donations required to make a difference."
Recently, Al Shabab militia, which control parts of Somalia, requested international food assistance. The inability of agencies to work in the region since early 2010 had prevented aid from reaching the very hungry, especially children, contributing to the crisis. Mounting death toll "Some 11,000 people have died due to drought in the past 45 days, 9,000 of them in the Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions, the rest in other regions in south-central Somalia,"
Abdikadir Hirsi Shekhdon, a member of the government drought committee, said in Mogadishu. "The government and the public are helping the vulnerable people," he added. "For example, the president has distributed 1,000 tents, 1,000 blankets and 1,000 mats to some of the displaced in Mogadishu." But with nearly half of the Somali population - 3.7 million people - in crisis, of whom an estimated 2.8 million people are in the south, the scale of the crisis is huge.
"Today the world's attention is on my country but I ask the world to address the fundamental causes of this humanitarian catastrophe and urgently ask for the resources needed to rebuild the Somali state in the midst of an ongoing conflict," Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said.
"This is going to get worse for the Somali people, before it gets better." The crisis has forced thousands of Somalis to seek refuge in the capital, Mogadishu. "After two years of consecutive drought and the death of all our livestock, I decided to head for Mogadishu in the hope of saving my children," Farhiya Osman Ahmed, 28, said. "Upon reaching the city, my children fell ill," she told IRIN.
"I don't know what disease they were suffering from. Three of them died and the fourth one is still sick; his condition has worsened in the past two weeks."
Warning signs
The humanitarian community has stepped up its response to the crisis, some by setting up cash-for-work or cash relief activities and distributing food. Action Contre la Faim, for example, is airlifting tons of food into Somalia, and UNHCR has added oral rehydration salts, high protein biscuits and water purification tablets to its emergency kits, items not usually included. "So far donors have committed less than US$200 million, leaving an $800 million black hole," Oxfam GB said in reference to humanitarian funding needs for the Horn of Africa before the famine announcement.
Help is still months away, yet warning signs were being reported a year ago by the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) and the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit. According to Chris Hillbruner, FEWS NET's decision and planning support adviser, the crisis shows that relatively good and accurate information when provided well in advance should help crisis response.
Bowden told IRIN that although the early warning information and analysis was exceptional, it had not translated into prevention.
"In Somalia, there is a mismatch between warning and response," he said. "We must listen to our early warning systems and safeguard the impartiality of our humanitarian responses." Fran Equiza, Oxfam's regional director, called for quick global action to avoid a repeat of such crises.
"Emergency aid is vital right now, but we also need to ask why this has happened, and how we can stop it ever happening again," she said. "The warning signs have been seen for months, and the world has been slow to act. Much greater long-term investment is needed in food production and basic development to help people cope with poor rains and ensure that this is the last famine in the region."
Al-Shabab lifts airlift ban for starving Somalis (CatholicOnline) Opposition movement al-Shabab has waived its airlift ban in order for the United Nations to deliver food and medicine to displaced Somalis. Al-Shabab, an armed movement that aims to overthrow the government and impose Sharia law, had previously banned foreign aid organizations in 2010. However, with international concerns turning to Somalia and the Horn of Africa, al-Shabab recently lifted the ban. The U.N.'s World Food Program has said it is ready to work again in areas controlled by the movement.
The U.N. Children's Fund, or UNICEF on Sunday airlifted emergency nutrition supplies and water equipment to the town of Baidoa. The delivery included five tons of food and medicine to treat malnourished children. Included in the shipment was equipment to supply clean water for a camp near Baidoa that houses refugees.
The U.N. says it plans to send supplies to Mogadishu, the capital controlled by the internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government. Supplies will include kits with essential medicine to treat childhood illnesses such as respiratory tract infections, diarrhea and worm infestations in up to 100,000 people for three months.
UNICEF says that about 11 million people need humanitarian assistance in the Horn of Africa. UNICEF also estimates that about half a million Somali children face life-threatening conditions that could have long-lasting consequences for their physical and mental development.
Described by a U.S. official as one of the worst humanitarian crisis in decades, the East African hunger crisis has prompted stepped-up efforts by Western countries to provide relief.
Tens of thousands of Somali refugees are flooding camps in Ethiopia and Kenya - at a rate of more than 3,000 new arrivals per day - in search of food after several seasons without rain killed livestock and destroyed crops in Somalia.
Duncan Harvey, the acting country director for Save the Children in Ethiopia, has said that "in terms of the sheer numbers of people affected, this is one of the worst droughts the world has seen in a long time."
A senior U.N. official warned that the plight of millions of people left hungry was set to worsen, with the next rains expected in October and harvests months away.
"We are possibly seeing a perfect storm in the coming months ... We are going to do everything we can to ameliorate it," Anthony Lake, the UNICEF director said.
"We are scaling up in every way we can ... It is very bad now. There will be no major harvests until some time next year.
"The next six months are going to be very tough."
Will the International Community Have to Funnel Their Aid Through a Terrorist Organization? By Christopher R Albon (UNdispatch)
East Africa is suffering its worst drought in 60 years and millions are streaming towards already crowded refugee camps. One of the largest, at Dabaab, was built in the early 90s for 90,000 refugees. Today the camp contains 400,000 people, making it the largest refugee camp in the world — and it is still growing. According to one source 1,000 new refugees are arriving in the camp per day. In response, the international community has pressured the Kenyan government to open a new refugee camp built in 2010. (Previously, the Kenyan government has blocked the camp from opening, fearing it would encourage more refugees to enter their country from Somalia.)
Even Al Shabaab, the Islamic rebel group battling for control of Somalia has acknowledged the danger of the drought and removed its ban on humanitarian organizations operating inside its territory. However, it is not that simple. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Tara Vassefi in The Atlantic argue that Al Shabaab might be able to use international aid in Somalia to further its battle against the government:
Kidnapped: Life as a Somali Pirate Hostage by Colin Freeman: - review By Simon Scott Plummer (TheTelegraph) Simon Scott Plummer on a witty and admirable account of being a hostage, Kidnapped: Life as a Somali Pirate Hostage by Colin Freeman.
Iraq and Somalia are not the sort of places you would visit unless they were in your line of business. Colin Freeman went to the first as a freelance reporter to flee the tedium of door-stepping minor celebrities for the London Evening Standard. He found himself in the right place at the right time and ended up as chief foreign correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph.
As such, he was asked to go to Somalia in the autumn of 2008 to report on the most extraordinary criminal phenomenon of recent years, the growth of Somali piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The cost to shipping and insurance companies and the governments that have contributed to the international naval task force attempting to control this racket runs into billions of pounds.
Freeman's brief, following the hijacking of the oil tanker Sirius Star (later ransomed for $3m), was to interview a pirate about why he did what he did. With a Spanish photographer, José Cendon, he landed at Bossaso in Puntland, a region which has declared semi-autonomy from the rest of the country, and, with the obligatory help of fixers, set about his task.
The fixers turned out to be in cahoots with a kidnapping gang, a fact Freeman and Cendon only discovered after spending 40 days as its hostages in various caves in Somalia's dauntingly arid interior.
The author is obviously of stern stuff. In Iraq he was shot in the backside by a member of the Shia Mahdi Army. In Somalia he endured the terrible uncertainty of not knowing whether he would be released or killed. Neither seems to have caused any personal trauma. Rather, in both The Curse of the Al Dulaimi Hotel, his last book, and Kidnapped, his new one, he treats these grim experiences with a self-deprecating humour which at times makes one laugh out loud.
The appeal in what he writes lies in its lack of pretentiousness and its honesty about the baser side of his character. He admits that thrill-seeking plays as much a part in his reporting as bearing witness. The $3m demanded by the gang for his release seems "rather a lot for a grubby hack like me".
He feels a surge of guilt about the pain which his "reckless selfishness" might be causing his parents and his girlfriend, Jane. He lacks the guts to attempt an escape for fear of the beating that might follow. And he finds himself ill-equipped to cope with boredom: "There was something uniquely life-sapping about a routine where you woke up and then spent the rest of the day doing nothing."
Fortunately, he had in Cendon an English-speaking companion with whom to share his ordeal. "As a hostage," he writes, "there is only so much time that can be spent musing profoundly on the nature of life and death: it is helpful to be able to while some of the hours away talking light-hearted twaddle."
As well as telling his own story, Freeman is illuminating on how Somalia's desperate poverty and political anarchy drive people into piracy, and on the near impossible task of controlling it.
He takes the example of a kidnapper who may be condemned by a European court, receive a brief prison sentence and then, on release, claim political asylum, thus escaping the misery back home. He also writes about Britain's Somali community, estimated at more than 100,000, its propensity for crime and the danger of its being radicalised by Islamic extremists.
One finishes this book admiring the author's wit in adversity and enlightened on one of the least known parts of the world. But one question remains: what was the deal, political and/or financial, which secured the hostages' release? On that Freeman is resolutely coy. [N.B.: Mr. Freeman actually is said by security analysts to not have been captured by sea-pirates but by a kidnapper gang involving his own security guards from Puntland. But being held hostage for ransom is in any case a horrible and life-changing experience for most. Somalis must stand up against this national shame and these heinous crimes.]
President Farole says Somali consultative meeting will be held in Garowe, not Mogadishu (Mareeg)
A/rahman (now Sheikh) Mohamud Farole, president of semi-autonomous regions of Puntland told on Sunday that UN-consultative meeting for Somalis will be held in Garowe of Puntland, not Mogadishu, reports said.
In press conference Puntland president, Farole held today in Garowe city, the capital of autonomous regions of Puntland administration said that the consultative talks could not be caught in Mogadishu saying that Amisom and the T.F.G don't control the city completely and was not secure.
The consultative talks will be held in Garowe and he who refuse it thinks badly, Puntland President, Farole said.
He called warring militias in Mudug region for peace and forget grudges between them.
Farole also called Somali people for quick help to the poor people who hit the severe drought in the southern parts of the country.
How Broadband will get to Somalia By Jeffrey Swindle (Global Broadband & Innovation)
Last week, I interviewed Mohamed Ahmed Jama, CEO of Dalkom Somalia and board member of Frontier Optical Networks Ltd (FON) in Kenya. Jama described four potential Broadband cables that could be a part of a terrestrial backbone throughout East Africa, including in Somalia. A fifth was announced yesterday in Somaliland.
Though all three of these proposed links are just that—proposals—they are indicative of the rapid growth of Broadband connectivity in the region. Most East African governments are actively engaged in rolling out backbone terrestrial networks, while four years ago the World Bank called East African connectivity the world's only "missing link."
South Sudan is working with the CTO to develop an ICT strategic plan; Burundi recently received funding from the World Bank; and Uganda has also invested as well. And private companies are facilitating the expansion of Broadband cables as well as they are working with the national governments to lay the cables and to fund the projects.
The East African Backhaul System was recently announced as a combined $400 million partnership between Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo governments and a variety of private telecoms. The unique partnerships between the public and private sector make the ICT space in East Africa distinct from other regions.
Potential backbone networks in Somalia, Ethiopia, and South Sudan are outlined below:
* Somalia's Connection to EASSy Cables
According to Jama, Dalkom Somalia has built two cable landing sites in Somalia from the EASSy submarine cable, one in Somaliland and the other in Mogadishu, Somalia. Unfortunately, the government of Somaliland revoked Dalkom's license last year before the cable was completed (scheduled to be finished in October, 2010).
The Somaliland government claimed that they had already signed an agreement with a local company, SomCable. However, no additional work has been carried out since last year, leaving construction at a stand-still and the region unconnected. In Mogadishu, on the other hand, the landing cable lays ready to be used, but remains unconnected due to security issues at the site. To make matters more frustrating, Dalkom has funding, contracts awarded and the regulatory approval to extend the cables from the landing site inward, creating a national terrestrial backbone. Security issues in the area are the only contingency.
* Mombasa—Nairobi—Moyale, Ethiopia Cable
The EASSy submarine cable has been extended inland previously from Mombasa to Nairobi. For the past year, discussions have been underway been the Kenyan and Ethiopian government on possibly constructing a terrestrial cable from Nairobi to Moyale, on the Ethiopian border. However, with FON's assistance, the cable has been built, but is yet to be lighted. The only remaining holdup is to sign an agreement of understanding with the Ethiopia government, which has historically been reluctant to work with private sector ICT companies.
* Somalia—Kenya Connection
According to Jama, there is 560 km remaining between fiber optic terrestrial backbone cables in Somalia and the state of Mandera in Northeastern Kenya. Jama proposes that the Kenyan government bring the fiber to the border, and then Dalkom Somalia would complete the Somali side.
This connection would connect Somalia to the African backbone network. However, there has been intermittent violence on the Kenya-Somalia border in Mandera, with the most recent issue being a land mine blast that killed eleven Kenyan officers. The volatility of the border could potentially lead to another security standstill before lighting the fiber, like in Mogadisho. Dalkom and the governments, then, need to concern themselves not only with the technical issues and construction of the remaining fiber, but also on the political instability of the region.
* Juba—Lokichogio Link
Southern Sudan and Kenya plan to construct a fiber optic cable link between the two nations as part of a larger project entitled "four-in-one." The project includes the construction of a railway line from Lodwar-Lokichogio to Juba, road rehabilitation, an oil pipeline, and fiber optic cables. Currently, the governments need to conduct a feasibility test given the mountainous nature of the route, especially the Great Rift Valley. In all likelihood, the project will not be finished before 2015.
* Djibouti—Somaliland SomCable
SomCable, supported by the interim government in the territory of Somaliland, reportedly signed an agreement to buy the necessary buildings and licensing in Djibouti to route the EASSy cable into Berbera and throughout Somaliland. The President of SomCable, Mohammed Gueti, announced his recent acquisitions just yesterday.
Gueti has strong ties with the president of Djibouti's family, arguably giving his company an advantage over Dalkom Somalia at winning the contract. However, as Jama points out, construction has yet to begin on this cable line, possibly suggesting that the announcement is merely a political move by the government of Somaliland as Gueti does has any rights to extend the EASSY Cable. Neither purchases any capacity from the members of the Consortium.
U.N. declares famine in two regions of south Somalia By Katy Migiro (Reuters)
The United Nations declared famine in two regions of southern Somalia Wednesday and said it could quickly spread unless donors took action.
Mark Bowden, humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle had been hit by the worst famine in the region for 20 years.
The U.N. is proposing "exceptional measures" of providing "cash relief" while it finds ways of getting larger volumes of food aid into southern Somalia, Bowden said. The U.N. is also appealing for $300 million over the next two months for Somalia.
"If we don't act now, famine will spread to all eight regions of southern Somalia within two months, due to poor harvests and infectious disease outbreaks," Bowden said.
"Every day of delay in assistance is literally a matter of life or death for children and their families in the famine-affected areas."
The U.N. said 3.7 million people across the war-ravaged Horn of Africa country, or almost half the population, were now in danger. Of them 2.8 million are in the south.
In the worst-affected areas, half the children are malnourished. "It is likely that tens of thousands will already have died, the majority of those being children," Bowden said.
Years of drought, that have also affected Kenya and Ethiopia, have hit harvests and conflict has made it extremely difficult for agencies to operate and access communities in the south of the country.
The south is controlled by al Shabaab Islamist insurgents, affiliated to al Qaeda, who are fighting to topple the Western-backed government. The group also controls parts of the capital Mogadishu and central Somalia.
In early July, the rebels lifted a ban on food aid which they had said created dependency. Some analysts say they are allowing aid in because they fear a public backlash if they do not. Others say the rebels want bribes.
"CASH RELIEF"
The U.N. has said the inability of food agencies to work in the region since early 2010 because of the ban had contributed to the crisis.
"If cash is made available, that will enable the market to continue to function," said Luca Alinovi, head of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization in Somalia.
The U.N. is working to improve its access to airstrips in al Shabaab-controlled territory so that it can import large volumes of food into the country, Bowden said.
Nearly 135,000 Somalis have fled since January, mainly to Kenya and Ethiopia. An average of 1,700 and 1,300 Somalis are arriving in Ethiopia and Kenya respectively each day.
The U.N. defines famine as at least 20 percent of households facing extreme food shortages, a crude mortality rate of more than 2 people per 10,000 per day and malnutrition rates of above 30 percent.
UN wants security guarantees for Somalia aid work (AP)
The United Nations said Tuesday it needs further safety guarantees from armed groups in Somalia if it is to help hundreds of thousands of people in need of emergency aid because of drought and conflict in the East African country. Aid groups have struggled to reach many of those affected because armed groups banished them from large parts of southern Somalia starting in 2009.
With thousands of people now on the brink of starvation, Somalia's most dangerous militant group, al-Shabab, has promised aid groups limited access to areas under their control.
But the U.N. refugee agency, which has distributed aid to 90,000 people in the capital Mogadishu and in southwest Somalia in recent days, said this wasn't enough.
"The situation we have for humanitarian workers inside Somalia at the moment is not what we want it to be," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva. "We do have a very minimal presence, and we have regular visits into the country, but we need significantly better access than we have at the moment to address an emergency of this scale."
The global body says over 11 million people in the region known as the Horn of Africa need emergency assistance after what is considered the worst drought in 60 years. Many have left their homes seeking help in large refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, making it easier for aid groups to reach them but raising the prospect of disease epidemics from large population movements and poor sanitation.
In Washington, Reuben Brigety, who oversees the State Department's refugee programs for Africa, said up to half of Somali refugees arriving at camps are suffering from acute malnutrition. He said that refugee flows of 3,200 a day could rise "still more dramatically" as hungry people seek assistance in neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya.
Brigety, who visited camps in those countries last week, praised their governments for pledging to keep their borders open. But he said donor nations must do more to deliver food and supplies inside Somalia.
So far, the U.N. has stopped short of calling the situation in East Africa a famine, though the formal conditions for it — two deaths per 10,000 — are present across at least parts of the border region between Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
"If you look at what's going on the ground, you look at the pictures, you listen to what everybody is saying, it's a very serious situation, whether you use that word or not," Emilia Casella, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program, told The Associated Press.
WFP has offices in four regions of Somalia from where it is trying to feed 1.5 million people, she said.
But the agency estimates that as many as 1 million people are in areas it can't currently access.
"Once we have the assurances of security and the ability to have full access to deliver and distribute and monitor, then we will be prepared to go back in," said Casella.
USAID's deputy administrator Don Steinberg said he would meet with aid officials from other wealthy governments on Wednesday in London to discuss what could be done to help.
Conditions in the country, blighted first by war and then by drought, are so severe in some places that what was an "emergency" has now tipped into a "catastrophe", the UN will say. It will be the first time the UN has officially used the term famine since almost a million Ethiopians starved to death in 1984.
But Washington, the world's biggest donor to Somalia until 2009, is now barred from funding food appeals if there is a risk its aid will "materially benefiting" terrorists.
The new rules, from the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, came into force after reports that al-Shabaab, Somalia's al-Qaida-linked insurgents, were taxing food convoys, stealing supplies and threatening agencies' workers.
Since then, U.S. aid spending in Somalia has fallen by 88 per cent, from more than pounds 150?million in 2008 to pounds 13?million this year. By contrast, UN figures show that funding from other international donors including Britain has increased in the same period, largely channelled through local organisations and the few UN agencies still operating in southern Somalia.
That has still not been enough to avert the current disaster, said Jeremy Konyndyk, a policy director with Mercy Corps in the U.S., which has been affected by the anti-terror rules.
"Avoiding aid diversion is important, but the U.S.'s overzealous approach led to a damaging collapse in U.S. humanitarian support to Somalia," he said. "This has undermined humanitarian response and preparedness and other donors have been unable pick up the slack."
Oxfam, which warns today of a half-billion pound "black hole" in funding for drought appeals for 11?million people in the Horn of Africa, said that the world had failed to respond quickly enough to what was a "predictable disaster".
"If more action had been taken earlier we would not now be at the stage where so many people are facing starvation," said Fran Equiza, Oxfam's regional director for the Horn of Africa.
In parts of one of the two regions to be officially certified as in famine, the number of people dying exceeds the official threshold for that classification by a factor of 10.
Since Britain's disasters emergency committee launched urgent appeals, more than pounds 20?million has been raised from individual donors.
The Government has pledged a further pounds 90?million for what David Cameron called "the most catastrophic situation for a generation" in the Horn of Africa.
The scale of the outstanding need, however, meant that even "something very creative, like Live Aid" will not be enough, said a senior adviser to one British charity. "It is only government-level responses, from across all of the international community, that will have an impact now," he said.
The withdrawal of U.S. funds for southern Somalia, coupled with al-Shabaab's long-held belligerence towards foreigners, was "now costing lives", said Mr Konyndyk.
He added: "The aid effort will remain totally inadequate if legal restrictions force the U.S. to remain on the sidelines".
It is hoped that today's declaration of famine will spur Washington into a change of heart, although Johnnie Carson, Hillary Clinton's deputy in charge of African affairs, said that Washington "had not and would not" talk to al-Shabaab.
Some agencies, including Unicef, with support from Britain, have begun delivering airdropped supplies into Islamist-held areas.
However, mistrust of the Islamists is holding many back from increasing the scope of their operations in insurgent-held areas. "We do have a very minimal presence," Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN's refugee agency UNHCR, said in Geneva.
"We need significantly better access than we have at the moment to address an emergency of this scale."
Under international law, there is no mandated extra response which must follow from an "official" declaration of famine. But it is hoped that the first official use of the term in Africa since Band Aid 27 years ago will stand as a "wake-up call" to governments, including some in Europe and almost all in Africa, which have so far failed to respond.
--
Famine: the UN definition
The UN uses the five-stage Integrated Phase Classification.
Phase 4, a Humanitarian Emergency, is when up to two people per 10,000 are dying each day; when acute malnutrition rates are between 15 per cent and 30 per cent; almost all livestock has been lost and there is less than 7.5lt of water available each day per person.
Phase 5, Famine/Humanitarian Catastrophe, means more than two people per 10,000 die each day, acute malnutrition is above 30 per cent, all livestock is dead, and there is less than 2,100 kcal of food and 4 lt of water available per person per day.
- FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD (with an influence on Somalia and the water wars) :
"We're fighting terrorists, pirates, and militias. What happened to the days when we fought uniformed armies?"
SEE ALL THE ARTICLES BELOW LIKE A PICTURE, A COLLAGE AND LET THE MAIN COLOUR SINK IN. THEN LISTEN TO THE FINE TUNES AND DETAILS AND COME TO YOUR OWN CONCLUSION. WE TRY TO BALANCE THE FALSE PICTURE IMPLANTED INTO YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS BY THE MAINSTREAM'S RULERS - THE POWERS THAT BE.
Crocodile Tears As Food Aid Blockade Continues in Horn of Africa By Thomas C. Mountain (Sri Lanka Guardian)
As predicted here in the Sri Lanka Guardian - and many other sources, crocodile tears have begun to run down the faces of the likes of Anthony Lake, CIA director nominee turned Executive Director of UNICEF, as some 15 million people starve in the Horn of Africa. Tony Lake appeals to the world for tens, no, hundreds of millions of dollars to save the starving people of Ethiopia and Somalia, never once telling you that the majority, some 10 million, are in the Ogaden and Oromia regions and being subjected to a western funded food aid blockade by the Ethiopian military.
Briefing on the Current Situation in the Horn of Africa (U.S.A.Dep.OfState)
Special Briefing Johnnie Carson - Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs
Life in a refugee camp (OttowaCitizen) Imagine a crowded city of roughly the population of Halifax or of London, Ont., peopled entirely by those with no jobs, no food, water or medicine of their own, and, in many cases, suffering from disease, violence and the psychological effects of watching their children starve to death or their spouses murdered in front of their eyes.
Now imagine they're the lucky ones, that the imaginary Halifax is an island surrounded by hunger, desperation and violence. Imagine there are more people at the gates, hoping for some measure of what the people inside have - a scrap of tent, a bowl of something.
There is a city just like that: Dadaab, Kenya, built for 90,000 refugees, now swelled with about 400,000. Dadaab is only the largest of its kind. There are more than half a million Somali refugees in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. A new extension has been announced at Dadaab, but with 1,300 or more refugees arriving every day, the camp will remain congested.
The Somalis are fleeing a combination of violence and drought. Somalia, with its combination of ascendant Islamist extremism, poverty and protracted conflict, is one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
Merely adding to the size of Dadaab and other refugee settlements in surrounding countries is no solution; it is not even a particularly effective stopgap. It's creating a generation of children who'll know nothing but a fugitive, dependent life. It's a tragic waste. Instead of contributing to the economic development and stability of the region, they'll remain a drain on it for as long as they're penned in the camps. Yes, donor nations, corporations and individuals must give generously to ensure the UN refugee agency has enough tents, medicine and food. They must also work with the UNHCR to get the camp population to a more manageable level. That means finding ways to resettle some refugees in safer situations - either back in Somalia, where possible, or in neighbouring countries, or in third countries as a last resort.
Canada has been successfully resettling some refugees from long-term camps over the past few years. Canada must continue to step up those efforts, and encourage more countries, especially those closer to conflict zones, to join the resettlement work. The UNHCR estimates that 800,000 people (or about 10 per cent of the world's refugee population) have no real choice but resettlement; but in 2010, resettlement countries provided only 80,000 spaces.
Huge, permanent refugee camps are a problem to be solved, not a solution to maintain at ever-increasing human and financial costs.
BUSINESS WITH REFUGEES EXPANDS
WHAT IS UNHCR DOING TO ACHIEVE THAT UNHCR BECOMES OBSOLETE ?
At least two thousand drought displaced Somalis arrive daily in refugee camps in Dolow Ado, along the Ethiopian-Somali border, thus making the camps incapable of holding such influx of new arrivals.
UNHCR says drought victims who managed to reach to refugee camps in the neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia need an immediate humanitarian help since most of them have trekked long distances to reach into these camps, with most children severely malnourished.
Almost 45 percent of drought-stricken children are taken to refugee camps while severely malnourished while the rest die of malnutrition and starvation on their way before making to the camps.
The rising influx of Somali refugees fleeing drought in their country into the neighbouring countries, have forced aid agencies in the region to appeal for an immediate humanitarian support in dealing with the worsening situation, drawing the attention of the international community to focus on humanitarian situation in the region.
Europe not doing enough for Africa - UK (AP)
A British official says European countries are not doing enough to help some 10 million people who need aid because of a devastating drought in the Horn of Africa. International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell urged other nations to contribute more during Saturday's announcement that the British government will give $85m to drought relief.
He did not mention the Somali government. A report by a Somali government official says Arab donors gave tens of millions of dollars in cash over the past two years. The funds are unaccounted for.
Donors will work through established charities and not the Somali government.
Tony Lake, the head of the UN Children's Fund, says the situation will worsen because there is no harvest to bring in.
South Sudan: Row looms as Juba locks out Somalis (TheNation) South Sudan has barred people of Somali origin from entering its territory by road, creating a potential diplomatic and trade crisis with its neighbours.
On Monday, traders of Somali origin asked Juba to relax new regulations that bar them from entering the newest African state.
The traders who have been camping at Nadapal border point, the gateway to South Sudan, termed the new rules as punitive as they subjected them to heavy losses.
A senior Kenya Revenue Authority official, who sought anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the press, said that the rules were introduced two weeks ago due to what is believed to be security reasons.
"Customs officials from South Sudan have remained firm on the new rules, and it is the Foreign Affairs ministry that can intervene on the matter," the official said.
Mr Ahmed Musa, a truck driver affected by the move, said the traders were resorting to hiring non-Somali drivers to cross into South Sudan.
Kenyan traders, including those of Somali origin, have flocked to South Sudan in search of new business opportunities.
"Most of South Sudan receives its essential commodities including cereals and vegetables from Lokichogio and the new rules will interfere with the anticipated boom in trade," the KRA official added.
Kenya has established Immigration and customs offices at the Nadapal border point and built 51 housing units for KRA, public health and police departments.
"Plans are under way to construct more units, including a military barracks," Mr Patrick Muriira, the Turkana West DC said by telephone.
The area had been deserted for long as it was occupied by Sudan People's Liberation Army during the struggle to split from Khartoum.
It has also been a battle zone between members of the Turkana and Toposa communities due to plenty of pasture and water.
Mr Muriira, however, called on the two pastoral communities to discard cattle rustling and banditry and venture into legitimate business.
Malawi riots erupt in Lilongwe and Mzuzu (BBC)
At least one person has died in the northern city of Mzuzu and protesters are burning barricades and looting property in the capital.
The authorities have banned live broadcasts of the riots.
The trouble started after a court ruled on Tuesday the protests, called against the high cost of living, were illegal.
'Running battles'
Northern Region Police spokesperson Norah Chimwala told the BBC that one person had died in the unrest in Mzuzu, some 300km (185 miles) north of the capital, Lilongwe.
Seven other people have been shot by police and they had been taken to Mzuzu Central Hospital for treatment, she said.
There have also been reports that the property of a government minister has been attacked by demonstrators in the city.
The BBC's Joel Nkoma in Lilongwe says the situation is also tense there, where angry crowds have been shouting, "Let him [Mr Mutharika] go".
The riots are taking place in three townships near Lilongwe - Biwi, Kawale and Nchesi, our reporter says.
"There have been running battles between the police and demonstrators, Malawi Human Rights Commission spokesman Mike Chipalasa told the AFP news agency.
"People are angry. The situation is tense," he said.
A shop owned by an MP from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and a warehouse belonging to a businessman allied with Mr Mutharika have been looted, our reporter says.
AFP reports that the homes of three policemen have also been set alight in Lilongwe.
Police have also confiscated the camera of a photographer covering the protests, correspondents say.
The owner of Malaw's private Capital Radio, Alaudin Osman, told the BBC the authorities had ordered the station to stop live broadcasts because they were allegedly aggravating the situation.
"Rather than being shut down all together, we have decided to comply with the regulation," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
Aid row
On Tuesday, DPP supporters, armed with machetes, smashed the vehicles of two private radio stations in Blantyre. They roamed the streets of the city, threatening to deal with anyone who took part in the protests, correspondents say.
Mr Osman said Blantyre was relatively peaceful on Wednesday.
High Court judge Chifundo Kachale granted the injunction that the nationwide protests - organised by a coalition of civil society groups - were illegal in a late night ruling on Tuesday.
The demonstrations were called to protest against rising fuel prices, a shortage of foreign exchange reserves, alleged bad governance and poor international relations.
Last week, the UK cut direct aid to Malawi after a diplomatic spat with Mr Mutharika's government.
The UK accused Malawi of mishandling the economy and failing to uphold human rights.
The government recently passed an austerity budget, raising taxes to reduce dependence on aid.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an estimated 75% of the population living on less than $1 (60p) a day.
BAE admitted to not keeping full accounting records of £8m ($12m) it paid to an agent who brokered the deal.
After a plea bargain, it was not found guilty of any wider corruption charges.
The controversy relates to the supply in 1999 of an air-traffic radar control system.
But it could also be a test case for campaigners who say bribery and corruption are a brake on economic development.
In a plea bargain with the prosecuting authorities, the Serious Fraud Office, BAE agreed to pay £30m to the Tanzanian people.
The £30m was effectively a compensation payment to Tanzania - because of the revelation of the embarrassing £8m payment and allegations that the military-style air-traffic system was unnecessarily complex and expensive.
BAE and the Serious Fraud Office said they could not say if the £8m was used for bribery to seal the radar sale.
A top BAE lawyer, Philip Bramwell, said the company sincerely apologised for events of the past - and he agreed it would not make payments similar to the £8m now.
'Naive'
MPs on the watchdog International Development Committee dismissed some of the company's positions as "waffle" and "dissembling".
They repeated a judge's comments that it was "naive in the extreme" to think the £8m was used legitimately and that there was "a high probability" that the sum had been used in the negotiating process to "favour" the BAE bid to supply the radar.
The MPs also asked BAE executives why none of the £30m had yet been paid.
They questioned the right of the company to set up its own advisory board to decide on how the money should be spent - rather than give the money directly to the government of Tanzania, as a group of Tanzanian MPs had requested.
Committee chairman Malcolm Bruce MP asked whether it was not "offensive" for the company to suggest it knew better how to spend the money than the government of Tanzania.
With the Tanzanian government, British aid ministry the Department for International Development has drawn up a plan to spend the money on the Tanzanian education system - for desks, text books and teachers' accommodation.
Mr Bruce advised BAE to hand the money over to this project "as soon as possible".
The director of the Serious Fraud Office, Richard Alderman, who also appeared before the committee, said he was surprised the money had not yet been disbursed as promised by BAE.
He undertook to write to the company to ask why not - and said there would be "consequences" if there were further delays.
Sources: U.S. drone strike kills at least 50 in Yemen By Hakim Almasmari (CNN)
A U.S. drone strike targeting militants in southern Yemen Thursday killed at least 50 people, two Yemeni security sources said.
This comes as the United States and the Yemeni government step up their efforts to target militants, including those Islamists who've taken over several cities in recent weeks....
"The casualty toll is high because fighters were gathered in that area with family members," said the senior security source in Abyan.
Two eyewitnesses said that at least 30 civilians who were hiding from the continuous attacks were among the dead.
"No one knows who is dying in Abyan. We want to leave the province, but go to where? Leaving the province is a slow death for all of us," said Yousra Bandar, a mother of three.
Two years ago, a U.S. drone attack in Abyan killed 62 people.
New study proves falsity of John Brennan's drone claims By Glenn Greenwald
Attack Helicopters Boost NATO Air Ops over Libya By Chris Pocock
British AH-64 Apaches plus French Tigers and Gazelles have destroyed more than 300 targets since their introduction on June 4. Flying at night, they have provided "a valuable psychological and cognitive effect," according to one British Army officer. The helicopters' mix of weapons (Hellfire or HOT missiles, rockets and guns) might be more suited to attacking light vehicles and control points employed by Libyan regime forces in concealed and urban areas than the combat aircraft operating from higher altitude.
Nevertheless, fast jets continue to strike a variety of targets. UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornados and Typhoons have demonstrated "an incredible 99-percent success rate against fixed targets, and 98 percent against moving targets," according to a senior officer who recently returned from the Combined Air Operations Center in Italy.
By early last week, the forces had flown some 15,000 sorties and struck nearly 3,000 targets. "We have degraded Ghadhafi's military capacity to the point that he is no longer capable of running any major offensive operation," said a NATO spokesman. "Numerous senior civil servants and military commanders have defected from the regime."
However, NATO has not been able to prevent rocket attacks on the beseiged enclave of Misrata from continuing, and skirmishes elsewhere. And there is no sign of a rebellion against the regime in Tripoli and other heartlands.
Other noteworthy aspects of the campaign include:
• Officials still insist that NATO has no forward air controllers or special forces operating on the ground in Libya. This has led to increased reliance on persistent surveillance from intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) assets, sometimes for many days, to ensure that potential targets can be verified and the risk to civilians can be assessed properly.
• France claims to be flying 25 percent of total sorties, using Rafales, Super Etendards, Mirage 2000D/N/-5s, E-2C Hawkeyes, E-3F AWACS and KC-135 tankers. French Air Force Rafale operations have now moved from Solenzara to Sigonella.
• NATO has acknowledged only one incident in which civilians were killed in an airstrike. Unconfirmed reports reaching AIN suggest that the incident, in Tripoli on June 18, was caused by the guidance failure of tailfins on a French AASM weapon.
• The deployment of RAF aircrew onboard U.S. Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint sigint (signals intelligence) aircraft, in a co-manning arrangement. The RAF withdrew its last Nimrod R1 sigint aircraft from the Libyan operation last month, and retired the type from service. A NATO spokesman hinted that NATO has identified dissention in the ranks of the Libyan regime forces through sigint reporting.
• The U.S. continues to provide Predator UAV patrols. The Italian air force now has its first two Reaper UCAVs (unmanned combat air vehicles) operational at Amendola, from where they could provide 12- to 14-hour coverage over Libya per flight, if authorized by Rome.
MUST READ:
Financial Terrorism Analysis: How Global Bankers Plunder Nations
– Lessons from Greece By Andrew Gavin Marshall (GlobalResearch)
Introduction
In late June of 2011, the Greek government passed another round of austerity measures, ostensibly aimed at getting Greece "back on track" to economic progress, but in reality, implementing a systematic program of 'social genocide' in the name of servicing an endless and illegitimate debt to foreign banks. Right on cue, protests and riots broke out in Athens against the draconian measures, and the state moved in to do what states do best: oppress the people with riot police, tear gas and bashing batons, leaving roughly 300 people injured.
PLS READ ON
Andrew Gavin Marshall is an independent researcher and writer based in Montreal, Canada, writing on a number of social, political, economic, and historical issues. He is co-editor of the book, "The Global Economic Crisis: The Great Depression of the XXI Century." His website is http://www.andrewgavinmarshall.com
Source Notes 1-146 here.
RUSSIA vs CANADA - OPERATION NANOOK 11
ARCTIC 1-31 Aug 2011 Canadian forces stage show of force in disputed region (newsahead)
Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay recently described Operation Nanook 11 as "the largest operation that has taken place in recent history." The now-annual Canadian military exercises in the Arctic were established to buttress Canada's claim to part of the Arctic sea floor where Russian and Canadian claims overlap. Russia is establishing permanent military bases in its northern territories to support its claim, and all five Arctic nations are racing to gather data to support their claims amid reports that global warming could leave the resource-rich region ice-free and accessible by 2030.
The United States Geological Survey says the Arctic seabed could hold 13 per cent of the world's oil reserves and 30 per cent of its gas resources. The rival nations are Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States. In 2012 the data from each will go before a United Nations panel that will decide which nations own which sections of the Arctic seabed.
A Russian scientific expedition — led by a nuclear-powered icebreaker — has set sail for the Arctic to solidify Russia's claim, and has announced it will station two new Arctic warfare brigades north of 60 degrees — a move that will expand Russia's northern military capabilities far beyond those of Canada, according to the Montreal Gazette.
According to the Canadian Defence Department, Operation Nanook 11 is to play out in several phases on and near Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island, with more than 1,000 Canadian Forces personnel participating. It will involve CF-18 fighter jets as well a surveillance and transport aircraft, a warship, infantry companies from Quebec and Alberta, and 5 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group — Inuit reservists who have broad experience surviving in the extreme environment of the Far North. (WRITTEN Jul 2011)
RELATED READING:
Canadian Forces Operation NANOOK 11: Planning for CF Northern operation now underway (Canadian Defence Department)
http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/daily/archive-nanook11-eng.asp
Russia launches Arctic expedition, beefs up military presence (Montreal Gazette 6 Jul 2011)
http://www.canada.com/news/Russia+launches+Arctic+expedition+beefs+military
+presence/5060448/story.html#ixzz1RXJbmlQi
France, Germany, Poland Push EU Military Headquarters In Brussels
France, Germany, Poland back permanent EU military HQ (AFP)
France, Germany and Poland want the idea of a permanent European Union military headquarters in Brussels to be pursued despite British opposition, their foreign ministers said Monday.
The ministers issued a joint statement after EU foreign and security policy chief Catherine Ashton released a report on possible ways for states to pool and share military capacities, which the ministers discussed.
The text of her report mentioned a "permanent civilian-military planning and conduct of operations capacity" or permanent European military headquarters, Alain Juppe, Guido Westerwelle and Radoslaw Sikorski said in the statement.
Ashton's report also called for sharing defence capacities, improving EU-NATO relations and operational engagements by EU tactical groups, the statement said.
The EU's misguided military ambitions by Geoffrey Van Orden
News of the World phone hacking whistleblower is found dead at home (CLG)
-'Police investigations into this incident are ongoing.' –Mr Hoare blew the whistle on the phone hacking scandal during an investigation by The New York Times last September. 18 Jul 2011
A former News of the World reporter who was the first to allege that Andy Coulson knew phone hacking was taking place at the paper was today found dead at home. Sean Hoare's body was found on a extraordinary day when a Met police chief John Yates and Scotland Yard chief Paul Stephenson resigned over the phone hacking scandal, four senior officers were facing questions and the Prime Minister was forced to call an emergency session of Parliament, were Ruppert Murdoch was also physically attacked. Whistleblower Coulson was discovered at 10.40am at his home in Watford, Hertfordshire.
----------------
SOMALI WATERWORLD
THE SITUATION ON SOMALIA's 6th ESTATE:
- YOU ARE PERSISTENTLY BEING LIED TO WITH IMPUNITY
- TRENDS
- SOLUTIONS PENDING
- ECOTERRA STATEMENT and
- THE WISH-LISTS FOR THE NAVIES, THE UN AND BAN KI-MOON
READ ALL AND UNDERSTAND AT: http://beforeitsnews.com/story/135118
and NAVAL NAVEL INSPECTION I
and NAVAL NAVEL INSPECTION II
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it."
Henry Ford (1863 - 1947)
HOSTAGE CASES UNDER OBSERVATION: (© ecoterra/ecop-marine)
Genuine members of families of the abducted seafarers or true vessel owners can call +254-719-603-176 for further details or send an e-mail in any language to office[AT]ecoterra-international.org
FV NN IRAN : Seized March 02, 2009. The Iranian fishing vessel and her 29 crew was seized by Somali pirates. The vessel was missing and wanted. Navy soldiers on French warship FS NIVOSE and her helicopter fired warning shots at a dhow and then snipers from the Estonian Vessel Protection Detachment (VPD) destroyed her skiffs, which were abandoned before the dhow and the hostages were commandeered back to the coast. The vessel and crew are still held hostage.
MV SOCOTRA 1 : Seized December 25. 2009. The vessel carrying a food cargo for a Yemeni businessman and bound for Socotra Archipelago was captured in the Gulf of Aden after it left Alshahir port in the eastern province of Hadramout. 6 crew members of Yemeni nationality were aboard. Latest information said the ship was commandeered onto the high seas between Oman and Pakistan, possibly in another piracy or smuggling mission. 2 of the original crew are reportedly on land in Puntland. VESSEL STILL MISSING and/or working as pirate ship, was confirmed by Yemeni authorities.
The vessel is wanted.
MSV HUD HUD seized March 23, 2010. The motorized, Pakistan-flagged and Pakistan-owned Dhow with 11 Pakistani crew was used to hijack MT ELENI P, a Greek merchant vessel which was released after the payment of a ransom.
Freed seafarers of the Greek merchant ship reported that after the successful boarding of MT ELENI P the pirates left the MSV HUDHUD and all embarked on MT ELENI P. It was therefore assumed that MSV HUD-HUD was set free on 12. May 2010.
It is, however, now reported by the Authorities, that the owners of the vessel still claim to not know the whereabouts of this vessel and its crew. MSV HUD HUD also flies sometimes the flag of the Comoros was established from the records of the Sharjah creek customs office in the UAE.
The vessel is wanted.
MV ICEBERG I : Seized March 29, 2010. The UAE-owned, Panama-flagged Ro-Ro vessel MV ICEBERG 1 (IMO 7429102) with her originally 24 multinational crew members (9 Yemenis, 6 Indians, 4 from Ghana, 2 Sudanese, 2 Pakistani and 1 Filipino) was sea-jacked just 10nm outside Aden Port, Gulf of Aden. The 3,960 dwt vessel was mostly held off Kulub at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia. Since negotiations had not yet achieved any solution, the vessel was taken to the high seas again. Then the USS McFaul intercepted and identified the ship on 19th May 2010, despite the pirates having painted over her name and re-named the ship SEA EXPRESS, while the vessel was on a presumed piracy mission on the high-seas. Since about 50 pirates on the ship made any rescue operation impossible without endangering the 24 crew, the naval ship followed the commandeered vessel's movements for the next 36 hours, until it began to sail back towards the coast of Somalia. Already back then it had transpired that the shipping company Azal Shipping based in Dubai refused to pay any ransom and the ship is apparently not insured, though it carries quiet valuable cargo. For a long time it seemed that the British cargo owner was influencing the not forthcoming negotiations. The sailors soon had no more food, water or medicine from their stores on board. Chief Officer Kumar, Chief Engineer Mohamed and Second Engineer Francis also stated since months that they urgently need Diesel for the electricity generators. The crew requested in July and August again humanitarian intervention as before but could only receive some supplies through intervention by local elders and a humanitarian group, because the owner-manager neglects the crew. In September some negotiations for the release started again, but were not concluded or continued, because the captors consider the offer of the shipowner as unrealistic. According to the Chinese state-media newswire XINHUA, the acting director at the ministry of foreign affairs in Accra (Ghana) Mr. Lawrence Sotah said the ministry, in response to a petition by a relative of one of the hostages, had commenced investigations, but reportedly stated also that their location and reasons for the kidnapping remained unknown. "We do not have any information as to what the pirates are demanding, because the owners of the ship or the pirates themselves have not put out any information which will be helpful for us to know exactly what they want," he said. "Ghana's mission in Saudi Arabia has been contacted to assist, " Sotah said. He said the ministry was working with other international security organization to get to the bottom of what he termed the "alleged" kidnapping.
The vessel is owned by a company called ICEBERG INTERNATIONAL LTD, but registered only with "care of" the ISM-manager AZAL SHIPPING & CARGO (L.L.C) - Shipping Lines Agents - Dubai UAE, whose representative Mr. Yassir Amin - said to be a Yemeni - was stating to all sides that he is handling the case.
Though EU NAVFOR spokesman Cmdr. John Harbour had stated that the vessel was carrying just "general mechanical equipment" and was heading for the United Arab Emirates when it was attacked, it carries according to the owner-manager generators, transformers and empty fuel tanks. It could now be confirmed that besides other cargo it carries generators and transformers for British power rental company Aggreko International Power Projects and the cargo seems to be better insured than the vessel.
One of the sailors from Ghana was able to speak to a journalist back home and stated on 22. September: "They have given us a 48 hour deadline that if we don't come up with anything reasonable they will kill some of us and sink the vessel. I am appealing to the Ghanaian authority that they should do something to save our lives because our treatment here is inhuman". The vessel was then very close to the shore of Garacad. In the beginning of October the Somali pirates allegedly threatened to kill the sailors and to sell the body organs of the 22 hostages, if their ransom demands are not met in the near future. Media reports said the information was received via a text message from one of the hostages, but investigations showed that the message, which read that the pirates will kill them and then remove their eyes and kidneys in order to be sold, is more a sort of a macabre hoax. On 27. October the third officer (name of the Yemeni man known but withheld until next of kin would speak out) died. The crew reported the case, evidence was provided and the owner confirmed that he also knows. Since there is no more light diesel to run the generators for the freezer, the owner reportedly just gave instructions to take the body off the vessel, but has made no arrangements to bring it back to Yemen.
Thereafter it was said that the group holding the ship would use it again to capture other vessels when two skiffs were taken taken on board hinting at plans that the gang intended to commandeer the ship to the high-seas again. But vessel and crew were then still held at Kulub near Garacad at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, because the vessel was out of fuel. The pirates, however, managed then to refuel from another vessel.
The National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) in Yemen as well as ECOTERRA Intl. sent a letter on behalf of the families, following the news that one crew member had committed suicide.
The kidnap victim's families previously published a letter to the President in the state-owned October 14 newspaper in September.
"As it is the state's duty to protect its citizens and because of your public responsibility as the country's president, we demand you free the Yemeni hostages and investigate officials who did not do their duty to rescue them," reads the letter from HOOD to the President.
Also the families of the Indian seafarers on board have several times called upon the President and the Prime Minister of India and addressed the Indian Minister to help and solve the crisis, since the shipowner is not even responding to their requests for information. Though Dubai's Azal Shipping, fronting for the real owners, stated to a maritime website that the crew would not be malnourished, the governments of the seafarers already have statements from the captain and crew-members themselves, which state otherwise and also describe the appalling medical situation.
Again an urgent request to deliver relief-supplies in form of food, water and urgently required medicine as well as fuel for the generators has been made by the captain and crew, but was so far neglected by the ship-owner, who also has not yet facilitated the transfer of the body of the deceased to his Yemeni family. A great number of the still surviving 23 crew are suffering now from serious medical conditions of various kind , ranging from blindness, infections to mental illness, and most suffer from skin rashes, which make now humanitarian intervention and medical assistance compulsory.
It is hoped that the Indian Prime Minister, who was in the UAE, can achieve that the owners of the vessel are now really engaging in a tangible process to free the vessel and not just rely on their so-called consultants.
Latest reports state that the vessel is now only one mile off the beach off Kulub. Dangers that it might get wrecked on the beach are real, because the chief engineer alerted that there is no more fuel on board to manoeuvre the vessel away from the shore and heavy winds and waves push the vessel closer to land.
It would not be the first time that unscrupulous vessel or cargo owners even hope to cash in on the insurance money for a wrecked ship and lost cargo in such a case.
Since 02. February 2005 the classification society Bureau Veritas had withdrawn from this vessel, because a survey of the ship was already overdue back then and no survey has been carried out since. But this did not stop disputed outfits like the Canadian company Africa Oil to use the ICEBERG I as their supply vessel for their adventures with the Australian oil-juggler Range Resources and the Puntland regional administration and to take equipment back to Djibouti when their deal finally went sour recently.
The vessel is also not covered by an ITF Agreement and the crew will have serious difficulties to get their rights even once they come free.
Already the family of the deceased Yemeni seafarer and their lawyer from Aden had no success to achieve any co-operation from the vessel owner or their front-men - a situation experienced by several organizations already before.
Meanwhile the flag-state Panama and the governments of the seafarers have been addressed and are requested to step in. Panama's Shipping Registry, the largest in the world at the end of 2010, has finally exited the "grey list" compiled by signatories of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MOU.) The Paris MOU compiles a list of shipping registries that are not in compliance with international standards. It is expected now that the authorities from Panama will take their guarantor position as flag-state concerning the lives of the seamen on MV ICEBERG serious now.
For a long time reports said that the body of the deceased seafarer was decomposing, while vessel and crew are obviously also earmarked to rot unattended in that hell.
Reports from the destitute families say that the vessel-owner hasn't even paid any outstanding salaries and the Indian government has so far only reacted with diplomatic niceties, but no help to the situation in any way.
The vessel has now been moved from Kulub to Ceel Dhanaane south of Garacad, but the chief engineer said he has no more fuel to run the generators and that during one of the manoeuvres the propeller and shaft were damaged.
During the first week of February humanitarian mediation efforts achieved that some crew-members could talk to their families and the families reported that the vessel owner has completely abandoned the crew and his vessel, while also officials from the numerous governments, who are tasked because their nationals are hostages, reportedly also have achieved no step ahead, while the so-called owner of the vessel from AZAL SHIPPING recently stated to the pirates: "Whether you kill the crew or you sink the ship I don't care." - as documented by the crew.
Reports on a certain Somalia website, however, claiming that the chief engineer was missing from the ship and had been taken to an undisclosed location on land, turned out to be simply not true.
The families of the Indian hostages on board went therefore public mid February 2011 and decried the total irresponsibleness of the Indian government. They stated to CNN/IBN that neither the Indian Prime Minister nor the the ministers concerned nor any of the authorities tasked with the duties to care for the hostage seafarers had shown any activity to work on the release of the seafarers on MV ICEBERG I.
The Yemeni family of the deceased sailor had been informed that they had to make a decision what should happen with the corpse, since the pirates were no longer willing to put diesel into the generator for the freezer.
The captain of the ill-fated ship stated that the owners of the vessel had given up ownership and has now addressed the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to assist him with the transfer of ownership and the sale of vessel and cargo in order to recover the wages of the crew and to buy their freedom. He confirmed this also to the families and to CNN/IBN and sent respective written communication to the IMO.
The fathers of six Indian crew members of MV Iceberg I said now they will begin a hunger strike outside the home of India's Prime Minister in Delhi until the hostages are freed.
For the first time in nearly a year, the Seafarers Association of India, now woke up too and they said "they were looking into the matter."
Meanwhile the alleged owner of the vessel at AZAL shipping, who is said to be of Yemeni origin, tried unsuccessfully to derail the brunt of the media and families, who even called now on the authorities of the UAE to arrest him, by claiming that he would negotiate through a Somali exGeneral, who used to work for the Somali government.
The fear that the shipping company wants to wreck the vessel is not over. NexLaw, a Consultancy founded and run by one Ravi Ravindran, who originated from Singapore and moved his business from Turkey into the Dubai Maritime City Free Zone under the name DMCEST and is dealing mainly with shipwrecks was on the case since long. Ravi Ravindran said Yassir Amin of Azal Shipping had mandated him. But with which task, is the question. To wreck it? The NexLaw/DMCEST company claimed already earlier to have been involved also in the case of secretly U.S.-owned but Yemen-based MV SEA PRINCESS II, a seajacked small tanker which was another case where one dead seafarer on board had to be decried and which was then finally freed by the involvement of the cargo-owners and not the consultancy. Since Ravi Ravindran obviously didn't achieve a release, Yassir Amin now resorted to claim that he had involved a Somali exGeneral from Mogadishu.
Recent media reports by one Indian paper about a second death among the crew could not be verified and are believed to be not true. However, the situation of the crew is now really precarious with the shipowner apparently incapable and the pirates demanding.
Dutch warship HNLMS De Ruyter (F 804) had apparently tried in March to receive the body of the deceased Yemeni seafarer from the pirates, but because they approached in a way that the pirates believed it could be trick to launch an attack, their attempt was not successful. On the 27. October 2010 Wagdi Akram, a Yemeni and father of four , the third officer, jumped overboard in a fit of dementia. Akram's body was retrieved, stored in a freezer, wrapped in an orange plastic casing with a few bags of ice to keep it cold. Meanwhile it is reported that the gang had to dispose the body into the sea, since there was no more diesel to run the generator and even the crew is cooking now with firewood on board. The electric power having failed when the diesel for the generators ran out, and because the vessel owner did absolutely nothing to help the family to receive the body for burial, the man's remains were thrown overboard.
More and more signs are pointing to an outcome similar to that of ill-fated MV RAK AFRIKANA, which was wrecked on the coast of Somalia. Only in this case it will be most likely a more serious disaster, since the vessel is reportedly also carrying toxic fluids in containers, which are according to the manifest supposed to be empty. Already IMO, UNEP and other organizations, whose duty is to avert such grave pollution of a coastal ecosystem, have been called upon and the naval forces are urged not to let this vessel go down.
The case has turned into the most ugly tragedy if Somali pirate history, since it has been revealed now that the Chief engineer apparently is so severely handicapped now that his survival is seriously endangered.
MV ICEBERG I, however, still still moored at Ceel Dhanaane at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast, while diplomatic avoidance games and the neglect of responsibility from the side of the ownership unfortunately continue.
"We'll nearly die, all people are mental. In some more days people will kill themselves," said the hostage as reported by CNN/IBN, who had received a video tape from the ship and spoke to the crew.
"We have given the go-ahead to all countries in the world to deploy their navy ships there [the waters of Somalia]," Somali Ambassador to Indonesia, Mohamud Olow Barow, had told the media during a press conference in Jakarta on 12. April 2011. This broad statement is, however, disputed by the Somali Transitional Federal Parliament.
Despite several appeals from the families of the sailors, the government has not initiated a firm action yet, leaving the families miffed. The families have now reiterated their demand for government intervention in the matter and help release the sailors abducted.
Jaswinder Singh from Haryana is one the 6 Indians onboard the captured MV Iceberg that has been held captive by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Ever since the vessel got hijacked the family has been waiting to hear Jaswinder's voice. His family, like others, have been running from one ministry to other to bring back the sailors home.
Nirmal Kaur said, "I appeal to the Indian government to bring my husband back. It has been over a year now and no actions has been taken from our government."
``Our prime interest is to save the life of every Indian sailor being held hostage...that is the guiding concern for the government,'' said overseas Indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi.
However and despite all the diplomatic and media hype, nothing is happening concerning the release negotiations, observers close to the case reported on 02. May 2011.
In June 2011 it was reported that the Chief Engineer had finally succumbed to his injuries. The death could, however, at first not be verified until Satnam Singh, a rescued seaman from MV SUEZ, who returned home, independently confirmed on 24. June 2011 that the the MV ICEBERG 1 Chief Engineer MOHAMED ABDALLA ALI KHAM, a Yemeni national, had indeed succumbed to the spinal injuries inflicted on him by the pirates.
Also according to rescued MV Suez sailor NK Sharma, two sailors of MV Iceberg have already been killed by the pirates. He added that those killed are not Indians, which confirms our report.
Describing her daily struggle, sailor Ganesh's mother Pushplata Mohite said, "We can't sleep at night, can't sleep in the day, food doesn't taste good, every morning we wonder why are we alive. When we can't help our own son, what is the point of living?"
Life for Ganesh's family has come to a standstill. His brother Mangesh, who just passed his school said he will only celebrate once he sees Ganesh.
"The government of India should at least do something for MV Iceberg. Pirates have already killed two people on that ship," Madhu Sharma, wife of NK Sharma, told NDTV.
Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs, however, said that the government will not negotiate with pirates as this will only encourage piracy. They added that the Ministry of External Affairs and other ministries are in touch with the ship owners and will play the role of a facilitator. This, however, the Indian official had stated already a year ago with no tangible result leading to the release of the hostages.
The alleged governmental disinterest coupled with a ransom demand of nearly Rs 11.2 crore ($2.5 million) has forced the families of six Indian sailors help captive on board the MV Iceberg-I to do exactly that.
"We can no longer trust the government because it has failed to keep its promises. We request the business fraternity and Bollywood to help us in raising funds for the release of our sons.
They have helped needy families in the past and we hope that they will help us too. We will take to the roads to draw people's attention if need be," said Purshottam Tiwari, father of Dheeraj, who is the chief officer-in-command of MV Iceberg-I.
Mr Tiwari alleged that the government is unwilling to help them because the people involved are not high-profile ones.
"Our children are very low profile as compared to captives in other cases. Had it been a plane hijack, the government would have done anything to ensure the captives' release.
The hijack of IC-814 by a Pakistan-based terror organisation is one such example where the government released hardcore terrorists and doled out money to send negotiators to help with the passengers' release," he said.
The distraught families have pleaded with the who's who of the nation, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, Congress Spokesperson Manish Tewary, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, the Director General (Shipping) and even yoga guru Ramdev, but to no avail. The families also staged a dharna near Jantar Mantar along with Sushma Swaraj.
Indian sailors on board the MV Iceberg-I are: Dheeraj Tiwari from Nashik, Swapnil Jadhav from Satara, Ganesh Mohite from Mumbai, Saji Kumar Purshottam from Kerala, Santosh Kumar Yadav from Uttar Pradesh and Jaswinder Singh from Haryana.
Efforts by the families to raise the demanded ransom are still not supported by the Indian government and it is hoped that third-line efforts are not faced by similar setbacks like it was the case in the release of MV SUEZ. AZAL shipping and the UAE, however, have now been urged to also finally co-operate with the release efforts and to end the ordeal.
THAI FISHING FLEET : Seized April 18, 2010 with a total crew of 77 sailors, of which 12 are Thai and the others of different nationalities, the Thailand-flagged vessels operating out of Djibouti were fishing illegal in the Indian Ocean off Minicoy Island in the fishing grounds of the Maldives. All three vessels were then commandeered towards the Somali coast by a group of in total around 15 Somalis. Already there are reports of three dead sailors with these vessels.
FV PRANTALAY 11 with a crew of 26 (freed and towed by Indian Navy and Coastguard, returned to Thailand )
FV PRANTALAY 12 with an original crew of 26 (taken over by a second pirate group and held together with crew off Eyl; said to be no longer seaworthy)
FV PRANTALAY 14 with a crew of 25 (shot up, set ablaze and sunk by Indian Navy and Coastguard)
None of these vessels is registered and authorized by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission to fish in the Indian Ocean.
The fleet was mostly held off the coast at Kulub near Garacad (06 59N 049 24E) at the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia. The captors already threatened since months to use one of the hunter-vessels of the group as a piracy-launch, while negotiations have not been forthcoming. Prantalay 14 left the coast in the morning of 20. September to what is said to be another piracy expedition. Three skiffs, three ladders and other equipment were observed to be on board. The vessel has been further observed on 28. September near the shipping lanes in the area. On 30. September at 10h15 UTC a Pirate Action Group consisting of one skiffs with ladders and weapons was reported in position 07 34 N 057 39 E, which is assessed to be connected to an operation of this fishing vessel as Mother Ship - reported in position 06 47 N 060 51 E. A regional minister from Puntland got into problems when final negotiations for the release of the held vessels were supposed to take place at Garacad, but went sour. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wants the navy to extend its anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia for another month. He will seek cabinet approval for an additional budget of about 100 million baht for this purpose, navy chief Admiral Kamthorn Phumhiran said earlier. Adm Kamthorn said Mr Abhisit wants the mission of The Royal Thai Navy Counter Piracy Task Unit of two navy ships with 351 sailors and 20 special warfare troops on board, which had left Thailand on Sept 10 and is now operating in the Gulf of Aden, extended. The mission was originally set for 98 days, ending on Dec 12., but the usual fishing season goes beyond that time, which is believed to be behind the extension demands. Now also FV PRANTALAY 11 left on another hunting mission for piracy prey, because the Thais have not at all even tried to wrench the ships from the fists of their captors. Only PRANTALAY 12 and her crew was then left as a super-hostage at the coast until on 16th November also FV PRANTALAY 12 sailed again to the oceans. All vessels were were and are abused for piracy missions since the shipowner PT Interfisheries didn't secure their release.
FV PRANTALAY 11 and FV PRANTALAY 12 returned in the meantime after having been used to capture another merchant vessels, and were first held again off Kulub (near Garacad) at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast. FV PRANTALAY 11 was said to be still out hunting but then came to Ceel Gaan near Harardheere, while P RANTALAY 12 is moored north of Hobyo and PRANTALAY 14 was shot out of the water by the INDIAN NAVY.
The Indian Navy and Coast Guard sunk FV PRANTALAY 14 in a military action, which was termed an anti-piracy operation and was executed near the Lakshadweep group of islands in the utmost southeastern portion of the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. The Islands belong to India.
The Somali buccaneers had been using FV Prantalay 14 and the two other pirated vessels of that fishing fleet from Thailand as piracy launches after their owner refused a deal to have the vessels released against a ransom.
Indian warship INS CANKARSO, a fast attack craft, intercepted FV PRANTAY 14 during evening hours of 21. January 2011 around 370 km off the Kochi coast.
According to a statement from the Indian navy their frigate fired the first shot as a warning shot well ahead of the bows of Prantalay in order to force the pirated fishing vessel to stop. Then the pirates opened fire with automatic weapons in a desperate bid to escape. The Indian naval vessel then opened up and in what the Indian navy reportedly called 'limited fire in self defense' they used heavy guns, probably including ship-to-ship missiles or a torpedo, which caused the Thailand ship to burst into flames and to sink. The vessel wouldn't have sunk so fast if only the excess fuel for the outboard engines of the skiffs had exploded.
The Indian navy stated that they rescued 20 fishermen and arrested 15 Somali pirates.
But the crew of FV PRANTALAY 14 comprised 26 seafarers of Thai and Myanmar nationalities..
Despite official requests the Indian authorities have so far not answered the question was happened to the missing 6 crew-members and if any of the surviving crew-members is injured.
Likewise it has not been communicated how many Somalis lost their live in the attack and how many of the 15 arrested are injured, because in a communicated picture only 12 arrested Somalis were shown.
In a similar attack against commandeered Thai fishing vessel FV EKAWAT NAVA 5 the Indian Navy had killed all crew, except for one survivor, who was found by a merchant ship six days after the attack floating in the Gulf of Aden. He survived and could tell the real story. The government of Thailand back then had officially protested to the Indian Government.
FV PRANTALAY 11 was then reported as being held at the Central Somali coast off Ceel Gaan (Harardheere district), but must have left for another piracy mission, since it was freed on 05. February 2011 by the Indian Navy near the Lakshadweep islands. 52 men, of which 28 are said to be pirates and 24 men of the original 26 member crew, were arrested in the swoop after some exchange of gunfire. No information has transpired yet concerning the 2 missing crew members.
According to informed sources, the Thai fishing vessel FV PRANTALAY 14 had 25 Somali pirates on board of which 15 were captured alive. 10 Somalis were killed during the exchange of fire and 14 Somalis were arrested, while one wounded man is treated for his injuries at a medical facility.
Allegedly the heavy 40mm and 20mm gunfire from INS CANKARSO, a fast Indian attack craft which had intercepted FV PRANTALAY 14 during the evening hours of 21. January 2011 around 370 km off the Kochi coast, was sufficient to sink the vessel. Other reports, however, stated that the sinking vessel was engulfed in flames.
The fishermen stated that 22 of the original crew of 26 sailors were on this piracy trip and 20 survived the naval operation. The nationalities of the two seamen who died in the attack were not released yet.
After the operation by the Indian navy and coastguard to free FV PRANTALAY 11 - with 52 people surviving - 28 were identified as pirates and 24 crew. The vessel then was taken in tow by the Indian Navy and secured.
Further details on how many people were killed during the operation have not yet been made available, but human rights observers wondered why the arrested men were shown blindfolded and were being led into the cells with black sacks over their heads. India has announced it would probe links, which the Somali pirates might have with terrorist groups.
At least five crew members of the three Thai trawlers hijacked by pirates have been reported to have died of hunger and sickness after the owner of the trawlers refused to pay ransom during the 10-month-long hostage crisis.
Strapped of resources, the pirates provided little food during this time to the hostages. "Four crew members on FV PRANTALAY 14 fell sick and died due to lack of medical supplies and one crew member from PRANTALAY 11, the vessel rescued by the Navy and Coast Guard on Sunday, is also reported to have died of the same reason," an Indian officer from Yellow Gate police station, where the culprits are held, stated.
Thai officials, who had regularly been alerted about the plight of the seafarers have so far not managed to achieve any peaceful solution. >From the original crews of Prantalay 11 and 14 only 44 seafarers survived the ordeal.
FV PRANTALAY 12, more like a factory ship and not as fast as others in her fleet, as well as maybe some other survivors of the crews from the two other vessels were still kept under pirate control in Somalia. Though pirates, like in the case of the attack by the South Korean Navy on pirated MV SAMHO JEWELRY, made announcements that they would retaliate for each of the killed or arrested Somali, such acts had not been recorded yet.
Unfortunately it is reported that there are also no real negotiations to free FV PRANTALAY 12, the last of the Thai fishing fleet, which was reportedly fishing illegally in the Indian Ocean. One member of the original crew was missing or dead already some time back and three crew had died during the last months. The vessel and the remaining around 20 crew were mostly held at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast off Ceel Dhanaane. No solution was in sight for most of the time.
The FV PRANTALAY 12 is due to her involvement in piracy now also wanted, but it must be observed that the PRANTALAY-12 has now on board a tripod mounted with a 12.7mm Heavy Machine Gun
NATO, who had earlier stated that the release of the FV Prantalay 12, the last of a group of three fish-poaching vessels of a Thai fleet, "would currently take place", while we reported that it is still at the same location with its crew as hostages, reiterated now and rephrased:
Other observers reported from Galkayo that the Somali broker, who earlier had disappeared with the ransom money for the release of the Prantalay fleet, is back in town.
FV Prantalay 12 recently had left for a a new piracy mission, but came back without having achieved anything and was now used as supply vessel for the other hostage ships. Mid May 2011 the pirate group holding the vessel was attacked by another armed Somali group and the vessel was then forcibly taken over. The second group allegedly first had the consent of the owner and were geared up by the Somali broker, who had received the ransom money but then disappeared for months, to "liberate" the vessel. Several crew members of this vessel reportedly already had died of mal-nutrition and disease during the many month of the hostage crisis. Then a release was expected by NATO, though local onservers maintained that the second group is also a pirate group and they are expecting now their share from the earlier paid ransom, which caused the delay in the release, confusing even NATO, who had communications with the pirates.
The vessel, which reportedly is no longer seaworthy and her crew are still held hostage off Eyl at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia. The release announced by NATO already in early June 2011 did not yet come through.
That five of the original crew of this vessel are dead already is confirmed, but it is not clear how many survivors of the crew are still with the vessel.
On 12. July 2011 FV PRANTALAY was still reported to be moored 7nm off Eyl.
FV AL-DHAFIR : Seized on May 06 or 07, 2010. The Yemen coastguard of the Arabian peninsular state reported the case to have occurred off the coast of Yemen. Yemen's Defence Ministry confirmed that the 7 Yemeni nationals on board were abducted to Somalia. Yemen's coastguard said Somali pirates captured the fishing vessel, while it was docked at a Yemeni island in the Red Sea and had taken it to Somalia. The coastguard was continuing its efforts to retrieve the boat, the Defence Ministry said, but meanwhile the dhow was said to be held at the Somali shore close to Kulub. The vessel is missing and wanted.
MSV SHUVAL : Seized May 08, 2010. Latest information retrieved about the fate of this Yemen-flagged vessel confirmed a sighting at Garacad, where the vessel was at anchorage on 9. June 2010. Yemeni authorities could not tell the number of crew and are further investigating.
FV NN YEMEN : Seized August 26, 2010. The earlier reports provided by maritime observers speaking of the capture of a fishing vessel were confirmed now to the extend that the type and flag of the vessel have been identified. The Yemeni fishing vessel with at least 10 sailors on board was seized in the territorial waters of Somalia. The name of the vessel and Yemeni registration is not yet known. The Yemeni boat was sailing near the north coast of Somalia when the captors attacked it with small skiffs. They later headed toward the Somali coast. Present location unknown. At the beginning of November 2010 in total at least five Yemeni fishing vessels were held by the Somali sea-gangs, though the Yemen authorities could not provide a detailed account. The case of this vessel has not yet been closed - the vessel is missing and wanted.
MT OLIB G : Seized September 08, 2010. Reports from our local observers were confirmed by EU NAVFOR: Early on the morning of 8 September, the Greek-owned, Malta-flagged Merchant Vessel (M/V) MT OLIB G (IMO 8026608) - a Greek-owned chemical tanker - was pirated in the east part of the protected Gulf of Aden corridor. After having received a report from a merchant vessel that a skiff was approaching MV OLIB G, and after several unsuccessful attempts to make contact with the vessel, the USS PRINCETON warship of Task Force 151 launched its helicopter. The helicopter was able to identify two pirates on board MT OLIB G, the EU report stated. The MT OLIB G was sailing West in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor en route from Alexandria to India through the Gulf of Aden - allegedly carrying only ballast. The Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) is an area in which EU NAVFOR (Task Force 465), NATO (Task Force 508) and Combined Maritime Force (Task Force 151) coordinate the patrol of maritime transits. It is, however, not known yet if the vessel was involved in dumping or why it was just sailing with ballast. The MT OLIB G, deadweight 6,375 tons, has a crew of 18, among which are 15 Georgian and 3 Turkish. Crew and vessel are not covered by ITF Agreement. The vessel has as registered owners FRIO MARITIME SA and as manager FRIO VENTURES SA, both of Athens in Greece. The attack group is said to consist of people from the Majerteen (Puntland) and Warsangeli (Sanaag) clans, who had set out from Elayo. After the well timed attack - more or less synchronized with attacks on two other vessels - and the subsequent overpowering of the crew the vessel was then commandeered towards the Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, where it was first held near Eyl and then off Kulub. According to media reports the owner of the vessel initially offered a ransom of $75,000, but later raised it to $150,000. However, the sea pirates want no less than $15 million, a Press TV correspondent reported. Both sides seem to be not realistic.
However, information had transpired that the Georgian government made arrangements with the vessel owner to free the ship and crew by end of February 2010, but that hasn't come true.
Vessel and crew are at present still held south of Eyl and north of Garacad near a place called Ceel Fusc at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia and different reports about continued conflicts have been received.
Negotiations are on and off.
MSV NASTA AL YEMEN : Reportedly seized on Sept. 14, 2010. Number of crew yet unknown, but presumed 9. Further report awaited from Yemen.
SEVEN INDIAN CREW OF MT ASPHALT VENTURE : Seized September 28, 2010. The Panama-flagged asphalt tanker MT ASPHALT VENTURE (IMO 8875798) was captured on her way from Mombasa - where the vessel left at noon on 27. September, southbound to Durban, at 20h06 UTC = 23h06 local time in position 07 09 S 40 59 E. The vessel was sailing in ballast and a second alarm was received at 00h58 UTC = 03h58 LT. The ship with its 15 all Indian crew was then observed to have turned around and is at present commandeered northwards to Somalia. EU NAVFOR confirmed the case only in the late afternoon of 29. September. Information from the ground says a pirate group from Brawa had captured the vessel and at first it was reported that the vessel was heading towards Harardheere at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast, while the tanker had first contact at the Somali coast near Hobyo and was then commandeered further north. The vessel is managed by ISM manager OMCI SHIPMANAGEMENT PVT LTD from Mumbai and owned by BITUMEN INVEST AS from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, who uses INTER GLOBAL SHIPPING LTD from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates as ship-handler. The Government of India and other authorities are informed. Concerning the condition of the crew so far no casualties or injuries are reported, but the vessel seems to have had an engine problem. Negotiations had commenced but have so far not been reaching anywhere. Vessel and crew were held off Kulub at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, then had been transferred southwards to Ceel Gaan in the Harardheere area at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast with negotiations more stuck than smooth; and when the crew reportedly had no more food, clean water and diesel a hasty and ill-planned release against a ransom drop was enacted on 15. April 2011. While the vessel got away at least some distance, seven Indian crew were left behind on the beach, who continue to be held as hostages.
Sunil Puri, a New Delhi-based spokesman for Interglobal, a United Arab Emirates-based company that owns the ship, called the pirates' action "unprecedented," and said to the media that it wasn't immediately clear why the pirates acted as they did. "We are still trying to ascertain why that happened. We kept our side of the bargain. We don't know why they weren't released. This is an unprecedented situation. In the past they have always kept their word," Puri told AP.
"It was a joint understanding among us not to release any Indian citizens," a pirate who gave his name as Abdi told Reuters from pirate stronghold Harardhere. "India has not only declared war against us, but also it has risked the lives of many hostages," he said.
However, it is clear that the release operation was not properly planned and executed - analysts maintain. Already before this case and at present 15 other sailors from three different cases are held hostage on land without their ships, awaiting to be freed.
"My name is Bahadur Singh. I'm the chief engineer of Asphalt Venture held by Somali pirates. We are seven people here," said the hostage in a contact CNN-IBN made and which gave a proof of life.
Indian seafarers, organized by the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI), the Maritime Union of India as well as shipowners' representatives, marched in Mumbai on 27. April 2011 to demand action against piracy and to show solidarity with the seven crew members of the Asphalt Venture held hostage in Somalia despite the fact that a ransom was paid. After waiting in vain for about a fortnight in Somali waters for the release of seven members still held hostage by Somali pirates, Indian freighter Asphalt Venture with its eight freed crew reached Mombasa in Kenya with only half the crew. "With the engineering officers still in captivity and no engine power, the vessel proceeded slowly under tug tow and under escort of an Indian Naval frigate out of Somali waters," the statement added.
So far it is not clear if India is prepared to arrange for a swap.
The son of the Chief Engineer of the captive ship under Somali pirates Kapil Grewal, has lashed out at the government and demanded immediate intervention from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.Captive sailor Bahadur Singh's son, Kapil Grewal, said "Mr Manmohan Singh is the leader of one of the most powerful nations today, and it is time he acts like one. It is not a question of my father, it is a question of several fathers, brother and sons, so treat them as your own family."Grewal's father Bahadur Singh, the Chief Engineer of Asphalt Venture is still in Somali pirates' captivity along with six other officers in spite of a ransom payment and the worst is, unlike earlier when they were confined to the ship, now they are at an undisclosed location near Haradhere in Somalia."
In the case of MV Iceberg and MV Suez, the government had maintained that all that it can do is put pressure on the ship owner to expedite negotiations, but in the case of Asphalt Venture the ship owner has already paid a ransom and now the ball is firmly in the government's court as to how they will negotiate with the pirates.
meanwhile the owners of Asphalt Venture reportedly have been able to re-establish contact with the negotiators, opening up a fresh channel of dialogue to get back the remaining hostages. This case will show if the demand to release the over 120 Somali brethren from Indian prison in exchange for the seven Indian hostages is serious or if the pirate-gang just used the talk to increase the ransom.
The captain of MV Asphalt Venture, who was released along with seven others, had offered to go back and hold talks for release of the remaining crew, while the newly founded Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) of the Indian government only decided that it would "wait and watch for the outcome of negotiations between pirates and ship owners."
But now sources from the shipping company stated that the pirates do not want to carry on with any dialogue involving the company and instead want to speak directly with the Government of India. The pirates want to talk about their accomplices who are currently in Indian custody after they were arrested following Indian Navy and Coast Guard operations in the Indian Ocean in the last few months. But New Delhi, it seems, doesn't want to negotiate with the pirates. The decision was taken at an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG),
However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court now issued notices to the Central government of India on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking release of Indian Nationals held hostage by Somali pirates. A division bench headed by acting Chief Justice A K Goel issued notices to the Central government on a PIL filed by World Human Rights Protection Council through its chairman Advocate Ranjan Lakhanpal.
The Indian state organs are meanwhile holding at least 126 Somalis from piracy connected cases in detention.
FV NN IRAN : Seized October 01, 2010. The Iranian fishing vessel with her 13 crew was attacked by Somali pirates when sailing together with another Iranian fishing vessel. One of the two Iranian boats escaped, but this one with 13 crew mebers is still missing and is wanted.
MSV ZOULFICAR (aka M.S.V. Madina Zulficar?): Seized on October 19, 2010. This is a motorized sailing dhow, which was captured near the Socotra archipelago. It must not be mixed with the case of earlier pirated Comorian MV ALY ZOULFECAR, which is free. Yemen authorities stated that it would not be a Yemeni vessel, but could possibly be from Iran. Number of crew is not known and further details are awaited. It could, however, be the M.S.V. Madina Zulficar, a known blockade-breaker registered in India, but often flying the flag of the UAE or Somalia. The vessel is missing and wanted.
MSV AL-NASSR : Seized October 28, 2010 off Socotra.The motorized Dhow was captured on October 28, 2010 at 11h56 UTC (14h56 local time) in position 12:08N – 054:25E off Socotra Island, Somalia, according to the IMB Piracy reporting centre. Once a British protectorate, along with the remainder of the Mahra State of Qishn and Socotra and being a strategic important point, the four islands making the Archipelago of Socotra were accorded by the UN in 1967 to Yemen, though they are very close to the mainland of the very tip of north-eastern Somalia. Several of the female lineages of the inhabitants on the island, notably those in mtDNA haplogroup N, are reportedly found nowhere else on earth. The Dhow with presently unknown flag and about 10 crew was heading now towards the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor of the Gulf of Aden (IRTC) and is likely to be used as pirate-base and/or decoy to capture a larger vessel. Further reports are awaited.
MT POLAR : Seized Oct. 30, 2010. Armed pirates in two skiffs boarded and sea-jacked the Liberian-owned product tanker MT POLAR (IMO 9299563) with 24 crew members aboard in the very early morning hours at 01h40 UTC (04h30 local time on 30. October 2010 in position 12:12N – 064:53E. The incident occurred according to the Piracy Reporting Centre 633nm east of Socotra island, off Somalia; or 684 miles (1,100 kilometres) east of the Indian Ocean island of Socotra according to EU NAVFOR. According to a EU NAVFOR statement the owners of the Panamanian-flagged 72,825 dwt vessel MV POLAR, Herculito Maritime Ltd, confirmed early Saturday that pirates are in command of the ship, which was en route from St. Petersburg and Kronstadt to Singapore with a cargo of fuel oil.
While it is undisputed that the ship originally had 24 crew members, EU NAVFOR reported one Romanian, three Greek nationals, four nationals from Montenegro and 16 Filipinos, but according to the ICSW (International Committee on Seafarer's Welfare) there are three Greek nationals, 16 Pinoy seafarers, three from Montenegro and one Romanian as well as one Serb. In connection with this case AFP concluded that though naval powers have deployed dozens of warships to patrol the region's waters they have failed to stem piracy, one of the few thriving businesses for coastal communities in a country devastated by war and poverty. According to reports from Somalia the already sea-jacked Iranian fishing vessel from Hobyo was used to capture this vessel in tandem with covering VLCC SHAMHO DREAM. Allegedly the captain of the Iranian fishing vessel thereafter received money from the pirates and was released with his vessel and crew.
Paradise Navigation S.A. is a Panamanian registered company, established in Greece under law 89
Constantinos Tsakiris is the Chairmman and Managing Director of Paradise Navigation SA, a shipping management company established in Greece and founded back in 1968, as Navipower Compania Naviera SA, by the Tsakiris family, a traditional Greek ship-owning and operating family.
Constantinos Tsakiris is the Chairmman and Managing Director of Paradise Navigation SA, a shipping management company established in Greece and founded back in 1968, as Navipower Compania Naviera SA, by the Tsakiris family, a traditional Greek ship-owning and operating family.
MT POLAR had reached the Somali coast in the morning of 30. October and was held off Hobyo. On Monday, 22. November 2010 one Filipino seafarer was reported by the Seafarers Network from Greece to have died allegedly of a heart attack.
At 02h33UTC on 23 November 2010, MV POLAR was reported in position 07°49N 055°53E - apparently on a piracy mission.
At 19h40 UTC on 25. November 2010, MV POLAR was observed in position 09 29N 068 44E, course 258, speed 12.6 kts. The pirated vessel was conducting piracy operations, using the surviving crew members as human shield, was briefly back and held off Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast, but is then was conducting again pirate operations. MV POLAR was observed at 16h38 UTC on 10. March 2011 in position 06 36 N 051 20 38 E on a course of 079 with speed 10 kts possibly acting as pirate launch.
Thereafter the vessel returned to the coast and is held since the beginning of April 2011 at Ceel Caduur north of Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast.
The negotiations appeared to have been conpleted and a release operation was expected - as reported on the 10. of June 2011 from Somalia. But a final agreement was apparently challenged due to disagreements among the pirates and now a decisive move to reach a final conclusion and to end the ordeal is underway, though the supernumerals on board make it a difficult case.
SY CHOIZIL : Seized 26. October 2010. South-African owned SY CHOIZIL was sea-jacked after having left Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Though news through the seafarer's network had broken much earlier, the case was officially only confirmed on 08. November. The yacht is owned and was sailed by South African skipper Peter Eldridge from Richards Bay on the northeast coast of KwaZulu Natal, who escaped after the yacht was commandeered to Somalia, while his South African team-mates Bruno Pelizzari (aka Pekezari), in his 50's, with partner Deborah from Durban were taken off the boat and are still held hostage on land in Somalia. Several questions remain still unanswered, though after the return of the skipper to South-Africa it was officially stated that the yacht had been abducted off Kenya this is still conflicting with other naval reports. Since the own yacht of the abducted couple is still moored at the harbour in Dar es Salaam it could well be that they only joined or actually hired skipper Eldridge first for a short trip north to Kenya.
Both present hostages, Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend "Debbie", Deborah Calitz, were on board when the yacht under the command of Peter Endrigde allegedly heading south to Richards Bay from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on October 21 or 22. Together with the skipper and owner of the yacht, the trio were said at first to have then encountered the pirates on 31. October 2010 in the open sea.
At least one of the attacking pirates appeared to have been from Tanzania and spoke KiSwahili. However, the sloop rigged sailing yacht set up for long distance cruising was then commandeered to Somalia by five Somalis - apparently with the aim to reach Harardheere at the Central Somali coast.
When observers had on 04. November a sighting of a yacht near the Bajuni Island of Koyaama at the Southern coast of Somalia, the search for a missing yacht was on in order to identify the boat and the sailors, but neither the Seychelles nor the network of yachts-people reported any missing yacht, though at that point already even the involvement of a second yacht was not ruled out.
Navies were then trailing the yacht at least since 04. November.
The fleeing yacht was on 06. November forced by the pursuing navies to come close to Baraawa (Brawa). There the yacht had "officially" again been located by the EU NAVFOR warship FS FLOREAL when it was "discovered to be sailing suspiciously close to shore", so the statement. Despite numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the yacht, including a flypast by the warship's helicopter, allegedly no answer was received and the French warship launched her boarding team to investigate further, a EU NAVFOR statement revealed and it was also officially stated that they had received a Mayday signal. Why only then the emergency call was sent and not much earlier, has so far not been explained.
After a direct chase by naval forces escalating the situation and the yacht running aground, SY CHOIZIL's skipper Peter reportedly jumped over board during a close naval swoop, when also shots were fired and a naval helicopter and a commando team in a speedboat were engaged. Other reports state the owner of the yacht, Peter Eldridge, managed to escape when he refused to leave the boat he built with his own hands 20 years ago. Officials now put it as "the yacht's skipper refused to cooperate" - usually a call for immediate and even deadly response in any hostage situation the world over where armed assailants are involved.
However, Peter Eldridge was later picked up by the French navy and was placed into safety on a Dutch naval vessel. He is confirmed to be a South-African by nationality and his next of kin were informed immediately. After he then arrived at the Kenyan harbour of Mombasa on board the Dutch warship, he was handed over to South African officials and brought to Kenya's capital Nairobi, from where he returned to South-Africa.
Peter Eldridge, who was a member of the Zululand Yacht Club which uses the Richards Bay Harbour as its base, stated later: "The yacht was attacked by pirates - all men aged between 15 and 50 - on October 26," and thereafter: "They demanded money. They took the money that Deborah and Pelizzari were carrying for their families. They demanded more and we told them that we did not have more because we were ordinary people."
Andrew Mwangura, co-ordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, said earlier he assumed the yacht had been towed to Mombasa as could have been expected with all the naval presence, but at the same time ECOTERRA Intl. received information from their marine monitors in Somalia saying the yacht was left behind by the naval forces and was at that time drifting. Peter Eldridge's wife, Bernadette, told later the South African Times that she did not know whether her husband Peter would return to Somalia to retrieve what's left of his yacht, SY Choizil, which was run aground during the incident. It is, however, unclear how official statements and the owner himself can speak of "having resisted to the pirates" and insisting that he "was not leaving his yacht alone", when at the same time he must have left it to be rescued by the navy.
"We only can hope that a report speaking of the killing of one man, whereby at present nobody can say if that had been caused by the naval interaction or by the pirates or if it is mixed with another case, will turn out to be not correct at all," a spokesman from ECOTERRA Intl. said on 07. November and added: "and we hope and urge the local elders to ensure that the innocent woman and man will be set free immediately. Since the Al-Shabaab administration, who governs vast areas in Southern Somalia, where the ancient coastal town of Baraawe (Brawa) is located, had earlier openly condemned any act of piracy, it is hoped that a safe and unconditional release of the hostages can be achieved."
The naval command of the European Operation Atalanta stated on 09. November that the whereabouts of the other two crew members was "currently unknown, despite a comprehensive search by an EU NAVFOR helicopter."
Karl Otto of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Cape Town stated that the Department of International Relations and Co-operation was handling the hostage situation.
International Relations and Co-operation spokesperson Saul Kgomotso Molobi confirmed this on 10. November and said the pirates had not yet made any ransom demand.
While the families of the Durban couple are sick with worry while they wait to hear from the kidnappers, the skipper's wife said: "We have been restricted from giving out more information. I have been told not to say more," but did not want to reveal who had told her to keep quiet.
South African High Commissioner Ndumiso Ntshinga said he is in constant contact with authorities in Somalia who are involved in the search for Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend.
Ntshinga indicated that maybe the story that the were taken off Kenya - as the Seychelles had claimed - is not correct, by saying: "We have always believed that their reach was mostly around Somalia but if they are going to be going down to the Gulf of Mozambique then it is worrying," said Ntshinga. Naval sources not with EU NAVFOR had earlier stated the attack was at the boundary between Tanzania and Kenya while other naval sources had spoke of the boundary between Tanzania and Mozambique.
After two weeks into the crisis the South African government still stated only: "At this point in time we do not know where they are. We have instructed our consulate to handle the matter," foreign ministry spokesman Malusi Mogale told AFP.
Director of Consular Services at the International Relations Department, Albie Laubscher, said all they can do is wait.
"The situation is that we are expecting the pirates to make contact in some way or another."
Information from Somalia says that the couple was held then for a few days held firth south and then inside Brawa but thereafter was moved to an undisclosed location.
For the Government of South Africa Mr. Albie Laubscher, the director of consular services at the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, said the families of the Durban couple had been briefed that the hostage drama could be a long, drawn-out affair. He said it was government policy not to pay ransom.
The escaped skipper Peter Eldridge maintains that they had been sea-jacked off the Kenyan coast, but failed to explained why they were there instead on their planned route to the South from Dar es Salaam.
A friend of Pelizzari, Jason Merle, said the former elevator technician had decided about four years ago to sell his house and build a yacht. 'He and Debbie invested their lives in that boat, which is now docked in Dar es Salaam, waiting for them to come back to Tanzania,' Merle said. 'They don't have any money. Neither does the family. Ransom is going to be pointless. They're not going to get anything out of that couple. The only thing they have is that yacht and a laptop.'
The abducted yacht SY CHOIZIL is still held at the Somali coast, while the couple is now said to be held somewhere in the area of Somalia's embattled capital Mogadishu.
In an effort to send the message to pirates that Deborah is African born and should not be treated like a European or an American, Deborah's brother Dale van der Merwe has denied media reports his sister was of British or Italian descent.
'She does not have any British ties and has never set foot in Britain. We are worried that should her captors read this... it may skew their perception of who Debbie really is and try attach values to her as it was done in the case of the recently released British Chandler couple.'
He said the couple were 'ordinary workers'. They had been sailing for almost two years, stopping at ports on Africa's coast to 'visit and do occasional work'. See: http://yachtpals.com/node/12445
'Anyone who knows or meets them (including their captors) will see that they are gentle and kind people who are not interested in politics but only love sailing, ' he said and added 'Debbie and Bruno will help anyone regardless of their politics, religion, nationality or race, and frequently at their own cost. They are just fellow Africans who work hard and have a passion for sailing."
The family asked the couple's captors to keep them unharmed and release them back to their families and children, whom they have not seen for so long.
The Dutch Navy detained two groups of Somalis during the last week of November, believing those arrested could be involved in the abduction of Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend Deborah Calitz. The people on board of two different skiffs threw their guns overboard when they realised they were about to be attacked by a naval force. But only skipper Peter Eldridge would be able to confirm whether any of the suspects were involved in the attack. Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said fishermen and coastal traders also carried weapons in these dangerous waters and the Dutch Navy could have the wrong men and add to the complications. The Kenyan and the South-African government had refused to accept the men for prosecution, since there was no evidence, and the Dutch Navy was for days in limbo - not knowing what to do with them. Then on 05 November five of these Somalis were flown on a military plane to Eindhoven, in the south of the Netherlands to stand trial in Rotterdam for abducting the two South Africans from their yacht. The five were among some 20 suspected pirates rounded up last month in two separate operations. The other 15 were released due to a lack of evidence at an undisclosed location and their case is seen by human rights lawyers as illegal arrest and possible refoulement.
After now more than one month the South African government maintains that no ransom demands have been made, but has not stated if there was no contact or if other demands were brought forward.
According to South African officials there was still no sign of the South African couple captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia at the end of November and Carte Blanche spoke to their Durban-based families, who are concerned that there've been no ransom demands.
International Relations spokesman Clayson Monyela said on 10. December that the kidnappers have yet to make contact with the South African government or the relatives of Bruno Pelizzari and his partner, Deborah Calitz.
It seems that the first contact possibilities were lost by the South-African officials.
The daughter of Mrs. Calitz also appealed to the captors to at least come forward and start talks on a release.
But after two months, on Thursday, 25. December 2010, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Clayson Monyela still could only say: "There is nothing new on the South African couple who were hijacked by Somali pirates." Mrs. Calitz' brother Dale van der Merwe said: "The situation stays unchanged, we are still waiting for information.
Skipper Peter Eldridge was in January 2011 interviewed by police and court officials in the Netherlands on the case and reportedly testified that the attack had happened off Tanzania and not off Kenya, as he allegedly had stated to South African officials earlier, who issued this as statement. As South African media reported, Eldridge stated that he also looked at photographs of the accused men and identified some of them as the pirates who had hijacked the Choizil. Why he was not taken through a proper process of identification and raises questions for the defence lawyers.
As of mid January 2011 communication lines seem to have been established with those who hold the couple now and the yacht is used off Barawa to shuttle from and to the illegal dhows, who load charcoal at the coastal town for illegal export. While the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia has no say in that area also the Islamist Al Shabaab administration seems to do nothing against this illegal trade, which also has been termed haram already by several Muslim scholars.
An article by a South-African media house exaggerating the ransom demands while quoting unnamed sources of so-called family friends, was not only rubbished in South-Africa but also from circles close those, who hold the couple in the moment. Andrew Mwangura, officer of the Seafarer's Assistance Program, and frequent reporter on pirate issues, had earlier said that the pirates could be persuaded to take a smaller sum. It seems that unscrupulous brokers and media have no restraint in trying to hype up the story.
However, the brother of Mrs. Calitz said on 31. January 2011 that any ransom demand for his sister was "pointless" unless he could speak to her. Dale van der Merwe said he had asked telephone callers demanding a USD10 million (R70m) ransom for the release of his sister Deborah Calitz for proof that she was alive. "I said to them: 'If you really are who you say who you are, then let me speak to her.' They said no." And van der Merwe appealed again: "We are asking you to please let them go... They are just ordinary Africans like yourselves with similar problems, we are not rich."
International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Director General, Clayson Monyela, said the department was doing its part to ensure the safe return of the two, while also the calls of the three daughters of Deborah Calitz to free their mother have so far not been responded to by the kidnappers.
While the official line of the South African Government to not negotiate or pay ransoms remains unchanged, in mid February 2011 a second brother of Mrs. Calitz - Kevin van der Merwe who lives in Auckland, New Zealand - broke the silence and called for a public funds-drive to enable the family to make an offer for a release to the Somali hostage takers, who hold them now. He said time was running out and they had to do something, adding: ''I am very worried about them mentally and physically.''
A trust account was being set up and he said even the smallest donation would help.
The ransom demanded for the safe release of a Durban couple being held hostage by Somali pirates has been dropped by half, with religious leaders in Mogadishu putting pressure on the pirates to let them go unconditionally, but neither will the family be able to collect the still multimillion dollar ransom nor do they seem to get the right advice and as longer the case takes as more complicated it will get to finalize it.
The obvious media black-out until June 2011 was only interrupted by the spread of false rumours and has not helped the hostages a bit.
On 20. June 2011 Deborah Calitz's daughter, Samantha, then broke the silence and told Eyewitnessnews she believes her mother is alive, after the pirates answered a proof of life question two weeks ago and she said the family is still hopeful she will be released unharmed. Neither Calitz nor her partner Bruno Pelizzari have been allowed to speak to their families but De Jesus said the news they have received is good. "Apparently they are being kept in a compound type of a place where they can exercise and walk around a bit," she said. She said they are still trying to negotiate down the ransom the pirates are demanding. While a Somalia-reporting website and South-African news-outlets engage in pure speculations, the relatives of Pelizzari say they have not received fresh information. They hope the couple will be released as it is impossible for them to raise the demanded ransom.
Meanwhile the yacht, which had been taken by the pirate group to the South but had broken down with engine failure has disappeared again from the island of Koyama. Local elder reported in the beginning of July that they are happy to no longer be threatened by the sea-gangsters.
Van der Merwe said he knew the couple were alive because during each phone call he asked "proof of life questions", which were always answered correctly.
Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesman Clayson Monyela said the government was working with the Pelizzari and Calitz families but would not pay or compensate any ransom money.
FV AL JAZEERA : Seized November 04, 2010. The Yemeni fishing vessel with an unknown number of crew is missing and wanted.
MSV AL BOGARI : Sighted November 7, 2010, as being hijacked, no further data.
FV SAMANALI (Lorance) : Seized Nov 11, 2010 or shortly thereafter. The missing Sri Lankan Fishing Vessel Samanali (Lorance) has the Registration Number 1 DAY-A-0164-NBO. The names of the 4 man crew consisting of the skipper and three crew-fishermen have been provided with the crewlist.They are all of Sri Lankan nationality. The small 34 ft. (10.36 m) wooden fishing boat sports as main colour a light Blue with red and yellow stripes. The deck colour is white.
FV NN COMOROS : Seized on November 18, 2010. The Comoros-flagged fishing vessel with a two man crew was confirmed sea-jacked inside the territorial waters of the Comoros. So far the identity of the vessel has not been released and the fate of the crew is not known.
MV ALBEDO : Seized on November 26, 2010. The Malaysia-flagged box-ship MV ALBEDO (IMO 9041162) en route from Jebel Ali in the UAE to Mombasa in Kenya was boarded in the early morning hours and an alarm was raised at 03h00 UTC (06h00 LT) in position 05:38N – 068:27E, which is around 255 nm west of the Maldives group of islands. The master had reported to the Malaysian owners already on that fateful Friday that pirates were on-board and his vessel was hijacked. That information was then forwarded to to the navies. However, EU NAVFOR confirmed only 3 days later on mid-Monday that the vessel was captured. Why EU NAVFOR only reported so late is not known, but maybe because a Danish Navy frigate was sailing Saturday to the rescue of the German freighter MCL Bremen, a multi-purpose 130-metre freighter, which was nearby attacked by pirates. But following standard procedures, the whole crew barricaded themselves in a secret room and the attackers later left that vessel before the warship arrived and MLC BREMEN is reportedly sailing free.
The sea-jacked 1,066-TEU container vessel MV ALBEDO has a crew of 23 sailors. Six hail from Sri Lanka and others from Pakistan, Iran, India and Bangladesh. Registered owner and manager is MAJESTIC ENRICH SHIPPING SDN, which was incorporated on January 25, 2008 as a private limited company under the name of Majestic Enrich Sdn Bhd in Malaysia by Iranian shipping executives and on April 3 changed its name to Majestic Enrich Shipping Sdn Bhd.
According to the owners, most of the containers contain cement, which by now is assumed to have been already rendered unusable due to the extended stay on sea in high humidity.
The vessel was held south of Ceel Gaan at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast off Harardheere, had been briefly used for a spin at the beginning of April 2011, but returned to the coast. Communications to secure the release of vessel and crew ran reportedly into problems and real negotiations for her release are said to have not yet achieved a consent. The vessel is now held off Ceel Dhanaane because a serious problem had also evolved between the two clan groups who have members among the pirate gang holding the vessel. A mock attack by naval forces with close overflights and closing in of a naval vessel only created havoc but did not contribute to a better solution finding.
FV NN IRAN (Reg: 4/3386) : Seized December 07, 2010. The Iranian fishing vessel with the Registration Number 4/3386 and her crew of 11 was allegedly seized by Somali pirates together with a second Iranian fishing vessel (4/3810), which had been released and did reach Iran. No. 4/3386 is still missing and wanted.
MV MSC PANAMA : Seized December 10, 2010. At 12h12 UTC (09h12 LT) on 10 December 2010 the U.S.American-owned container vessel MSC PANAMA (IMO: 8902125) was reported to be under attack by an armed group of in total five sea-shifta in two skiffs on board in position 09°57S - 041°46E. A Rocket Propelled Grenade was used during the attack which occurred approximately 80 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian/Mozambique border. On the afternoon of 10 December, the merchant vessel was then confirmed pirated and in position Latitude: 10°00S Longitude: 041°51E.
The boxship was en route from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Beira (Mozambique) when the attack occurred.
This southerly attack in the Western Indian Ocean is a further example of the constantly expanding area of pirate activity, triggered by naval activities in the Gulf of Aden and close to the Somali shores and is apparently also serving an agenda of implicating more and more regional countries. One of the the previously sea-jacked fishing vessels was used in the attack.
The 26,288 dwt MSC PANAMA is a Liberian flagged container ship, operated by SHIP MANAGEMENT SERVICES INC from Coral Gables Florida, a US based company and an affiliate of Ultrapetrol, fronting for registered owner EURUS BERLIN LLC. SMS shares an office, address, and employee roster with US-listed owner Ultrapetrol's management subsidiary, Ravenscroft Ship Management. It is said to be an Eastwind container ship, whereby it was noted that Eastwind Maritime Inc., a Marshall Islands Corporation filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York on June 24th, 2009 (Case No. 09-14047 - ALG). The vessel is operated under long-term charter by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and insured with Standard P&I Club per Charles Taylor & Co.
The 1,743-teu box ship has a crew of 23 seafarers, who all are from Myanmar (Burma).
"The Somali pirates let the Burmese crewmen call their families three days ago. All said they were in good health and told their families not to worry about them," an official at the Rangoon branch of St. John's Ship Management said on condition of anonymity to Mizzima News.
Although the crewmen were not in mortal danger, they needed to keep their spirits up while being held by the pirates, Htay Aung, a central executive committee member of the junta-supported Myanmar Overseas Seafarers' Association, said.
The release of the MSC Panama and the crewmen would depend on the negotiations between the pirates and the company and such talks normally take more than two months, Thai-based Seafarers' Union of Burma official Aung Thura told Mizzima. His union had been outlawed by the Burmese ruling governance.
The vessel arrived in Somalia and is held now south of Ceel Gaan at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast off Harardheere district, close to MV ALBEDO.
Cargo owners are increasingly upset with MSC - Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. - about the slow pace of the release negotiations.
Meanwhile around six of the badly stored containers from the top have reportedly tipped over in heavier swell and crushed onto the deck. Thereby some broke open, which reportedly contained goods in bulk, like a consignment of shoes, which are now said to be sold in the central Somali town. Other observers stated that these goods came from earlier looted MV RAK AFRICANA.
The crew is reportedly still healthy , though their food stock is finished and they have no more clean drinking water.
Unfortunately the negotiations to solve the case have apparently stalled. Reports from Harardheere revealed that the last contact for release talks was made end of March 2011. Allegedly the pirate gang and the people negotiating for the owners had then not only a disagreement about the level of the ransom, but had fallen apart and no mediation came forward for a long time. Due to this bad situation also some containers have been broken into and some limited looting started, local observers stated. For a while also other hostages were held on the vessel.
A ransom agreement has not been reached between the pirates and the St.Johns Ship Mangement Company which owns the MV Panama, according to the company's Rangoon branch office, stated Htay Aung, a central executive committee member of the Seafarers Union of Burma (SUB) on 05. May 2011. The Liberian-flagged cargo ship has 23 Burmese crewmen aboard. The St.Johns Ship Mangement Company is still paying the crewmen's salary. A spokesman at the Rangoon branch office said the pirates are still in negotiations with the company and stated: 'We hope an agreement will be reached soon. The families of the crewmen are very worried."
The vessel was recently moved towards a location north of Hobyo and a release deal apparently fell through.
Reportedly for the moment any negotiations have broken down and the vessel, which reportedly also serves again as a holding cell for other hostages, as well as the crew are held off Ceel Dhanaane at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.
After five months in the hands of Somali pirates as hostages, the chances for the release of 23 sailors are still slim as negotiations between a Liberia-registered shipping line and the pirates have stalled, said sources with the Rangoon-based St. Johns Ship Management Company. 'The head office is still negotiating with the pirates. We cannot say when the hostages will be released. Negotiations are still underway', their source stated, but local informers maintain that there is apparently no way forward in the moment. After seven month still nothing tangible seems to develop and meanwhile the lifes of some cargo-owners have been made so miserable that they have to seek aid from their native countries. Piracy is cut-throat "business", but irresponsible shipping companies are by no means less "cut-throat" as the case of one family shows, whose posessisions are on the sea-jacked vessel. While the company compensated a
MSV SALIM AMADI : Seized December 15, 2010. The motorized cargo dhow of most likely Indian origin was seized at 10h00 LT (07h00 UTC) some 70nm from Bosaso on her way from Dubai to this harbour town of the regional state of Puntland in Somalia. Most likely involved also in a business dispute. Number of crew and their fate is not yet known.
FV NN IRAN (Reg: 4/2742) : Seized January 14, 2010. The Iranian fishing vessel with the Registration Number 4/2742 and her 16 crew was seized by Somali pirates together with a second Iranian fishing vessel and since then was missing and wanted.
MSV AL MUJAHEER : Seized January, 16, 2011. The Yemeni motorized dhow with none of her original crew on board, was abducted and is used by alleged Somali pirates as piracy launch. The vessel is missing and wanted.
MV ORNA : Seized December 20, 2010. The UAE-owned, Panama-flagged bulker MV ORNA (IMO 8312162) was in the morning of 20. December 2010 at 08h29LT (11h29 UTC) reported under attack by pirates in position Latitude: 01°46S Longitude: 060°32E.The bulk carrier was under way to India from Durban and is laden with 26,000 to of coal.
NATO reported that the attack was launched from 2 attack skiffs, with pirates firing small arms and rocket propelled grenades at the merchant vessel en route in the Indian Ocean, approximately 400 nautical miles North East of the island-state of the Seychelles. The vessel was stopped and boarded by at least 4 pirates.
The bulk carrier was then pirated, EU NAVFOR confirmed later and that the number o f crew on board was unknown.
The crew is co-operating and no damage is reported, the EU statement reads, which also stated that MV ORNA was not registered with the naval centres of MSCHOA or UKMTO.
The MV ORNA is a Panama flagged, UAE owned bulk cargo vessel with a dead weight of 27,915 tonnes.
The vessels safety management certificate had been withdrawn by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai already on 14. October this year and the crew is also not covered by an ITF agreement, but unlike other UAE-owned vessels it has still at least an insurance with Sveriges Angfartys Assurans Forening (Swedish Club). Ship manager SWEDISH MANAGEMENT CO SA in Dubai fronts for registered owner SIRAGO SHIPMANAGEMENT SA.There are 19 sailors on board and the crew comprises of one Sri Lankan and 18 Syrians.
The owner of Kassab Intershipping-Swedish Management, Capt Abdul Kadar, said that the cargo ship MV Orna was carrying 26,500 tonnes of coal from Durban, South Africa and was enroute to Okha, India, when it was hijacked.
The vessel is at present commandeered towards the Somali coast.
Capt Kassab said that "the ship was expected to reach the Somali waters by [that] Friday and then only we can start negotiations. Past experiences show that the pirates start negotiations only after reaching their home country's shores."
After arriving at the Somali coast the vessel was held together with the crew first off the coast north of Hobyo, before moving further south towards Ceel Gaan from where it then left the coast.
On 26. May 2011 at 09h08 UTC the pirated vessel was reported to be commandeered in position 06 09N and 050 33E with a course of 072 degrees and a speed of 7kts on another piracy mission. It is assumed that the ship is now being abused as a piracy launch with the crew serving as human shield.
On 27. May 2011 at 08h40 UTC MV ORNA was reported in position 07 09N and 053 20E with course 078 degrees and a speed of 7.5 knots.
On 01. June 2011 at 15h34 UTC the commandeered ship was reported in position 11 37N and 061 17E with course 246 degrees and a speed of 4.4 kts.
On 02. June 2011 at 12h24 UTC MV ORNA was reported in position 11 09N amd 059 57E with course 252 degrees and a speed of 5.6 kts.
On 03. June 2011 at 08h14 UTC the vessel was reported in position 10 55N and 57 48E with course 272 degrees and a speed of 6.0 kts, obviously on her way to the Somali coast.
On 05. June 2011 MV ORNA was observed still to be on that track in position 1017N and 05400E with course 258 degrees and speed 5.8 kts.
On 06 June 2011 at 14h54 UTC pirated ship MV ORNA was reported in position 08 59N and 050 52E with course 256 degrees and 6.6 kts.
On 07. June 2011 at 06h18 UTC the vessel was reported in position 07 49N and 050 04E with course 216 and a speed of 6 kts, sailing towards her former anchorage at the Somali North Eastern Indian Ocean coast.
While then being moored at her anchorage north of Harardheere a small fire of possibly electrical cause was reported to have started on 15. June 2011 allegedly at the kitchen and destroyed some staff quarters. The fire did reportedly not cause harm to any person. Conflicting reports spoke of the crew had been taken on land while others said the crew was taken to another nearby vessel, likewise under captivity. Though local residents saw a plume of smoke coming from the vessel, EU NAVFOR said they had no confirmation. The fire was later extinguished, but allegedly also caused damage to the bridge installations and electronics. Rumours that the vessel had sunk are not correct and according to local observers the vessel is still afloat.
FV SHIUH FU No. 1 : Seized December 25, 2010. At 10h30 UTC on 25. December 2010, the white hulled fishing vessel Shiuh Fu No.1 - CT7 0256 (ID58582) was reported by NATO as sea-jacked by pirates in position 12°58S - 051°52E around 120nm east of Nosy Ankao, Madagascar. A previously hijacked merchant ship was reported to be in the vicinity during the hijacking of the fishing vessel. It was then at 11h15 UTC observed to act as piracy launch in position 12°58S - 51°51E, while cruising 293° at a speed of 1 kts.
Its original 29 sailor crew consisted of 1 Taiwanese, 14 Vietnamese and 14 Chinese. EU NAVFOR lists only 26 crew. Taiwanese sources stated that the 26 people on board the Kaohsiung-based FV Hsiuh Fu No. 1, consist of the Taiwanese skipper, 12 Chinese and 13 Vietnamese crewmen.
The Republic of China flagged, 700 to long-liner, owned by SHIUH FU FISHERY CO., LTD. of Kaohsiung in Taiwan is apparently licensed by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC NO. 900070256) to fish in these waters.
Further reports state that the vessel, which shows on it's side in large letters BI2256, was commandeered further south was observed on 26. December 2010 heading 172º with a speed of 10 knots at position 15°23'42.00"S, 52°14'45.60"E. The vessel has a powerful 1,200 HP engine and can run faster, which makes it a serious threat concerning possible pirate-attacks against merchant vessels in the area.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a press release it had launched an emergency mission and instructed Taiwan's representative office in Cape Town, South Africa to seek assistance from the government of Madagascar.
There has been no communication since Dec. 25 with the Shiuh Fu No. 1, said Samuel Chen (陳士良), director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of African Affairs.
On 28. December the vessel maintained its strange search- or forestalling-like pattern along Latitude 52 on the North-Eastern side of Madagascar.
But at 03h13 UTC on 29. December 2010, the Pirate Action Group with FV SHIUH FU NO.1 was then reported as going east in position 13 27S - 053 03E with course 102° at speed 9.1 kts.
Vice chief Dao Cong Hai of the Vietnamese Department for Management of Overseas Labor said on January 5 that the 12 Vietnamese workers were enrolled by three manpower exporting firms, named Inmasco, Servico and Van Xuan. All of them are from the central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh. Hai said that the department had instructed the three firms to get in contact with the Taiwanese employer to get information about the Vietnamese sailors and communicate with the victims' families. "This is an unexpected accident. The pirates need money. They need time to evaluate the ship to fix the ransom," Hai said.
Local observers reported on 10. January 2010 that the vessel was moored off Ceel Gaan at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast of Harardheere, but thereafter took off again.
At 10h50 UTC on 14. Jan 2011, SHIUH FU No.1 acting as mothership, was reported in position 12°21N 055°56E, but came back and was then held off Ceel Caduur north of Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast. No proper contact seems to have been maintained between the owner and the captors and the crew is neglected, sick and tired.
End of June 2011 the fishing vessel left again the coast in a mission for the pirates. RFA Fort Victoria spent four days stalking the Shiuh Fu No.1 and the five small skiffs it uses to carry out hijackings, warning merchantmen in the area to stay clear. At the same time a helicopter from the cruiser USS Gettysburg carried out surveillance flights of the pirated vessel. The RFA eventually broke off its shadowing mission and re-joined the Cougar force, led by flagship HMS Albion, while another Allied warship in the region continued to track the Shiuh Fu No.1's movements.
Hijacked vessel SHIUH FU No 1 was last reported in position 1021N 05720E, course 205 at 7 kts, on 02 July 2011. She is now tracking towards the Somali coast but is still capable of conducting mothership operations.
MSV AL SHAMSHIR (sword) (aka MSV SAMSIR) : Seized before December 28, 2010. The most likely Iranian flagged dhow was observed near Ceel Gaan at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast from mid January to at least the beginning of April 2011. Sometimes the boat was together with a larger vessel at 0435N 04805E, near where abandoned MV RAK AFRIKANA is now grounded.
On 02. May 2011 the Danish Navy with warship HDMS ESBERN SNARE under Dutch orders and NATO command again attacked an earlier pirated vessel with hostages on board.
MSV SHAMSHIR was approached and at first only warning shots were fired by the Danish navy (i.e. first shots were fired by the navy).
Then the pirates used the hostages as human shield and threatened that the hostages would be endangered. The pirates continued to commandeer the vessel towards the coast.
The skiffs and the out-board motors of the skiffs were shot up and disabled by Danish naval sniper fire.
The commandeered dhow proceeded towards the coast and the Danish navy then disengaged.
Allegedly nobody was wounded, naval reports say, but local confirmation could not yet be obtained, because the pirate group and their hostages are in hiding.
MSV AL WA'ALA : Seized on or around 01. January 2011. The Yemeni-flagged dhow was seajacked and immediately used as piracy launch. Around 10. March the vessel had a technical failure in the Arabian Sea and likewise commandeered VLCC IRENE SL went out to help. Some Somali pirates and 3 Yemeni crew were taken aboard the large oil carrier. The 3 Yemeni men were then exchanged with a navy vessel in a deal to return the body of a Somali pirate from VLCC IRENE SL, who had been seriously wounded earlier, was then handed to a naval ship, but died on the operation table. At the moment it is not known whether any pirates or crew stayed on AL WA' ALA and what her current status is.
The vessel is wanted.
MV BLIDA : Seized January 01, 2010. At 15h36 UTC (12h36 LT) of New Year's day, the bulk carrier MV BLIDA (IMO 7705635) was attacked by an armed Pirate Action Group of four men in one skiff, which had been launched from earlier pirated MV HANNIBAL II at position Latitude: 15 28N Longitude: 055 51E. The location is approximately 150 nautical miles South East of the port of Salalah, Oman. EU NAVFOR and NATO confirmed the sea-jacking.
The 20,586 tonne Bulk Carrier is Algerian flagged and owned. The vessel was on her way to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from Salalah in Oman at the time of the attack.
The bulker has a multinational crew of 27 seafarers (17 Algerian, 6 Ukrainian - incl. captain-, 2 Filipinos, 1 Indonesian and 1 Jordanian).
The official version is that the vessel is carrying a 24,000 tonnes cargo of Clinker.
MV BLIDA was registered for protection with MSC(HOA) but had not reported to UKMTO, EU NAVFOR stated, but did not explain why the vessel was not protected - especially because the vessel used as pirate-launch - MV HANNIBAL II - was reported earlier by NATO to be in the area.
Ship manager of MV BLIDA is SEKUR HOLDINGS INC of Piraeus, Greece and registered owner is INTERNATIONAL BULK CARRIER of Algeria.
The manager could for the first time on 05. January contact the Ukrainian captain who said the 27-member crew is safe, the Ukrainian foreign ministry in Kiev said. The captain of the Blida bulk carrier told the Greek manager that "no crew member had been injured" during the attack last Saturday and that the sailors were in "satisfactory" condition.
Shipping in Algeria is a government monopoly run by the Algerian state, the National Corporation for Maritime Transport and the Algerian National Navigation Company (Société Nationale de Transports Maritimes et Compagnie Nationale Algérienne de Navigation--SNTM-CNAN).
Earlier on 05. January, shipcharterer IBC said it had received no ransom demand from the unidentified pirates who seized the vessel.
"I don't know who will pay, but I repeat that we have not received such a demand," Nasseredine Mansouri, head of International Bulk Carriers (IBC), an Algerian-Saudi company specialising in maritime cargo transport, told AFP.
Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz said on 06. January his country would not pay a ransom . Belaiz said in a statement to the press that Algeria was the first country to have "called, before the UN general assembly, for the payment of ransom to criminals and kidnappers to become a criminal act". Paying ransom encourages criminals and finances terrorism, he said. "Algeria does not pay ransom," he said adding that the kidnapped crew had been able to contact their families by telephone.
The vessel had arrived in Somalia and was moored off Garacad at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia as marine observers reported, but then left for a piracy spree and was observed on 22. January 2011 in position Latitude: 09 54N Longitude: 052 56E with course 049 degrees and speed 8.6 kts conducting mother-ship operations.
The Somali pirates were urged to let the vessel go in solidarity with the people of Algeria, but still the vessel and crew are held at Ceel Caduur north of Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast, while negotiations have not really been forthcoming.
Algeria has now launched a formal appeal for the release of all hostages held in Africa, including the Algerians captured by Somali pirates early this year, according to Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci.
When asked about the 17 Algerian sailors captured aboard the MV Blida in January, Medelci said that they were in "good condition".
"The Algerian authorities are monitoring the situation and are in regular contact with them through ship owner International Bulk Carriers (IBC), who are negotiating their release," he said.
Toudji Azzedine, from the city of Dellys in Boumerdes province, was among the detained sailors. According to his family, the last communication they had with him was on May 24th. They were told that the crew were in dire conditions.
The water (being fed) is dirty, the food rancid," said Abdelkader Achour, whose brother is among the 27 captives. "We ask the Algerian authorities to intervene to speed up their release," he added.
The appeal launched by Medelci came two days after the families of the hostages assembled in front of the IBC headquarters to denounce the authorities' silence regarding the sailors' fate and to demand President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's intervention to save their lives.
The 80-year-old mother of Ismail Kehli, from Algiers, was among the participants. After hearing about her son's abduction, she suffered from paraplegia and was hospitalised.
"What does the minister want from this appeal?" she wondered. "Does he want to say that Algeria will not pay ransom to save the sailors and they will remain there for many years?"
In June 2011 sailor Moundeer Abdul-Rahmango called on Algerian authorities to do more to pave the way for the seamen's release, saying the 17 have been facing heavy-handed and unyielding practices from Somali pirates. He made his appeal during a phone call with his family back home and said he and others hope they will be rescued before the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, expected to start in August.
MSV AL MUSA : Seized January 09, 2011. The Indian merchant dhow was hijacked along with her 14 Indian crew on or about the 9th of January 2011 while under way off Oman.
The dhow was abducted along with her 14 Indian crew on or about the 9th of January 2011 while under way from Dubai to Salalah around 50nm off the coast of Oman. The vessel is carrying assorted food-stuff and was commandeered to Somalia. The vessel is missing and wanted.
CREW OF MV LEOPARD : Seized January 12, 2010. The six men crew (2 Danes and 4 Filipinos) was snatched from 1,780-dwt weapons transporter MV Leopard.
The MV LEOPARD (IMO 8902096) is owned by a small company named "SHIPCRAFT", which is specialized to haul dangerous, military and nuclear cargoes, the Maritime Bulletin says.
The Leopard is known to be carrying what various informed sources have described as a "sensitive" cargo which is believed to include weapons. Although ships operated by Shipcraft, the Leopard's Danish operator, routinely carry nuclear items, this vessel is not believed to have any on board. Some analysts said it could have been possible that the ship had been disabled by its crew before they hid in the citadel and the Somalis may also have felt that the high-profile nature of the cargo could also have posed a heightened risk of naval or military intervention, but sources from Somalia believe that the real danger concerning the cargo sensed by the Somalis was the reason to abandon the vessel.
It is unknown if the pirates have touched any of the cargo while the welfare of the crew is also not known. Representatives from ShipCraft have steadfastly refused to comment on the issue when contacted by TradeWinds on several occasions on Wednesday and Thursday. The company deactivated its website on Thursday morning as reports began to filter through that the ship was carrying a potentially dangerous cargo and it remains "under construction". Since unprotected, also MV FAINA - a Ukrainian weapons-carrier with battle tanks for Southern Sudan was intercepted by Somali pirates, but in this case held for 144 days with a major diplomatic row evolving concerning the final destination of the weapons, since they had no permits for Sudan.
"We do not know where the crew is and we are concentrating on locating them and bringing them home to safety," Shipcraft chief executive Claus Bech said in a statement.
He confirmed a report late Thursday that the pirates had taken the six crew members -- two Danes including the captain, and four Filipinos -- and abandoned the 1,780-dwt cargo vessel MV Leopard (built 1989).
He did not reveal if the kidnappers had demanded a ransom. Registered shipowner is LODESTAR SHIPHOLDING LTD of Horsholm, Denmark, who has as ISM manager NORDANE SHIPPING A/S.
A search onboard the boat Thursday by Turkish soldiers, who are part of an international NATO-led force in the Gulf of Aden, turned up "neither pirates nor crew members," Bech said.
The shipping company last had contact with The Leopard crew on Wednesday at 1300 GMT, when the captain sent a distress signal indicating that the cargo ship had been "attacked by pirates who were boarding from two speed boats," the statement said.
After receiving the alert, NATO sent the Turkish warship Gaziantep to the scene, a spokesman for the alliance's anti-piracy mission, Jacqui Sheriff, told the Politiken daily's website.
Shipcraft, which has not provided information on what the cargo ship had been carrying, is known as a specialist in shipping explosives and ammunition, the paper reported, adding that The Leopard was transporting weapons.
All the company's ships have traveled in the area with armed guards since pirates attempted to capture another of its cargo ships, The Puma, in mid-2009.
However, Politiken.dk reported that The Leopard had let off its armed guards at the Oman port of Salalah before sailing into a zone considered "safe" where it was attacked.
The crew of MV LEOPARD is not covered by an ITF agreement.
According to TradeWinds and in what represents a major departure from Somali pirates' usual modus operandi, the six seafarers have been snatched and moved to a seized Taiwanese fishing vessel which is operating as a mother-ship.
British sailing couple Paul and Rachel Chandler who had their yacht Lynn Rival hijacked in October 2009 before they were moved to the seized 1,550-teu container vessel Kota Wajar. From there they were taken ashore and held hostage for over a year and only freed last November.
The only other such "off-takes", apart from the Chandlers, were the kidnapping of Juergen Kantner and his partner from their sailing yacht S/Y ROCKALL on 23. June 2008, the kidnapping of Deborah Calitz and Bruno Pelizzari from S/Y CHOIZIL on 26. October 2010 and the snatching of Sri Lankan fishermen Mr. Lal Fernando and Mr. Sugath Fernando from FV LAKMALI on November 30, 2010. However, recent information reaching our marine monitors in Somalia also say that three women (one Tanzania and two Comorian) had been transferred from the vessel on which they where kidnapped - the MV ALY ZOULFECAR. They were, however, later transferred back..
The most likely explanation, why the pirates left the arms-ship, is that the crew managed to flee into the strong-room and disabled the engines. The time to then get to the crew left little time to get the engines working again before a warship would have arrived. The pirates therefore decided to leave the huge amount of ammunition, rockets and missiles, which the vessel was transporting as deliveries from three European countries to states in Asia, because this loot would not be of immediate benefit to the Somali warlords and most likely would have triggered a serious naval response to block the vessel and its goods from reaching the Somali coast. The mastermind then must have decided to order the gang to just kidnapp the crew and disappear on the waiting fishing vessel.
Allegedly the Somalis holding the 6 men crew have already offered a deal to exchange them.
The Danish shipping company said it was searching for the six crew members, while reports from Hobyo say that 4 Somalis including one dead had been delivered by a naval Helicopter to Hobyo. The Filipinos of the Leopard crew are apparently still held there. The two Danes were then held separately from the Filipinos on a vessel off Hobyo together with the two Spaniards. While the Spaniards were freed against a massive ransom from MT SAVINA CAYLYN, the Danes are reportedly still held on board of another vessel north of Hobyo.
According to the Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet, the company SHIPCRAFT had allegedly more or less given up on negotiations since around March. For that reason, the Danish Ship Officer's Union had turned the owners of the company in to the police for negligence and they were even criticized by their own organization, Rederiforeningen af 2010, an organization for smaller shipowners in Denmark. It also should be noted that besides the two Danes also four Filipino seamen are held hostage in this case, for whom not many have spoken out - especially not from their government. Meanwhile the hostages are said to be held south-west of Hobyo.
Reports from the ground in Somalia at the beginning of July 2011 indicated that an agreement seemed to have been reached and a release could have been near, but on 08. July 2011 it was then reported that a disagreement between the members of the pirate group, which hail from one sub-clan, has let to a serious setback. The two Danes are now held separately at different locations on land south of Hobyo and according to local marine observers, who spoke with elders close to the scene, appear to have become desperate and sick.
This was confirmed when two videos showing mainly the pleading of the two Danish hostages and one Filipino was was pushed onto the internet. Seriously traumatized the hostages pleaded obviously under duress with the shipowner to get them out and urged their government to oversee that the shipowner gets them free fast, because their health is seriously deteriorating and they fear to be killed.
The captain stated (had to state?) that the shipowner contacted them However, Claus Bech of Shipcraft stated that the company "has since January - and with the advice from renowned security advisers and in close consultation with all relevant parties, amongst others the appropriate authorities - been negotiating for the fastest possible release".
He acknowledged the grave situation by stating: "Our colleagues are under unbelievable pressure, mentally as well as physically," and ensured "that we are doing our very utmost to get our valued colleagues back home from the cruel captivity as soon as possible."
The Captain confirmed that they carried military equipment from Germany, Montenegro, Sweden France and England for Mumbai, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and finally Busan in South Korea.
The Chief Mate stated that especially he himself, but also others in the crew, have serious health problems and are afraid to die. He confirmed that the crew was first held hostage on another vessel but then, since about three month, were kept hidden away in the bush of the coastal hinterland.
MV EAGLE : Seized January 17, 2011. At 06h41 UTC (09h41 LT) on Monday 17. January, the bulk carrier MV EAGLE (IMO 8126408) was attacked and pirated by a single skiff in position Latitude: 13°17N Longitude: 061°42 E. The attack occurred in the Gulf of Aden, 490 nautical miles South West of Salaam, Oman. The pirates had been firing small arms and a Rocket Propelled Grenade before boarding the vessel. There has been no contact with the ship since the attack. The MV EAGLE which is Cypriot flagged and Greek owned, has a deadweight of 52,163 tonnes and a crew of 25 Filipinos (according to the shipowner and DMS of the Cyprus government - not 24 as stated by EU NAVFOR) and was on passage from Aqabar (Jordan) to Paradip (India) when it was attacked.
The Handymax bulker is owned by the Perogiannakis family, Perosea Shipping Co. S.A. of Greece. The company Perosea currently operates just this one rather old bulker , which was built in 1985.
The ITF agreement, which had been agreed as TCC and was covering the crew with the Pan-Hellenic Seamen's Federation (PNO), expired on 05. April 2009 . The crew of the vessel is therefore not covered by an ITF agreement.
There is at present no information concerning the condition of the crew, while the vessel has reached the Somali coast, where was held off Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast but then transferred to Ceel Dhanaane at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast, while Phillipine officials said they have no information if the negotiations have properly commenced. A previous report by a Norwegian-financed website, quoting local sources and stating the release of the vessel, turned out to be false.
On 10. May 2011 at 07h27 UTC MV EAGLE was reported in position 12 25 N and 060 06 E plying a course of 246 degrees with a speed of 7 knots most likely conduction piracy launch operations. MV EAGLE then went out, apparently to provide support to Taiwanese JIN TSUN C68.EAGLE, which had come under squeeze by navies. MV EAGLE was then also met by MT ZIRKU for supplies.
On 13. May 2011 pirated MV EAGLE appeared to have reversed course and was heading back to her anchorage, shaddowed by naval forces, but then changed course again - most likely to join the piracy circus in the Arabian Sea.
At 13h10 UTC on16. May 2011 the commandeered vessel was reported in position 07 17 N and 053 26 E course 260 cruising with a speed of 7 kts and most likely on a piracy mission.
MV HOANG SON SUN : Seized January 20, 2010. The vessel MV HOANG SON HUN (IMO 8323862) was seized by pirates, who came onboard shooting at 12h42 UTC in position Latitude: 15°11N Longitude: 059°38, which is approximately 520 nautical miles South East of the port of Muscat, Oman. The 22,835-tonne Bulk carrier is Mongolian flagged and Vietnamese owned, has a crew of 24 Vietnamese nationals and is carrying 21,000 tons of iron ore.
MV HOANG SON SUN was not registered with MSC(HOA) and had not reported to UKMTO.
Owner and manager of the Vietnamese vessel is HOANG SON CO LTD from Thanh Hoa City, Vietnam, who insured it with West of England Shipowners. Unfortunately for the seafarers it has no ITF agreement.
Nguyen Bien Cuong, head of the Hoang Son Co's maritime security department, said the last time his firm had heard from the Vietnamese crew of the cargo ship was Tuesday. However, according to the ship-owner (Hoang Son Company in Thanh Hoa province), the captured ship captain Dinh Tat Thang somehow managed to clandestinely send an email saying that all sailors are in safe condition and the merchant ship has been moved to a Somalia port.
Apart from that, Hoang Son Company has not received any other information, Vietnamese media reported.
Bui Viet Tung, son of chief mechanic Bui Thai Hung, one of hostages, is angry that the company has not made any contact with the pirates.
"If Hoang Son Company is not committed to the case, our family will go to Hai Phong northern city to seek more information on my father's situation".
On the same day, Hoang Son – deputy director of Hoang Son – told Tuoi Tre the company is working with a UK-based firm specialized in negotiating all things related to hostage and pirates to rescue the victims.
"The ransom is estimated to hit US$5 million," Hoang Son added and stated that the vessel itself is insured against hijackers by the Vietnam Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development, but that the staff and goods on the ship have no insurance. "If pirates ask for a huge ransom, there's no way the company can afford it," Son said and added: "We need the support of the state and our insurer."
Based on this analysts believe that the case will take at least three month, because the British companies are known to take their time, because they are paid for it.
Crew and vessel were first held off Hobyo and then the vessel was moored off Ceel Dhanaane at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast. Negotiations seem to have become difficult, which is why the captors decided mid July to take the vessel out to sea again. NATO, however, does at present not assess the vessel to be used as piracy launch.
MT SAVINA CAYLYN: Seized February 08, 2010. At 04h27 UTC (07h27 local time) Somali pirates sea-jacked the huge Italian crude oil tanker MT SAVINA CAYLYN (IMO 9489285) with 22 crew members in the Indian Ocean en route from the Bashayer oil terminal in Sudan to the port of Pasir Gudang in Malaysia. The attack took place in position Latitude: 12°10N Longitude: 066°00E on the Indian Ocean, which is 673 nm straight east from Socotra Island at the tip of the Horn of Africa and around 360 nm west of the Indian Lakshadweep Islands. The ship is carrying a load of crude oil for ARCADIA, a commodities trading company.
Though Italian newspapers first published the tanker had escaped, European Union Naval Force Somalia spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy confirmed later the Italian flagged and owned MT SAVINA CAYLYN was hijacked. "The vessel was boarded after a sustained attack by one skiff with five suspected pirates firing small arms and four rocket propelled grenades," O'Kennedy said and added: "There is presently no communication with the vessel and no information regarding the condition of the crew of 22 - 5 Italians and 17 Indians."
The 104,255 dwt MT SAVINA CAYLYN had registered with the Maritime Security Centre - Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) and was reporting to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The Aframax of Chinese make was built in 2008 at the Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding shipyard and is insured through Standard P&I Club per Charles Taylor & Co., but so far no information concerning an ITF agreement for the crew was found.
Registered owner is DOLPHIN TANKER SRL for managers FRATELLI D'AMATO SPA , Naples NA, Italy. Fratelli D'Amato Spa is fully owned by Luigi D'Amato, who is also the sole administrator.
Dolphin Tanker s.r.l. is a 50% joint venture between Scerni Group and Fratelli D'Amato S.p.a., and a joint venture between Luigi D'Amato, president of Fratelli D'Amato International Group, and Paolo Scerni, president of Scerni Group - which presently owns 6 tankers. The joint venture might come to an end by mutual consent and banks which granted credit lines for their ships in the past years – i.e., Milan-based Centrobanca, Genoa-based Banca Carige, and Deutsche Bank AG – have been informed of the ongoing restructuring, necessary in order to preserve the earnings from a pool of ships which made last year a 4 million Euros profit.
So far Il Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labor) Luigi D'Amato serves as the President.
Italian Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro of the Italian coast guard said the coast guard was alerted by a satellite alarm system about the attack. All Italian ships that register with the coast guard's operations center in Rome have such an alarm system. "There was an exchange of fire between the pirates and crew," Nicastro said and it was observed that the 266 metre long ship slowed down almost to a standstill before it then sped up again and resumed its course, leading the coast guard to think the pirates had climbed on board and are now in command.
Where the pirates instructed to wait for this vessel, like it was the case in other sea-jackings - for instance the weapons-transporting Ro-Ro FAINA or now admittedly the MV SAMHO JEWELRY case?
Initial reports then said no-one was hurt in the attack and Commander Pio Schiano, from the Fratelli D'Amato shipping company in Naples, told a local television channel that he had been in communication with the tanker, stating that the crew were well but no ransom demands had been made.
Italy's foreign ministry released a statement following the attack to announce that a task force had been set up to monitor the situation along with the ministry of defence.
The vessel was then commandeered towards Somalia, while the Italian Navy frigate ZEFFORO, which was some 500 miles away, was heading to the area too.
The 266-m long and 46-m wide vessel was expected in Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean Coast, when satellite imagery showed it early morning on 10. February still about 330 km off the Somalia coast.
Vessel and crew have meanwhile arrived on 12. February off Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast and negotiations are reportedly under way. However the vessel and crew had then been transferred further south to the Harardheere district coast, where the vessel was held off Ceel Gaan and now has been moved to Hobyo.
Two Spaniards, hijacked earlier from VEGA 5 were at the end of their ordeal held hostage on this vessel until their release against a multi-million dollar ransom. The vessel is still moored off Hobyo, while the crew is awaiting progress and conclusion in the negotiations for their own release.
MV SININ (Ex: MV Laurinda): Seized February 12, 2010. At 15h31 UTC (19h30 local time) on 12. February 2011, the Malta-flagged, Iran-owned Handymax MV SININ (IMO 9274941) was attacked by presumed Somali pirates in position 19 26N and 063 29E, which is around 350 nautical miles East of Masirah Island (Oman) in the Arabian Sea. The bulk carrier then was reported hijacked at 15h48 UTC on 12 February in position 201409N and 0641917E, approximately 286NM east of Masirah Island, Oman. The differences in the naval reporting about the location has so far not been clarified. The bulker was en route from Fujarah (UAE) to Singapore and has a crew of 23, of which13 are Iranian and 10 Indian nationals.
EU NAVFOR reported a day later and stated that they too believed the 52,466 dwt vessel was pirated. In a statement the Eurapean naval forces said: "The vessel sent out a distress signal, saying she was under attack, late afternoon on Saturday to which an aircraft from the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) immediately responded. The aircraft photographed 2 suspected pirate skiffs on board the vessel. There has been no communication with the ship since the distress signal was sent and the MV SININ has now changed course towards the Somali coast. There is no information on the condition of the crew."
Reportedly the 190m-long vessel with four toering cranes was not registered with MSC(HOA) and was not reporting to UKMTO.
State-owner company IRISL has named ISIM SININ LTD as registered owner and owner/managers are IRANOHIND SHIPPING CO LTD all of Tehran, Iran.
Subsidiary of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL - see separate entity record); listed in Annex III of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929 of June 9, 2010, requiring states to freeze its assets within their territories and to prevent assets from being made available to it (with some exceptions); on September 10, 2008, added to the Specially Designated National (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freezing its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems; according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRISL and affiliates provide logistical services to Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL - see separate entity record); owns six oceangoing vessels transporting crude oil and bulk and general cargo; subsidiaries include ISI Maritime Limited and Jaladhi Shipping Services (India) Private Limited; other subsidiaries reportedly include BIIS Maritime, Imir Ltd., and Isim Atr Ltd.; established as a joint venture between IRISL (51 percent) and Shipping Corporation of India-SCI (49 percent); reportedly established in 1975; commercial director is Ardasheer Yousefi.
In 2002 the Shipping Corporation of India decided to continue to be a partner with the Iranian government in the Irano Hind Shipping Co after disinvestment. According to senior officials, New Delhi has conveyed to Teheran that it stands committed to the joint venture even after its privatisation which is expected to take place by next month. SCI has a 49 per cent equity holding in the joint venture company which has a majority holding by the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. Sources said the reassurance to the Iranian government has been informally conveyed since the joint venture was conceived as a government-to-government partnership way back in 1974. The government has decided to offload 51 per cent equity in SCI in favour of a strategic partner while at the same time passing off 3.12 per cent shares to the employees. The government currently holds 80.12 per cent stake in the public sector shipping giant.
Iran o Hind Shipping Company is also Known As: Keshtirani Iran Ve Hend Sahami Khass; Irano Hind Shipping Company; Iranohind Shipping Company (PJS); IHSC; Iran and India Shipping Company; Iran Hind Shipping Company; Irano Hind; Irano Hind Shiping Co. (P.J.S); Irano-hind Shipping Company; Irano-hind; Irano-hind Shipping Co; Iran and India Shipping Co.; Iranohind Shipping Co.; Keshtirani Iran Ve Hend Sahami Khass; Iran O Hand Shipping Co.; IranoHind Shipping Co. Ltd.
However, the ambitious and oldest joint venture of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is now caught in a diplomatic whirlpool over Iran, forcing the company to consider severing its ties with Tehran's national maritime carrier. As the issue is ridden with political sensitivity, the SCI has sought the ministry of external affairs' opinion as international sanctions can make the profit-making unit incur huge losses.
The 2006-built Handymax bulker was then commandeered to the Somali coast, while communication was apparently lost.
Indian foreign minister Krishna, allaying concerns raised by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar about the safety of the people from the state, stated that seaman Kumar Prashant from Bihar and 23 others on the ship belonging to Irano-Hind Shipping Company were safe. "As per information conveyed by our mission in Tehran, the owners of the ship last spoke to the pirate negotiator on March 2, 2011 and he confirmed that all the crew were safe," Krishna said in his letter dated March 18. Negotiations with the pirates were being handled by a committee headed by the managing director of the Iran-based shipping company. Nitish Kumar in his letter to Krishna on February 22 had requested the Centre to take all steps for the early release of Prashant and other hostages.
Vessel and crew are held now off Ceel Caduur north of Hobyo and negotiations have commenced.
New EU sanctions and the restrictions already imposed by the U.S.A. on Iran have also targeted now over 30 IRISL holding companies based in Germany, Malta, Hong Kong and the Isle of Man in the UK and all in all hinder and endanger also the release negotiations for MV SININ.
FV AL-FARDOUS (aka FV ALFARDOUS) : Seized February, 12. 2011. The vessel was captured near the disputed islands of Socotra, which are located on the continental shelf of Somalia at the very tip of the Horn of Africa, but were handed to Yemen located across the Gulf of Aden. The crew is consists of eight sailors.
Fishing rights in this fish-rich zone off the coast of Somalia have been leading to disputes since many decades.
European Union's naval mission Atalanta of EU NAVFOR confirmed the capture now in a welcomed move to not only focus their attention on abducted large merchant ships. The vessel is missing and wanted.
SY ING : Seized February 24, 2011. "A Danish yacht was captured by pirates, the Danish foreign ministry confirmed and stated this publicly only on 28. February 2010. The confirmation actually came 4 days after the actual attack and seajacking on 24. February 2011 of the Denmark-flagged sailing boat SY ING, which is why we could release the alert only that day, since it always has also to be ensured that the next of kin are informed first.
According to our information the attack happened in position 14N and 58E, which is around 210 nm from Socotra Island (Yemen), 300 nm from Salalah (Oman) and around 480 nm off the nearest Somali coast at the very tip of the Horn of Africa. (1nm = 1.852 kilometres) The yacht sent a distress signal just before the boat was boarded and two days after the murder 4 Americans on the SY QUEST. The signal was received, but the authorities decided to not let the attack be widely known, a fact, which was later criticized by many cruising sailors, who demand the full information from the naval control centres and other authorities in order to avoid specific danger spots. Denmark's Intelligence agency PET had asked all relatives of the hostages to keep the incident secret, while it is now believed that the information was only confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign affairs at a moment when the hostages were already taken on land.
The 43-foot yacht S/Y ING and her crew of 7 was captured in the Southern Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean en route from the Makunudhoo atoll in the Maldives, from where they had left on 11. February 2011, via Uligan on the 19. February en route to the Red Sea.
S/Y ING and the crew had reported their cruise earlier to UKMTO, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations based in the UAE, which listed itself as primary report and emergency contact. UKMTO had received every day a report with heading and status of the yacht, which at one point even was overflown by a surveillance aircraft.
The sailing yacht S/Y ING with her little over 13m length and 7 tonnes, is a small sloop which features one mast and two sails, a normal mainsail and a jib. The model of this sloop is a Dynamic 43, designed in Norway, and has an not too powerful diesel inboard motor. But it is a fast and well sailing boat, perfect for 2 or 3 couples or a family of up to seven members.
Four adults and three children aged 12, 15 and 17 were a happy crew together, but are now kept hostage. The parents, Skipper Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, Birgit Marie Johansen, their sons, Rune (17) and Hjalte (15), and daughter Naja (13), as well as their two crew employees are all of Danish nationality. The family hails from Kalundborg, west of Copenhagen, Denmark. Also the families of the deckhands have been informed.
A duty officer at the Danish marine command headquarters, SOK, told AFP: "SOK received an SOS from the sailboat and began searching for the whereabouts of the ship and determine what has happened to the crew."
Why the Danish government and the navies failed for four days to alert other cruising sailors in the area about the incident is not known. The naval forces deployed to the area have so far not agreed to escort cruising sailors in convoys through the dangerous Gulf of Aden passage or while having to pass the Arabian Sea, where several incidences happened during the last month, including the pirating of SY QUEST with four American hostages, who were all killed in botched negotiations and despite a failed rescue attempt..
The yacht was then commandeered towards Somalia, where still also two other Danes from weapons-ship MV LEOPARD are held hostage by a Somali pirate gang.
Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen said: "It is almost unbearable to think that there are children involved and I can only sharply denounce the pirates' actions" and added: "Government officials will do everything in our power to help the Danes."
While the Danish government said the Danish warship 'Esbern Snare' was dispatched for the area, the navies this time did not make the same mistakes as in the cases of SY TANIT and SY QUEST.
Observers from Puntland first reported that the sailing boat was expected at the North-Eastern Puntland coast near Ceel Dhanaane on the Indian Ocean, which would have been around 660 nm (1,220km) from the point where it was attacked - at the same location where SY QUEST was supposed to make landfall before she was pushed by four U.S. naval vessels further into the Gulf of Aden, where the four American sailors and four Somali hostage takers found their tragic end.
But the sailing yacht, which was driven apparently by only three hostage takers on board full throttle towards the Somali coast, ran out of fuel.
MV EMS RIVER a likewise sea-jacked merchant vessel, just before she was released since the ransom already had been delivered, had already been dispatched by the pirates' gang leader to provide cover services against a possible naval attack and then did provide the necessary fuel and towing to reach at least a spot around 38nm north of Bandar Beyla at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast, which is called by the locals Hull (Xull), a tiny seasonal fishing camp.
From there local observers reported the group of hostages were taken around 20 km inland to a location called Hul Anod (Xuul Canood).
"On behalf of the Puntland state of Somalia, I want to say that we are very sad about the situation," said Ahmed. "In order to save these people, let us wait. Any action, including military action and we have seen what happened to the American couple a couple of days ago, we don't want that to happen again. ... Let us wait, let us wait, please," Gen. Abdirizak Ahmed, who heads the anti-piracy program in Puntland, Somalia's semiautonomous northern region, where most pirates are based, told the media. He just had returned from attending a two-day workshop in Denmark this week on the legal aspects of prosecuting pirates.
Later Wednesday, the Danish government said it had established contact with the pirates and their hostages.
"They are doing well under the circumstances," the Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement, which only stated further that a professional security firm was handling negotiations with the pirates, which hopefully will also bring to an end the many false stories peddled by Somali brokers, who in each of these cases offer their services.
The four adults and three children are now kept hostage on land, which was also confirmed by several of those Puntland elders, who are outraged about the case and want to try to achieve a release without conditions. The family hails from Kalundborg, west of Copenhagen, Denmark, where already popular outrage about the heinous crime as well as great support for the families of the hostages was expressed.
A military attempt to encircle Xuul Canood (Hul Anod) village was staged by Puntland forces on 10. March 2011. The militia which had come out of training - implemented by disputed mercenary company Saracen International and meanwhile banned from operating in Somalia - created havoc and senseless killing as predicted earlier. Ten Puntland soldiers, three alleged pirates, who had received reinforcement of about 200 men, and one civilian - a herder - were reportedly killed in the skirmish, while it is not even sure that the hostages had been at the village at that time. While it is sure that the operation was ordered by Puntland president Farole, using none of the men of his sub-clan, who are said to also be among the pirates, it was not yet confirmed that the Danish government paid for the ill-advised operation. Though a Danish newspaper stated that the seven Danes had been taken back onto their yacht, local observers stated that the family and the two deckhands had been split at the time of the attack into four groups held at different locations.
On 13. March the security minister of Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland Yousuf Ahmed Keyr blamed the international anti piracy forces operating in the Somali coastal waters for not helping to free the Danish family who are still in the hands of the pirates. He refused that ransom money would be paid to free the Danish captives.
"The government will not accept any ransom to be given. Now our forces are sourrounding the area", Yousuf said in his speech, acknowledging that six Puntland soldiers had been killed and five wounded in a recent, botched attempt to free the hostages.
Ahmed Ugas, a Somali parliamentarian, who lived for many years in Demark urged all sides to excercise restraint and warned of a disaster like in the case of SY QUEST, if a rescue by force would be staged again.
Observers believed already back then that some of the Danes were after the attack brought on board of sea-jacked MV DOVER, which was floating off Bandar Beyla.
A group of Danish negotiators has held discussions with the local authorities in Puntland to secure the release of the secure Danish hostages.
Local elders, who demand the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages - among them three children - have so far made only slow progress and their efforts were interrupted by the interference of Puntland forces.
"It is our responsibility to show the international community that we are not happy with what our young boys are doing in holding innocent children and their elderly parents hostages on our soil," the mayor of Bendar Beyla, Said Adan Ali, stated to the media.
Sources close to the elders of the gang holding the Danish hostages from the sailing yacht SY ING reported that the present negotiations between a Danish delegation in Bosasso and the hostage takers are bound to fail.
According to three separate sources the fact that the Danish delegation operates from Bosaaso in close co-operation with the Puntland government, while the armed forces of that administration had already once attacked the gang unsuccessfully and despite the botched attempt and international as well as local warnings again threatened to attack the hostage takers and their supporters in the near future with armed forces, makes it impossible for the hostage takers to trust the Danish negotiation team.
The Danish team had apparently contact with the hostage takers and according to the Danish Foreign Ministry also spoke to some hostages, but could so far not achieve their release.
A famous Somali Nabadon (peacemaker) who had started to negotiate the unconditional release of the hostages continues with his efforts, though many false rumours about the alleged wealth or the whereabouts of the hostages as well as an imminent attack by governmental forces drive all sides crazy.
All the hostages were then held on sea-jacked MV DOVER, while SY ING is kept at the coast near Hurdiyo.
Analysts fear that the arrest by security forces from Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region of four men allegedly belonging to the group holding the seven Danes hostage will complicate matters.
Shocking news, though they were locally not confirmed, were spread in a BBC Radio 4 report by Tom Mangold, broadcast mid April 2011, in which the veteran reporter repeated the story that the thugs had offered to release the family if their 13-year-old daughter was allowed to marry a pirate chief.
Reports from local elders revealed that the situation is tense, because the Danish navy had attacked several pirated vessels over the last four weeks and created havoc along the coasts, though it brought little success.
It is obvious that the health situation of the captives has deteriorated seriously and analyst see the present negotiations - said to be conducted by an inexperienced security company - as rather sluggish.
Medical conditions - physical as well as mental - in hostage crews held off Somalia deteriorate at around month three seriously and prosecutors should begin to file cases of torture and attempted homicide in addition to piracy and kidnapping charges in all cases lasting longer.
Recent statements by website reporting about Somalia turned out to be false altogether and the 7 Danes are still kept hostage on MV DOVER. Local observers, however, reported that the pirates groups hold the Danes and the merchant vessel have been pressured again by local elders to end the hostage crisis. This time the pirates appear to listen.
MV DOVER : Seized February 28, 2011. At 06h06 UTC (09h06 LT) on 28 February, the Bulk Cargo Carrier MV DOVER (IMO 7433634) was pirated in position Latitude: 18°48N Longitude: 058°52E - approximately 260 nautical miles North East of Salalah in the Northern Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. NATO and EU NAVFOR confirmed the seajacking.
The Panama-flagged, Greek owned bulker was en rout from Port Quasim (Pakistan) to Saleef (Yemen).
The 38,097 dwt MV DOVER has a crew of 23 (1 Russian, 3 Romanian and 19 Filipinos).
The MV DOVER was registered with MSC(HOA), and was reporting to UKMTO.
WORLDWIDE SHIPMANAGEMENT SA serves as shipmanager for registered owner DOVER NAVIGATION SA, sporting WORLDWIDE SHIPMANAGEMENT SA as ISM manager - all of Piraeus, Greece. The vessel has a valid safety certification, issued by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, but crew is not covered by an ITF agreement.
The Pirate action group with their launch vessel is still in the attack area, while the bulker is now commandeered towards Somalia and expected at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.
Initially there was no communication with the vessel.The condition of the crew is said to be unharmed and so far all right, given the circumstances. However, it is was reported that also the Danish yacht-sailing hostages are held on this vessel, which makes negotiations for the MV DOVER in the moment obsolete.
The vessel is now held, partly drifting (or intentionally changing positions), off the area between Bandar Beyla and Bargaal. At present MV DOVER is close to Hurdiyo, where also the sailing yacht SY ING is held.
Allegedly the specific group of hostage takers, which kidnapped the Danes, has paid out the original captors of MV DOVER and is now in charge of both cases. However, the guards assigned to the two different targets sometimes even have shoot-outs among themselves. The vessel is from time to time moved between Hurdiyo and Ras Binna.
Negotiations are ongoing and ransom demands have been lowered. Allegedly another attempt to free the vessel by delivering a ransom was made on 25. June 2011 according to a website reporting on Somalia, but unfortunately also that second report was false and also the Danish hostages are still on board of that vessel and a new round of negotiations has some prospect.
MSV ABU AL FADL (aka JELBUT 33): Seized on or around March 10, 2010. The dhow was captured by presumed Somali pirates and abused in a failed attack on a merchant vessel. The boat was then trailed by the Australian navy, which in the course also encountered another pirated dhow MSV AL SHAHAR 75, which they subsequently liberated and let sail free. The present status of MSV ABU AL FADL is not clear and further reports are awaited. The navies call this dhow JELBUT 33 and had two attack skiffs on board. Last known position at 08h43 UTC on 08. May 2011 in position 12 06N and 059 28E with course 035 at 8 knots.
The vessel and crew ar now held at anchor off Ceel Dhanaane.
MSV QUBAIS : Seized March 17, 2011. The vessel was captured in position 080555N and 05111E (off Eyl). The vessel is missing and wanted.
MSV AL KHALIL (aka AL-KHALEEL) : Seized March 24, 2011. The Iran-flagged motorized dhow was captured 500Nm E of Minicoy islands. The pirates were operating from sea-jacked Iranian FV MORTEZA, which itself had been pirated earlier on 28. January 2011 off Mauritius and was then sunk on 27. March 2011 by the Indian Navy. Further details concerning the number of crew etc. are awaited. The vessel was commandeered towards Somalia, is missing and wanted.
FV NN IRAN : REGISTRATION NO.: 4/4039 : Seized April 06, 2011. The Iranian owned and Iran-flagged fishing vessel with a crew of 13 is assumed to have been pirated. Vessel and crew are missing and wanted.
MV ROSALIA D'AMATO : Seized April 21, 2011. At 02h05 UTC on 21. April 2011 the Italy-flagged Bulk Carrier MV ROSALIA D'AMATO (IMO 9225201) was boarded in position 13 17N and 05906E, which is approximately 350 nm South East of Salalah, Oman, in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean, by presumed Somali pirates who had attacked the vessel - according to NATO, who confirmed the sea-jacking, with one dhow and two skiffs.
However, it was found that the pirated fishing vessel FV JIH CHUN TSAI 68 (certainly not a dhow) was involved.
The 74,500 tonne Italian flagged and owned vessel was en route from Paranagua (Brazil) to Bandar Imam Khomeini (Iran) when it was attacked at first only by a single skiff, but then seconded by the others.
According to EU NAVFOR,coalition warships had communications with the vessel and were told: 'pirates onboard stay away'.
EU Naval Force Somalia spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy confirmed that the MV Rosalia D'Amato was registered with the Maritime Security Centre-Horn of Africa MSC (HOA) and was reporting to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The MV ROSALIA D'AMATO has a crew of 21 (6 Italians, 15 Filipinos). The 6 Italians, two are from Sicily, including the commander Orazio Lanza, two from Ischia, one from Vico Equense, and the first officer is native from Meta di Sorrento but lives in Belgium.
Owner and manager of the vessel is listed as PERSEVERANZA SHIPPING SRL of Naples, Italy.The bulk carrier is part-owned by Sen. Angelo D'Amato, owner of "Perseverance Navigation" and the nephew of the owner of "Brothers D'Amato. The company Perseveranza SpA is a Company owned by Giuseppe D'Amato and he is now the leader of a family of shipowners that since four generations is known in the world shipping community. Giuseppe D'Amato is unanimously recognized as one of the most prestigious entrepreneurs in the Italian shipowners community. He has been Vice President of Confitarma, the Italian Shipowners Association, for six years; he has been Board Member of the Banca di Credito Popolare di Torre del Greco, the biggest independent regional bank in Southern Italy; he has been Board Member of UMS Generali Marine SpA, the biggest Italian Insurance Company specialised in Maritime Hull and Machinery Risks, that today is a branch of Assicurazioni Generali for transportation; he has just been awarded an honorary degree in Shipping Business at the "Università Parthenope" in Naples.
Operated in a tough commercial sector, all the owned vessels of the shipping company are time chartered for long periods to important Italian and International Groups like Cosco , Armada Group , Cargill , North China Shipping, and others primary operators. The ISM manager for the MV ROSALIA D'AMATO is SHIPS SURVEYS & SERVICES SRL - likewise of Naples.
The bulker has a valid safety management certificate and is insured by Standard P&I Club per Charles Taylor & Co., but if the crew is covered by a valid ITF agreement could not be established.
According to media wires, the pirates fired on the 225-metre (738-foot) Panamax-type vessel during the assault but no one was injured and the captain and crew "are in good condition", said Carlo Miccio from the Naples-based company Perseveranza.
"The captain told me everything is okay, relatively speaking," he said. "He was trying to give me more information but the pirates understood what he was doing and they cut the line," he added. Miccio said that tracking equipment showed the ship, which was sailing from Brazil with a cargo of soy-beans, was "almost stationary".
However, other Italian sources stated that two small boats had approached with the pirates and the boarding was done without firing and with no bad consequences for the crew.
While the vessel was commandeered towards Somalia, with pirate-launch FV JIH CHUN TSAI 68 tethered to it, which in turn pulled two small skiffs, the U.S.American navy with the U.S.American warship, the USS Stephen W. Groveson, attacked the convoy, but could only destroy the two skiffs in the ill-advised and botched operation, which endangered all the hostages seriously. Luckily no casualties were reported in this incident. But in a second encounter between the same warship and the Taiwanese fishing vessel the Taiwanese captain was killed and two Chinese seamen wounded and the FV CHUN TSAI 68 was sunk. Several Somalis also were killed in this incident and the rest of the gang later set free at the Somali shores. Since they were part of the wider group holding MV Rosalia D'Amato this intervention certain had also no positive impact on a quick solution for the release of the merchant ship.
Vessel and crew are now still held off Ceel Dhanaane at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia and it is understood that negotiations have not yet been really forthcoming.
MT GEMINI : Seized April 30, 2011. The Singapore-flagged chemical tanker MT GEMINI (IMO 8412352) was reported to have been boarded by pirates on 30. April 2011 at 04h03 UTC (07h03 local time) in position Latitude 07 01S Longitude 041 22E, off the Tanzanian coast - 115 nm ESE of Zanzibar Island, Tanzania.
NATO stated that they received their report only at 07h33 UTC on 01. May 2011, but confirmed the sea-jacking, stating that two skiffs were seen on board the vessel on her way to Somalia at position Latitude 02 47S and Longitude 043 03E. Just a day before the new sea-jacking NATO had released a map warning of pirate activity in that area. EU NAVFOR has not yet reported.
A press statement from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore last night said the vessel had sent out a distress signal at 11.50am Singapore time on Saturday.
The vessel has as registered owner GOLDEN SPRING LINE but is owner-managed by GLORY SHIP MANAGEMENT PTE LTD. - all of Singapore. The vessel is, however, in the moment on a spot charter for a Singapore charterer. The ship is insured by the North of England P&I Association, but the crew is not covered by an ITF agreement.
The company said the MT Gemini, an ABS class medium-range 29,871 deadweight tonne vessel, is believed to have been hijacked at about 12.30pm Singapore time on Saturday.
The vessel was carrying over 28,000 metric tonnes of crude palm oil from Kuala Tanjung in Indonesia to Mombasa in Kenya. It had left Kuala Tanjung, Sumatra, on April 16.
Glory Ship Management confirmed that four of the 25 men crew, including the captain, are from South Korea, 13 are from Indonesia, three are from Myanmar and five are from China.
Its Singapore office last made satellite phone contact with the ship captain in the early afternoon (Singapore time) on April 30 before contact was cut off.
"Our highest concerns are for the safety and well-being of the crew members. Since learning of the incident, Glory's management and its manning agents are exhausting all efforts to contact the family members of the crew in the respective countries," Glory said in a statement on Sunday. "We will make every effort to secure their release. The company is keeping the appropriate Singapore and international authorities fully informed of the situation. As our absolute priority is the safety and well-being of the crew, we are not at liberty to release any further details of the situation," it added.
The China Maritime Search and Rescue Center and the Chinese Embassy in Singapore separately confirmed that they have received report on the incident. The crew members include five Chinese nationals, China Maritime Search and Rescue Center said.
All four South Koreans on board, including the 56-year-old captain known by his family name Park, are in their 50s, and official from the Korean Foreign Ministry stated.
In April a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) maritime patrol plane was deployed to beef up patrols against piracy in Gulf of Aden. The Fokker 50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and 38 servicemen are supposed to scan the waters off Somalia and protect merchant ships in the area for three months. The team will be based in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti and will operate under the multinational Combined Task Force 151, which is now being led by Singaporeans. Rear-Admiral Harris Chan and 24 other Singapore Armed Forces servicemen have been leading the flotilla's four ships since April 1. They will coordinate counter-piracy operations with naval forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and other navies till June.
The MV GEMINI was registered with MSC(HOA) and was reporting to UKMTO, is at present commandeered further north and already inside Somali waters.
The vessel's operator, Glory Ship Management, said they will lead negotiations with the pirates for a prompt release of all those on board the tanker.
After a brief halt off Mogadishu, the pirated MT GEMINI arrived at the pirate lair off Ceel Gaan (Harardheere District) at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast on 04. May 2011.
Analysts fear that after the Indonesian Navy at the end of an otherwise excellent release operation for MV SINAR KUDUS spoiled the Indonesian success by killing the last four Somali pirates leaving the vessel the Somali sea-gangs will want to retain a final safety until they are on land and most likely will take in future now hostages with them as human shield. Especially hard treatment of the Indonesian hostages on MT GEMINI could also be a result.
"We are cooperating with the Singaporean government so our sailors will be treated well, given protection and freed soon," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters.
"The captain of the vessel contacted the shipping line in Singapore earlier in the day via satellite phone and confirmed all crew members were unharmed," an official source said on 05. May 2011. He said South Korea's embassy in the Southeast Asian country has reported the contact to Seoul. The official, however, said the phone connection was bad and was broken very quickly so the shipping line is waiting to hear more information. At present, the hijackers have yet to make demands or ask the company to pay ransom for the crew and ship.
Htay Aung, a central executive committee member of the Seafarers Union of Burma (SUB), said that the pirates will demand money, but the crew is probably not in mortal danger.
The vessel was moored off Ceel Gaan but left towards Hobyo. Negotiations for the release of vessel and crew have reportedly commenced.
The Somali pirates holding among the other hostages also four South Koreans on MT GEMINI demanded on15 July through different media and phoney websites that the South Korean government must specifically release those pirate prisoners in South Korean jail and pay compensation for several of their relatives killed by a commando raid earlier this year.
"First, we want the South Korean government to change its foolish treatment of us and come with a better approach toward us," he said in a statement read to the AP. "Second, we want compensation from them because they killed our brothers and they also have to release others in their jails. After that we may reconsider holding their nationals in our hands," he said.
Captain Pak Hyeon of the South Korean-managed, Singapore-flag hijacked Gemini contacted VOA by phone on July 16, saying the pirates want Seoul to pay compensation for eight dead comrades and release another five held prisoner. He said the pirates have not named a price.
He also said he and three other crew members are being kept separate from the other hostages. Pak said that the pirates are treating him and his fellow 24 crew members well and that they do not believe they are in any immediate danger. But he said they are fed only twice a day, kept inside aboard their ship and are homesick.
MT JUBBA XX : Seized July 16, 2011. The UAE and partly Somali-owned and UAE flagged, petroleum products tanker MT JUBBA XX (IMO 7916260) was captured at 07h42UTC (09h42 local time) on 16 July 2011 approximately 220nm northwest of Socotra Island at the very tip of the Horn of Africa, NATO reported. The relatively small, 4833 dwt tanker is reportedly fully laden.
EU NAVFOR Cmdr. Harrie Harrison told AP the vessel was en route from the United Arab Emirates to the port of Berbera in Somaliland, the breakaway Northwestern Somali state and self-declared republic. Later EU NAVFOR stated that the vessel's owner actually had reported her abduction in time, though only on 17. July at NATO released the alert officially. The vessel was not registered with MSCHOA at the time of the pirating.
MV SHIHAAN (name not yet officially confirmed) : Seized 18 July 2011. Local marine observers reported on 18. July 2011 that three smaller cargo vessel were attacked by a large group of sea-shifta just off Bossaso, the harbour town of the Somali regional state of Puntland.
In the ensuing getaway bid the Somali pirates, who had taken a total of 67 seafarers from mainly Asian nations hostage caused damage to the engines in two of the boats, while struggling against the heavy swell.
The two limping vessels were then abandoned and the gang escaped in MV SHIHAAN, taking with them 19 crew from India and Pakistan as hostages and human shield.
The sea-shifta with this vessel didn't bother to come to the coast but took the vessel out to the sea in order to get larger prey.
FVs NN IRAN : Four more Iranian fishing vessels are missing and wanted. The dates when they were allegedly seajacked by Somali pirates are not known exactly, but we have at least one vessel name: FV HASSAM, a boat which was captured 70 nautical miles off the port of Eyl at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, and three of their official registration numbers: 4/2922, 4/2985, and 4/3718. Iranian FV AL FAYAD (aka AL FAJAD aka AL AFINIYA) (Reg: 4/3672) was attacked on 20. April 2011 by the Danish navy, killing six - including possibly one crew member and wounding 5 (including one Iranian crew member), off Hobyo and then was attacked again by the same navy operating under NATO and sunk on 21. April 2011. While the 4 Pakistani crew members could already be flown out a humanitarian problem remains in this case to now also repatriate the remaining 10 Iranian crew members.
Unfortunately no exact crew lists for the Iranian vessels are usually provided, but it is estimated that at least 45 more Iranian fishermen are held on these boats.
One of the sea-jacked Iranian fishing vessels with the registration number 4/3739 was set free on 01. April 2011 by the Danish navy wounding three Somalis while operating under NATO. At the same time the Dutch "liberated" another vessel, MSV HORMUZ (aka URMUZ), which had been seized January 21, 2011 with killing two Somalis and wounding five. In both cases - after repairs - the vessels could sail off, while the two dead Somalis were dumped by the Dutch into the ocean, which caused widespread uproar in Somalia and internationally.
Latest reports stated that two earlier abducted Iranian fishing vessels with the registration numbers 4/3785 and 4/4050 reached on 8. February 2011 and one fishing vessel with the registration 4/3810 and 18 crew reached on 19 Feb 2011 their home ports in Iran safely, though some of the crew were injured. The six Somalis on pirated MSV AL SAADI gave themselves up to the U.S.American navy and the dhow was set free with 15/16 Pakistanis - where the Iranian members of the originally 22 men crew remain is not clear, while one seafarer died.
We try to establish the fate of the others.
On 02. June 2011 at 09h55UTC one of these dhows nicknamed "JELBUT 31" was observed as being under pirate control and conducting piracy or smuggling operations in the vicinity of position 02 19N and 050 00E. Her two empty attack skiffs in tow were then destroyed by a German frigate.
On 10. June 2011 at 12h05UTC the position of the vessel was reported from 05 55S-041 and 34E. The vessel is still under pirate control, but not longer considered a threat.
Please send any report concerning these vessels to office[AT]ecoterra-international.org
OTHER CASES NOT COMPLETELY CLOSED:
- please see: Status of not yet resolved Maritime Incidences off Somalia
THIS INFORMATION IS ALSO A WARNING TO VESSELS TRAVERSING THE SOMALI BASIN TO BE AWARE OF LARGER VESSELS BEING USED AS LAUNCHING PAD AND DECOY FOR PIRACY ATTACKS .
All vessels navigating in the Indian Ocean are advised to consider keeping East of 60E when routing North/South and to consider routing East of 60E and South of 10S when proceeding to and from ports in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.
The Indian Government has issued a NOTICE on 30th March 2010: All Indian-flagged motorized sailing vessels are - with immediate effect - no longer permitted to ply the waters south and west of a line joining Salalah (Oman) and Malé (Maldives).
NOTIFICATION BY THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT
- Issued by The Directorate General of Shipping, Mumbai.
DIRECTIONS 31. March 2010
The Directorate has issued directions prohibiting the trading of mechanized sailing vessels south and west of the line joining Salalah and Male, with immediate effect.
Likewise the Government of Sri Lanka has issued a decree instructing especially their fishing vessels not to venture further west than the latitude 70 degrees East.
NON-MARITIME HOSTAGE CASES IN SOMALIA:
Missing:
Briton Murray Watson and Kenyan Patrick Amukhuma are missing since 01. April 2008. They were working on a U.N.-funded project in the Juba valley, were seized by gunmen near Bua'le and taken to Jilib, 280 km (175 miles) south of Mogadishu. Media reports until November 2010 maintained they are still being held and close sources reveal that the case is one of a so far Unsuccessful Resolution with no independent proof of live since a long time. While, based on reports from the ground, it could be assumed that Patrick Amukhuma had died, the meanwhile penniless Kenyan-Somali spouse with 3 children of Mr. Watson appealed as recently as October 2010 again for the return of the British researcher. Last observations from Salagle in the Jubba Valley revealed certain activities, which indicate that the case might no longer be a real hostage case.
Political hostage:
French officer Denis Allex. Somali gunmen kidnapped two French security advisers working for the Somali TFG government from the Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu on July 14 2009. Police said one escaped on Aug. 26 after killing three of his captors, but Marc Aubriere denied killing anyone and said he slipped away while his guards slept. A video released by Al Shabab was showing the second officer still being held and political demands for his release were made by Al Shabab. On June 9, 2010 the video appeared on a website often used by Islamist militant groups, which said the hostage, named as Denis Allex, had issued a "message to the French people". The video showed the captive in an orange outfit with armed men standing behind him.
France has received "proof of life" of one of its secret agents held hostage in Somalia since July 2009, the French foreign intelligence service DGSE said on Tuesday, 27. December 2010.
With the latest captures and releases now still at least 35 (plus 18) seized vessels (of presently 52 listed as not secured) and one barge with a total of not less than 610 hostages or captives are accounted for. Despite a directive by the Philippine government that no Pinoy seafarer should ply these dangerous routes, there are numerous Filipinos currently held captive by pirates. All cases are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without a trace or information, are still being followed too. While in 2005 there were only three merchant ships molested off the coast of Somalia and in 2006 four (two merchant and two fishing vessels), in 2007 when Abdullahi Yussufs soldiers had returned to Puntland and were trained to become sea-bandits as well as after the enlargement of the CTF 150 fleet then there were 13 (incl. many fishing vessels and small merchant vessels) ships captured. In 2008 with the onset of CTF 151 and the US funded Puntland Intelligence Service (PIS) and the inception of the EU NAVFOR armada over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) had been recorded for Somalia with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases and the mistaken sinking of one captured illegal fishing vessel with the killing of her crew by the Indian naval force. For 2009 the account closed with 228 incidences (incl. averted or abandoned attacks) with 68 vessels seized for different reasons on the Somali/Yemeni captor side as well as at least TWELVE wrongful attacks (incl. one friendly fire incident) on the side of the naval forces, including the horrible murder of Yemeni and Somali fishermen in a mid-nightly raid on a natural harbour in Puntland committed by a Norwegian commando unit.
For 2010 the recorded account around the Horn of Africa stood at 243 incidences with 202 direct attacks by Somali sea-shifta resulting in 74 sea-jackings on the one side and on the other the sinking of one merchant vessel (MV AL-ABI ) by machine-gun fire from the Seychelles's coastguard boat TOPAZ (11 Somalis now jailed for 10 years in the Seychelles) as well as the wrongful attack by the Indian navy on an innocent Yemeni fishing vessel and the sinking of FV SIRICHAI NAVA 11 with many injured sailors and at least five people from the vessel and 8 attackers dead. Sea-jacked MV AL-ASSA - without its original Yemeni crew - was used as pirate vessel and likewise sunk while the Somali captors allegedly were released on land. In addition four Somali fishermen were killed by naval helicopter, which the navies cowardly never identified, at Labad north of Hobyo and one fisherman has killed by AMISOM forces near Mogadishu harbour.
For 2011 the recorded account stands at 145 incidences with 115 direct attacks and at least 34 ships sea-jacked.
The naval alliances had since August 2008 and until May 2010 apprehended 1090 suspected pirates, detained and kept or transferred for prosecution 480, killed at least 64 and wounded over 24 Somalis. (Independent update on the killings of Somalis see: EXCLUSIV - whereby it must be stated that while trying to keep up with the killings and arrests, the deportations of Somalis or cases where they were set out again without supplies to face sure death on the ocean - like the Russians did in at least one case - it is due to the in-transparency of the navies extremely difficult and hard to keep track and the journalist who maintained these statistics gave up to count and started a new blog on the foreign military adventures of the EU). It must, be noted that most navies have become since the beginning of 2010 extremely secretive and do neither report properly to the Somali government, which is compulsory according to the UN security council resolutions nor to the UN itself or through their media outlets on the real number of casualties and injuries they inflict.
ECOTERRA Intl. calls many of the death-cases which occur in the piracy- as well as in the anti-piracy-circus EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS - if not outright murder - and has requested already several times that thorough investigations have to follow each incident and the findings to be made public. The UN must be held fully accountable for upholding the believes in the navies that they would act legally and must account for each and every act committed under their banner. All acts committed by Somalis as well as all acts committed by the navies must be scrutinized with the same impartial zeal to let justice prevail.
Without a declaration of war by any nation of the UN and or by any of the states sending those navies, who are hiding behind illegal UN resolution constructs, these nations are waging war against the majority of innocent Somali people and are committing murder with impunity, while neither the sates nor the UN or the Somali governance are following up. Only in rare cases the real culprits of piracy and crimes committed on the High Seas or in the territorial waters of Somalia are brought to to book. The UN and all the navies are betting on the fact that the Somalis - a majority being illiterate - do not have the knowledge and means to legally follow up on cases of outright murder and illegitimate warfare, and know that the present Somali governance is not in a position to defend the Somali people against any aggressor or injustices brought against them by foreign hands. The UN and the navies have lost their moral standing by not investigating these acts.
Reports of not well documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (although not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail or like the S/Y Serenity and MV Indian Ocean Explorer were sunk to cover their drug-smuggling activities. Present multi-factorial risk assessment code: RS: ORANGE / GoA: ORANGE / AS: YELLOW / NIO: BLUE / SIO: BLUE (Red = Very much likely, high season; Orange = Reduced risk, but very likely, Yellow = significantly reduced risk, but still likely, Blue = risk low but still possible, Green = unlikely). Piracy incidents usually degrade during the monsoon season and rise gradually by the end of the monsoon. Starting from mid February until early April as well as around October every year an increase in piracy cases can be expected. With the onset of the monsoon winds and rough seas piracy cases decline.
If you have any additional information concerning the cases, please send to office[at]ecoterra-international.org - if required we guarantee 100% confidentiality.
For further details and regional information request the Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor (SMCM) and see the situation map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA (2011). See the archive at www.australia.to and news on www.international.to
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ECOTERRA Intl. is an international nature protection and human rights organization, whose Africa offices in Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania also monitor the marine and maritime situation along the East African Indian Ocean coasts as well as the Gulf of Aden. ECOTERRA is working in Somalia since 1986 and does focus in its work against piracy mainly on coastal development, marine protection and pacification. ECOP-marine (www.ecop.info) is an ECOTERRA group committed to fight against all forms of crime on the waters. Both stand firm against illegal fishing as well as against marine overexploitation and pollution.
N.B.: This status report is mainly for the next of kin of seafarers held hostage, who often do not get any information from the ship-owners or their governments, and shall serve as well as clearing-house for the media. Unless otherwise stated it is for educational purposes only. Request for further details can be e-mailed to: somalia[at]ecoterra.net (you have to verify your mail). Our reporting without fear or favour is based on integrity and independence.
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SUPPORT WANTED: With now still 40 cases to monitor and to aide, our team has too much work. Volunteers from in- and outside Somalia are therefore welcomed to support our efforts. Please send a mail to: office[AT]ecoterra-international.org IF YOU CAN AND WANT TO HELP.
© 2011, ECOTERRA SOMALIA, Mogadishu. This compilation or parts of it may be reprinted and republished as long as the content remains unaltered, and ECOTERRA Intl. is cited as source. 914
STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA, THE GULF OF ADEN AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra - 20. July 2011)
PROTECTING AND MONITORING LIFE, BIODIVERSITY AND THE ECOSYSTEM IN SOMALIA AND ITS SEAS SINCE 1986 - ECOTERRA Intl.
ECOTERRA Intl. and ECOP-marine serve concerning the counter-piracy issues as advocacy groups in their capacity as human rights, marine and maritime monitors as well as in co-operation with numerous other organizations, groups and individuals as information clearing-house. In difficult cases we have successfully served as mediators.
DECLARE INTERDEPENDENCE
STATUS-SUMMARY:
Today, 20. July 2011 at 21h00 UTC, at least 35 larger plus 18 smaller foreign vessels plus one stranded barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 610 hostages or captives - including a South-African yachting couple as well as a Danish yacht-family with three children and two friends - suffer to be released.
But even EU NAVFOR, who mostly only counts high-value, often British insured vessels, admitted now that many dozens of vessels were sea-jacked despite their multi-million Euro efforts to protect shipping.
Having come under pressure, EU NAVFOR's operation ATALANTA felt now compelled to publish their updated piracy facts for those vessels, which EU NAVFOR admits had not been protected from pirates and were abducted. EU NAVFOR also admitted in February 2011 for the first time that actually a larger number of vessels and crews is held hostage than those listed on their file.
Since EU NAVFOR's inception at the end of 2008 the piracy off Somalia started in earnest and it has now completely escalated. Only knowledgeable analysts recognized the link.
Please see the situation map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA (2011) and the CPU-ARCHIVE
ECOTERRA members can also request the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor for background info.
- see also HELD HOSTAGE BY PIRATES OFF SOMALIA
and don't forget that SOMALI PIRACY IS CUT-THROAT CAPITALISM
WHAT THE NAVIES OFF SOMALIA NEVER SEE:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/fighting_for_control_of_somali.html
What Foreign Soldiers in Somalia and even their Officers Never Seem to Realize:
The Scramble For Somalia
PEACE KEEPERS OR BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS ?
SG Ban Ki-Moon (UN) and President Ram Baran Yadav (Nepal) should resign and take the responsibility for 4,500 Haitians having been killed by a Cholera strain introduced by unchecked, so-called UN Peace-Keepers from Nepal into Haiti.
LATEST:
STILL ALMOST 600 SEAFARERS ARE HELD HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA !
ECOTERRA Intl. has been the first group to clearly and publicly state that the piracy phenomenon off the Somali coasts can only become an issue of the past again, if tangible and sustainable, appropriate and holistic development for the coastal communities kicks in. Solutions to piracy have to tackle the root causes: Abhorrent poverty, environmental degradation, injustice, outside interference. While still billions are spend for the navies, for the general militarization or for mercenaries or conferences, still no real and financially substantial help is coming forward to pacify and develop the coastal areas of Somalia.
Updates on known cases of piracy - pls see also below this latest news in the status section.
MORE SMALL CARGO VESSELS ATTACKED OFF NORTHERN SOMALIA (ecop-marine)
Local marine observers reported on 18. July 2011 that three smaller cargo vessel were attacked by a large group of sea-shifta just off Bossaso, the harbour town of the Somali regional state of Puntland.
The case could at first not be verified, since also the navies had no such record. Pakistani and Indian diplomatic channels are following up.
In the ensuing getaway bid the Somali pirates, who had taken a total of 67 seafarers from mainly Asian nations hostage caused damage to the engines in two of the boats, while struggling against the heavy swell.
The two limping vessels were then abandoned and the gang escaped in one of the cargo ships, taking with them 19 crew from India and Pakistan as hostages and human shield.
The sea-shifta with this vessel didn't bother to come to the coast but took the vessel out to the sea in order to get larger prey.
The vessel is said to be originally from Pakistan but sometimes flying UAE flag and the name given sounds like SHIHAAN. A clear identity could not yet be established.
Businessmen in Bossaso meanwhile came to the rescue of the two other ships and the Puntland coastguard is said to gear up for a major strike at one of the north-eastern pirate dens from where these pirate gangs hail.
THERE IS NO MERIT IN SHOWING THE SUFFERING OF HOSTAGES ON THE INTERNET (ecop-marine)
The despicable and heinous posting on the internet of two horrible videos showing the crew from Danish MV LEOPARD, making pleas to their government and shipowner under duress, came after all decent media had refused to buy these clips for the large amount of money demanded at first.
But obviously some deal had gone through, because since the case of the British sailing couple, the Chandlers, no visual material has left Somalia without payment. In the Chandler case for the first time larger sums were paid by a major media channel to get first pictures and then video footage.
After someone therefore must have paid for the footage and the first three Somalia websites presented them, then suddenly the clips from the MV LEOPARD crew were even dropped for free into mailboxes and posted on YouTube for everybody to see or download.
The videos are not only disrespectfully showing the distress of the severely traumatized hostages, but also created the uproar, which the hostage takers must have believed would be to their advantage.
Though it might be justified to push the vessel owner and his advisers from law firms, government or security industry to work harder for a fast solution, because the crisis already lasts now for over six month, but the hostages must not be abused to create media events or serve media interests.
The public posting on the internet of these videos will for certain only make the negotiations more difficult and prolong them, and therefore increase the suffering of the crew.
In times when the Somali people need all the sympathy of the world to overcome the cruel famine and shortcomings in the devastated country, which needs to be rebuilt, these videos serve for sure only those who have on their agenda the aim to let the Somalis starve to death or to lower the threshold on the trigger fingers of all those who engage in the now big and growing so called maritime security business - be it governments or private contractors.
It might even serve to distract the attention from the massive weapons-shipments crossing these seas. All without real merits.
The greedy gang of gangsters who have nothing in common any more with the former defenders of the sea and are a far cry of the subsequent first real pirate gangs obeying to a strict code of conduct in not harming the crew, actually endanger the welfare and help, which the majority of the Somali population urgently requires. The inhumane conditions, under which the hostages are held, however, are experienced by around two third of the Somali population under the prevailing famine.
Somali PM Abdiweli Names New Cabinet
Sources close to the prime minister said the new ministers were suggested by the outgoing ministers. Not one of the 18 ministers who served in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Farmajo, who was forced to resign last month, was retained. The new cabinet is again made up of 18 members contrary to the plan proposed by Speaker Sharif Hassan who wanted 23 ministers.
The newly proposed cabinet was chosen based on the traditional clan 4.5 formula:
1 - Hawiye (President)
1 - Diir
1 - Darood (Prime Minister)
1 - Rahweyn (Speaker)
.5 - minority clans
The new team, if approved, will be mandated to complete the transitional tasks and prepare for fresh elections in August 2012. The parliament is set to vote on the proposed list on Saturday, according to a senior official who spoke to terror free somalia.
The prime minister's proposed list is as follows:
1- Ahmed Hassan Gaboobe (Ugaas Bille), Minister for Religious Affairs
2- Mohamed Mohamud Haaji Ibrahim, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
3- Hussein Arab Issa, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense
4- Abdiwahab Ugaas Hussein Ugaas Khalif, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry
5- Abdisamad Maalim Mohamud Sheekh Hassan, Minister of Interior and National Security
6- Abdinasir Mohamed Abdulle, Minister of Finance
7- Asha Osman Aqil, Minister of Women's Development
8- Abullahi Haji Hassan Mohamed Noor, Minister of Livestock Development
9- Dr. Abdiaziz Sheikh Yusuf, Minister of Health
10- Abdulkadir Mohamed Ahmed, Information Posts and Telecommunications
11- Mohamed Muhudin Sheikh Mursal, Minister of Youth and Sports
12- Abdirahman Sheikh Ibrahim, Minister of Fisheries and Natural Resources
13- Adan Abdullaahi Adan, Minister of Transport
14- Abdirahman Hosh Jibril, Minister of Justice and Reconciliation
15- Jaylani Noor Ikar, Minister of National Development
16- Abdulkadir Mohamed Diisow, Minister of Water and Energy
17- Prof. Ahmed Aydid Ibrahim, Minister of Education and Higher Studies
18- Abdullahi Godah Barre, Minister of Planning and International Relation
via-Abdirahman Warsame
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What you always wanted to know about piracy, but never dared to ask:
SEARCH THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE INTERNET PORTAL ON PIRACY
Pirate video: Danes, Filipinos plead for release By Jason Straziuso (AP)
A maritime industry group posted videos Tuesday on YouTube showing two Danes and four Filipinos held hostage by Somalia pirates pleading for the Danish government and the ship's owner to help win their freedom.
Pirates seek millions of dollars to release the ships and crews they hijack off the coast of East Africa. The pirates have made such hostage videos before, but rarely, if ever, are the videos posted on YouTube.
One of the Danish crew members, Soeren Lyngbjoern, is seen asking for the government and company to help free the crew, which was taken Jan. 12. A pirate holding the camera asks questions while three masked men holding weapons stand in the background.
Lyngbjoern said the crew are often afraid, and that he is suffering health problems. An imprint on the video indicates it was shot last Thursday, though The Associated Press could not independently authenticate the tape or when it was shot.
"I don't think I live for much more," he said in a shaky voice that sometimes cracks with emotion.
Pirates hijacked the Danish cargo ship MV Leopard in the Arabian Sea between Yemen and Somalia. Its crew consists of four Filipinos and two Danes and is operated by the shipping company Shipcraft. Six men are seen in the video, which was shot outdoors near brush.
A second hostage seen in the videos says the Leopard was carrying military equipment.
Shipcraft said in a statement Tuesday that speculation in the Danish press that the company has not been working toward the release of the hostages is not true.
"Shipcraft has since January - and with the advice from renowned security advisers and in close consultation with all relevant parties, among others the appropriate authorities - been negotiating for the fastest possible release of our crew," the company said, adding that it could not share details because it could have a negative impact on the dealings.
Shipcraft said that the crew is "under unbelievable pressure, mentally as well as physically."
The group that posted the videos, Save our Seafarers, describes itself as one of the biggest maritime industry groups, 25 maritime organizations that joined together to raise awareness of the human and economic cost of piracy.
A spokesman for Save Our Seafarers said he couldn't immediately comment on the posting but would gather information and speak later.
Pirates have been holding hostages longer in apparent hopes of winning higher ransoms. The average ransom is now around $5 million.
A spokesman for the EU Naval Force, an anti-piracy force, said the group's records show that pirates hold 19 ships and 417 hostages.
In other piracy developments, officials responsible for a small Emirati oil tanker hijacked Saturday said they have lost contact with the ship but are hopeful it will be released soon.
Omar al-Khair, general manager of the Emirates International Shipping, the vessel's manager, told The Associated Press there were 17 crew on board the United Arab Emirates-flagged MV Jubba XX. Besides the Sri Lankan captain, he said crew members were from India, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Sudan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
"I'm expecting it to get released easy ... because there are Somalis" on board, he said. There have been no demands for ransom yet, he said.
The tanker was carrying between 3,500 to 4,000 tons of refined fuel when it was hijacked, said Ali Alawi, operations coordinator at Jubba General Trading Co., the ship's Emirati owner. It was headed from the Emirati city of Umm al-Quwain to the Somali port of Berbera.
Al-Khair said the companies last had contact with a crew member by satellite phone shortly after the hijacking Saturday off the coast of Mukalla, Yemen. They have been unable to reach them by since.
Lawmaker: Pinoy seamen deserve equal protection of law (GMA)
The Democratic Independent Workers' Association (DIWA) party-list representative is asking the House committee on overseas workers affairs to look into the recent sea piracy incidents involving Filipino seafarers.
In House Resolution 1474, filed last week by DIWA party-list Rep. Emmeline Aglipay, the "inquiry in aid of legislation" would pave the way to ensure that all Filipino seamen are "accorded the equal protection of the law."
"The inadequacy of our piracy laws necessitates additional legislative measures to make them more all-encompassing, so as not to prejudice other Filipino seafarers who are likewise prone to pirate attacks," she said.
In particular, Aglipay noted that the government should provide "double compensation and benefits" to any victims of sea piracy. Under the present rules, only victims of hijacking in "high risk" zones are given double compensation, while those who become victims in other areas are left with no recourse.
"The Philippine government must take an aggressive role in addressing the plight of our Filipino seafarers who will continue… becoming victims of these illegal activities," Aglipay said, noting that the seamen have greatly boosted the Philippine economy through their remittances.
There are over 300,000 Filipino seafarers, comprising around 30 percent of an estimated 1.2 million seafarers worldwide, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. They have remitted a total of $3.8 billion in 2010, it added.
Death of some seafarers
The death of Christopher Ceprado — one of 17 Filipino crew members of chemical tanker M/T Sea King that was attacked by heavily armed pirates last May — prodded Aglipay to file the House resolution. [See related: Kin of Pinoy seafarer killed off Nigeria seek PHL govt's help]
In this incident, the pirates looted and ransacked the vessel's equipment and took personal effects of crew members while the ship was in the port of Benin's largest city, Cotonou, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Aglipay noted that prior to the killing of Ceprado, M/V Beluga Nomination was hijacked by Somali pirates 390 nautical miles north of Port Victoria in the Seychelles on Jan. 22, 2011.
Farolito Vallega, a Filipino crewman of the M/V Beluga, was shot and killed by the Somali pirates as two anti-piracy naval patrol vessels attempted a rescue mission on Jan. 26, 2011. Also, another Filipino crewman is still missing after jumping overboard during the rescue operation.
Aglipay quoted the International Chamber of Commerce as saying there have been 248 attacks and 28 vessels hijacked worldwide so far this year.
"While the waters off Somalia continues to remain the most piracy-prone area, the risk to crews and shipping off Nigeria and its neighboring states remains high as well especially since incidents are not reported," the lawmaker said.
Aglipay, citing numbers from from the International Maritime Bureau, said there are currently over 700 hostages held in over 30 vessels. Based on DFA records, at least 130 Filipino seafarers on board 11 vessels had been held captive by Somali pirates.
No contact from hijacked crew (7Days)
The owner of UAE-based MV Jubba XX says that there is still no contact from the ship
The owner of a UAE ship that has been hijacked by Somali pirates said they have yet to hear word from the crew. The MV Jubba XX was seized on Sunday. The tanker was captured in the northern Indian Ocean and had a crew of 16 on board, including Indian, Bangladeshi and Somali sailors.
It was seized while loaded with oil on a regular route from the UAE to the Somali port of Berbera.
Jubba General Trading, which is based in Sharjah, said on Tuesday they have not been able to contact the crew.
"No one is answering their phone. Occasionally, someone does pick up the phone and speaks in a language that we do not understand, "said Sayyad Alawi, a coordinator in the operations department of Jubba General Trading.
"The pirates have not put forward any ransom demand so far. We are concerned about the crew's safety."
Piracy has grown in recent years in war-ravaged, drought-stricken Somalia. The Horn of Africa nation has not had a functioning central government for more than 20 years.
A number of other UAE ships have also been hijacked, including the MV Iceberg 1, which has been held for 16 months.
Tanzania, SA vow to fight piracy scourge By Peter Fabricius (IOL)
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma and visiting Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete have agreed to forge "vibrant co-operation" in the fight against the growing scourge of Somali piracy off the East African coast.
Kikwete said after their meeting in Pretoria yesterday that piracy was a growing problem for Tanzania as it had spread south from Somalia under pressure from Operation Atlanta – the international naval fleet.
The pirates have begun operating in waters off Mozambique, and the SA Navy has been patrolling the Mozambique Channel for more than four months. "It is of concern to us because at the beginning it was confined to the Gulf of Aden," Kikwete said. "Now it has begun to move south towards our territorial waters.
"We've had about 27 incidents of pirate attacks in Tanzania and our navy is confronting them from time to time. It's becoming a problem because it has increased the costs of insurance premiums for ships and has increased transport costs because ships have to take longer routes trying to evade the pirates. It has also increased costs of bringing trade to our ports, also taking goods from the East African ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam."
Sipho Dlamini, spokesman for the Department of Defence, said the talks were part of a broader discussion being conducted by SADC countries entailing a regional strategy to combat piracy and other maritime crimes such as the dumping of toxic waste, trafficking of humans and drugs, and fish poaching.
Meanwhile, formal relations between Tanzania and South Africa were yesterday upgraded and broadened from the current presidential economic commission to a binational commission, which now also includes non-economic areas of co-operation.
Kikwete said after their meeting in Pretoria yesterday that piracy was a growing problem for Tanzania as it had spread south from Somalia under pressure from Operation Atlanta – the international naval fleet.
The pirates have begun operating in waters off Mozambique, and the SA Navy has been patrolling the Mozambique Channel for more than four months. "It is of concern to us because at the beginning it was confined to the Gulf of Aden," Kikwete said. "Now it has begun to move south towards our territorial waters.
"We've had about 27 incidents of pirate attacks in Tanzania and our navy is confronting them from time to time. It's becoming a problem because it has increased the costs of insurance premiums for ships and has increased transport costs because ships have to take longer routes trying to evade the pirates. It has also increased costs of bringing trade to our ports, also taking goods from the East African ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam."
Sipho Dlamini, spokesman for the Department of Defence, said the talks were part of a broader discussion being conducted by SADC countries entailing a regional strategy to combat piracy and other maritime crimes such as the dumping of toxic waste, trafficking of humans and drugs, and fish poaching.
Meanwhile, formal relations between Tanzania and South Africa were yesterday upgraded and broadened from the current presidential economic commission to a binational commission, which now also includes non-economic areas of co-operation.
NOT REPORTED BY NATO, EU NAVFOR OR IMB.PRC:
Indian Navy thwarts Somali pirate bid By Divyesh Singh (DNA)
The Indian Navy has proved its mettle again.
The Indian frigate INS Godavari foiled a hijack bid by Somali pirates on a Greek cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden, where it is on anti-piracy deployment since May.
On July 16 morning, eight Somali pirates tried to hijack MV Elinakos and the crew sent out a distress alert. All special task force ships and vessels of all the navies deployed in the Gulf of Aden rushed to the cargo vessel's aid.
INS Godavari, which was escorting four other cargo ships to ensure their safe passage in the Gulf of Aden, was close by and immediately dispatched a helicopter and a team of marine commandos on speed boats to rescue the Greek vessel.
The commandos spotted the Somali pirate team on a skiff near the cargo vessel. But by the time they reached the skiff, the pirates dumped their arms and ammunition into the sea.
"The pirates were not arrested because they had thrown their arms into the water. The commandos searched their boat and found nothing and so were forced to let them go," said a defence spokesperson on Tuesday.
The German naval ship Niedersachsen coordinated with INS Godavari in the operation.
Since its deployment in the Gulf of Aden in May this year, INS Godavari has safely escorted 219 cargo vessels of various countries. Last week, INS Godavari had escorted MV Islamabad with an all-Pakistani crew of 38 in the pirate-infested waters of Gulf of Aden
Since 2008, the Indian Navy has deployed warships in the Gulf of Aden and has safely escorted 1,665 cargo vessels
Canadian reveals Somali pirate secrets in new book By Merita Ilo (TheCanadianPress)
Jay Bahadur admits his parents probably wanted him to move out of their house and "do his own thing." But hanging out with pirates in the world's most dangerous country was not exactly what they had in mind.
Eager to break into journalism, the 27-year-old Toronto native, who had never been to Africa, made some phone calls, got in touch with some local journalists, and in January 2009 left his parent's home in Chicago and hopped on a plane to Somalia.
What he learned and witnessed during the three months he lived among the Somali pirates is documented in his book, "The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World," that is being released in Canada and the United States on Tuesday.
"I always intended to break into journalism by going abroad and just writing freelance," Bahadur said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"My original plan, before I thought about it for a minute, was to just go on my own and kind of stumble onto a pirate group and hope that they thought I was a little crazy ... and took pity on me," he said with a chuckle.
The only person he was counting on was a local journalist he had spoken with on the phone but had never met, and whose father had just been elected the president of Puntland, a semiautonomous pirate-infested region in northern Somalia where piracy originated.
"I was nervous about whether I would be extorted for money, or held up, or kidnapped or what not."
And there was good reason to worry.
Just four months prior to his arrival, another Canadian freelance journalist had been kidnapped by gunmen in Somalia while travelling to a refugee camp.
Amanda Lindhout, along with Australian photographer Nigel Brennan and their Somali translator, were held for 15 months and their abductors demanded millions of dollars in ransom for their release.
"I chose Somalia because originally what I wanted to do was go and cover an election that was happening in northwestern Somalia," said the University of Toronto graduate.
"And then the piracy thing happened and that was a lot more exciting story and a lot better way to get my name in print, so I essentially made a few calls to universities and to local journalists there and I ended up partnering with a local journalist."
In his book, published by Harper Collins Canada, Bahadur describes the evolution of piracy in Somalia -- from the self-proclaimed "coast guards" pretending to protect their country's waters from foreign invaders, to the deadly, organized, multi-million dollar enterprise that has become today.
One 'myth' he says he hopes his book will debunk is the assumption that international criminal organizations and terrorist groups are behind the network of Somali pirates.
"The fact of the matter is, Somalia is perfectly capable of doing it on its own.
"I did a detailed study of the economics of the piracy from the pirate's point of view -- a mission might cost as little at $10,000 dollars to launch, and that kind of money is certainly available within the country, especially now when these ransoms are coming fast and furious."
He says piracy is a home-grown movement that doesn't need outside funding.
"They say there are about 15 to 30 key investors, people who are actually mapping the networks.
"It's more like some (Somali) expats going home and trying to make some money on the side by financing piracy missions."
Bahadur thinks that such "misconceptions" help shape the multibillion dollar fight against piracy.
However, he admits that his conclusions were drawn from stories that were 'filtered" through people surrounding him, all members of a clan in power, often while sitting around chewing a narcotic drug called khat.
As for the book deal, the young Canadian, who says he gave a Toronto Blue Jays baseball T-shirt as a gift to a pirate leader, admits the timing of his trip certainly helped him find a publisher.
"Shortly after I got back from the first trip (March 2009), the Maersk Alabama incident happened and that kind of drove interest in the book and it sold shortly after that."
On April 8, 2009, Somali pirates boarded Maersk Alabama, a container ship en route to Kenya. The hijacking ended when U.S. navy sharpshooters killed two pirates holding the ship's American captain.
In the summer of 2010, Bahadur was invited to share his findings on Somalia piracy with officials at the U.S. State Department. His articles on Somalia were published in many newspapers, including The New York Times, The Times (London) and the Financial Times.
Asked about his future in journalism, Bahadur says he's now turning his attention to citizen journalism. He is starting a website -- that he hopes will be a home for all newsworthy YouTube videos -- and hopes any publicity he gets from the book will help generate interest in his new project.
"I tried to skip a few steps successfully so far in journalism ... to become editor-in-chief," he says with a laugh.
Secrets of Somali pirates revealed in new book By Katharine Houreld (AP)
The pirates were nervous. A rookie author - a white man from Canada - had unexpectedly arrived in their cliff-top Somali village to ask about the captured ship anchored offshore.
Locals fearing a showdown quietly melted away into a small collection of shacks.
The encounter with the deadly gang forms the final chapter of "The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World," a first-of-its kind book that saw author Jay Bahadur live among the pirates. Bahadur's book is being released Tuesday in the U.S.
"They were paranoid beyond belief. They thought I was a CIA agent," the tall, soft-spoken writer told The Associated Press. "I thought they were going to shoot us."
Sweating with heat and nerves, Bahadur questioned the pirates and secretly filmed them before being whisked off by his own gang of armed bodyguards.
Bahadur spent months in Somalia at a time when pirate attacks were skyrocketing in both frequency and violence. His book takes readers through the evolution of the pirate groups from garrulous, self-proclaimed vigilantes who claimed they were protecting Somalia's waters from illegal fishing vessels to the deadly criminal gangs they are today.
The author, now 27, was living with his parents and writing marketing reports about pet food and napkins when he began planning his trip to Somalia. He had never been to Africa before.
"I was thinking I better get picked up at the airport because if I hadn't I would have been kidnapped in 30 minutes," he said. "I was frantically making friends on the plane and I was going to beg one to take me home if no one was there."
But the bodyguards he had arranged for did indeed pick him up, and after a few shaky starts Bahadur was calling on pirates at home, wearing local robes and indulging in local pastimes such as chewing on narcotic khat leaves and gossiping about women and guns.
Bahadur needed the protection. Pirates have turned dangerously violent over the last year, as spiraling ransoms attracted ruthless criminals to a trade once dominated by aggrieved local fishermen. Hijacked crew members have been tortured and ships set on fire. In February, pirates hijacked a yacht and killed the four Americans aboard.
In a trip to the pirate stronghold of Eyl, Bahadur discovered pirates who are afraid of phantom U.S. navy divers and believe in psychic powers. He even describes an incident of panty-thieving on the high seas.
He also found that many widely held beliefs about pirates are wrong, including allegations that they are controlled by international criminal cartels, have alliances with Islamist rebels or use sophisticated intelligence networks. Such assumptions help shape the multibillion dollar fight against piracy.
"You have a lot of people with agendas making claims that aren't backed up by anything," said Bahadur. "I don't really have an agenda. I just tried to use common sense. ... I actually met these people and spoke to them. Most of them had no idea of the outside world."
But it wasn't always easy to get the information he wanted.
Bahadur spent time with a pirate who hit him up for car repairs and even asked for the jeans he was wearing, a request Bahadur politely declined. Eventually the man helped provide a detailed ransom breakdown, matching pirate accounts with the recollections of crew members about the ransom division.
Bahadur discovered that though pirates were paid a $1.8 million ransom to release the Victoria - the ship he saw in Eyl - the guards on board made only $12,000 each, which averaged out to about $10.40 an hour. The biggest share went to the investor backing the pirate team.
The high risks - of arrest, injury or death - that the low-ranking pirates take for a relatively small cut of the ransom reminded him of the situation faced by teenage drug dealers on the corners of American streets.
"Piracy in Somalia and the drug trade in the U.S. have a lot in common," said Bahadur. "They both provide status and an opportunity to advance in society that would be hard to get otherwise."
Bahadur's own relationship to the pirates is complex. He was protected by bodyguards supplied by the son of the president of Puntland, a semiautonomous pirate-infested region in the north, and he does not speak Somali.
One group he interviewed allowed him to test-fire a rifle during a picnic, and he brought back a Toronto Blue Jays baseball T-shirt as a gift for a pirate leader. By his own admission, Bahadur feet some slight admiration for the "reckless courage" of the men he interviewed.
But by the end of the book, the young author was forced to confront the new generation of pirates, gunmen from the interior drawn by the lure of riches and controlled by wealthy financiers. During the tense back-and-forth on the Somali cliff top, a pirate insisted that his hostages are being so well-fed that they would prefer to stay captive.
Bahadur later learned that one hostage was already dead, another gravely wounded.
"I had had the distinct impression that the Dhanane gang would have been as perfectly at ease with slaughtering their captives as ransoming them," he wrote. "Later, when reading news of the casualties the crew had suffered, I was struck by the chilling realization that I had shared tea with murderers."
These men, Bahadur concludes, are the future of piracy.
EU: "Not enough money to feed Somali children", BUT
Mauritius gets 3 mln euros for pirate trials (Reuters)
Mauritius has secured 3 million euros ($4.25 million) from the European Union for the trial and detention of suspected Somali pirates, the Indian ocean island nation said. Rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia has made it the world's most dangerous shipping lane, earned Somali sea bandits tens of millions of dollars in ransoms and raised insurance premiums for shipping firms. "If it (piracy) is allowed to grow at the pace it has in recent years, it could cause considerable damage to our fishing industry, to shipping, to the tourism industry and indeed to our ambition of developing the potential of our exclusive maritime zone," Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth told reporters. International navies trying to counter piracy off Somalia are often reluctant to take suspects to their own countries either because they lack the jurisdiction to put them on trial there or they fear the pirates may seek asylum. Pirates arrested on the high seas are frequently returned to Somalia's lawless shores. "Mauritius has to pass a law on piracy and ... to start implementing the assistance which will come from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC)," Alessandro Mariani, the European Union's ambassador to Mauritius, told Reuters. Mariani said a mission from UNODC was expected in Mauritius in mid-August and by the end of September all the elements should be in place for Mauritius to be able to hold trials of suspected pirates and to jail those convicted.
Outstanding U.S.American naval investigations:
A) Commander of USS STERETT for:
a) Endangering shipping and the marine environment by causing the tanker to float as ghost-ship for two month unattended in the Indian Ocean - thus creating serious danger to navigation and endangering the marine ecosystems in the EEZ of the Seychelles;
b) SY QUEST tragedy provokation.
B) The cowards of Labad (USS OSCAR AUSTIN)
C) The killing, among others, of the Taiwanese captain of FV JIH CHUN TSAI 68, Cpt. Wu Lai-yu by U.S.America naval soldiers (USS STEPHEN GROVES)
etc., etc.
No. 2 officer on San Diego Navy ship Green Bay fired (Sandiego)
The second in command of the San Diego-based amphibious ship Green Bay was fired last Wednesday for what the Navy called personal misconduct. Cmdr. Ralph Jones, the Green Bay's executive officer, was on the ship in the Arabian Sea region as part of a regular deployment of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit when the relief-of-command announcement was made. It is the Green Bay's maiden deployment. A Navy spokesman in San Diego said allegations of personal conduct were confirmed by an investigation of Jones' behavior. The Navy refused to release any more details, citing "privacy concerns."
From the SMCM (Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor): (and with a view on news with an impact on Somalia)
The articles below - except where stated otherwise - are reproduced in accordance with Section 107 of title 17 of the Copyright Law of the United States relating to fair-use and are for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions held by ECOTERRA Intl.
Articles below were vetted and basically found to report correctly - or otherwise are commented.
Somalis say:
NO TO UN-TRUSTEESHIP OVER SOMALIA OR AU AND IGAD MILITARIZATION
NO to military governance on land or naval governance on the Somali seas.
NO to any threat to the sovereignty of Somalia, especially concerning the 200nm territorial waters, given since 1972 and the 200nm EEZ already in place since 1989.
Jerry Rowlings arrives in Mogadishu By Faduma Farah Ali (Sunatimes)
African Union special representative to Somalia, Jerry Rowlings, has on Tuesday arrived in Mogadishu.
Rowlings is now holding talks with AU's deputy envoy to Somalia, Wafula Wamunyiyi, on the current security situation in Somalia and the activities of the Africa Union peacekeeping forces in the country. African Union special representative to Somalia, Jerry Rowlings, has on Tuesday arrived in Mogadishu.
Jerry Rowlings is also scheduled to hold talks with Somalia's TFG president, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and Speaker of the national Assembly, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.
In his trip to Somalia, the African Union special representative to Somalia, Jerry Rowlings, is accompanied by Somalia's ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Ali America.
TOP SOMALI GOV BODYGUARDS SHOOT EACH OTHER
BG OF SHARIF HASSAN KILLED BG OF SHARIF AHMED
Somali presidential guards clash with security details of speaker By Abdisalan Abdulle (SunaTimes)
Reports say, Ali Sharif, a close relative attached to the security details of speaker of the parliament has been but behind bars for creating upheavals in the presidential palace. BG OF SHARIF HASSAN KILLED BG OF SHARIF AHMED
Somali presidential guards clash with security details of speaker By Abdisalan Abdulle (SunaTimes)
Mogadishu (Sunatimes) A high-ranking Somali presidential security officer died and two others seriously wounded after Somalia's presidential guards clashed with the security details of speaker of parliament inside the heavily fortified Somalia's presidential palace in Mogadishu.
During the clash, the three principals of the Somali government, President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, his newly appointed Prime Minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and the speaker of the national Assembly, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan were holding close door meeting inside the presidential palace.
A fierce exchange of gunfire ensued shortly after presidential guards manning the presidential palace refused an entry to the meeting hall, one of the security details of the speaker of Parliament, who was by then armed with pistol.
Reports say, Ali Sharif, a close relative attached to the security details of speaker of the parliament has been but behind bars for creating upheavals in the presidential palace.
This comes a time when the highly expected naming of the Somali cabinet has been postponed indefinitely.
Arab League to send aid to Somalia (AhramOnline)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil El-Arabi calls for support for those affected by Somali drought
Kuwait offers $10 million aid to Somalia By Siham Mohamud (Sunatimes)
Abib Muse Farah said two flights from Kuwait carrying relief aid to drought victims will arriveThe king of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber, has offered $10 million package of aid to help drought-hit population in Somalia.
Somali consul in Kuwait, Abib Muse Farah, told Bar-kulan that Kuwait offered the aid package to Somalia's drought-stricken people after president Sharif called for immediate humanitarian help for drought victims in Somalia.
The $10 million aid package will be managed by the Kuwait's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with the Kuwait Red Crescent Society to provide medicine, food and other necessity desperately needed by the drought displaced people in Somalia
Abib Muse Farah said two flights from Kuwait carrying relief aid to drought victims in Mogadishu is expected to jet in on Wednesday.
Somali is currently facing what the United Nations' refugee agency chief, Antonio guterres, called it as the worst drought in six decades.
Somali children at risk of death on the front line By Alex Duval Smith (TheIndependent)
Armed groups such as al-Shabaab use Somali teenagers to plant explosives in Mogadishu, paying them $1-$100
The brutal reality of childhood in Somalia is laid bare today in a harrowing report that says children under the age of 15 were systematically recruited to fight in the country's decades-long civil war.
Amnesty International warned of a "lost generation" caused by the escalating fighting amid further warnings from the UN that two million children were threatened by a food crisis unfolding in the Horn of Africa. The report said that more thought and money went into protecting shipments of consumer goods from being attacked by pirates off Somalia than on saving children whose lives were destroyed by the war.
"Somalia is not only a humanitarian crisis; it is a human rights crisis. As a child in Somalia you risk death all the time," said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty's deputy director for Africa.
"You can be killed, recruited [as a soldier] and sent to the front line, punished by al-Shabaab for listening to music or wearing the wrong clothes. The humanitarian crisis facing children in Somalia is also the result of al-Shabaab denying access to aid in the last couple of years," she said.
The organisation met children who recounted being at school or playing football when al-Shabaab came to recruit. A 13-year-old girl from Mogadishu said: "Al-Shabaab came in one morning. They said to the teachers that all of the children should move out of class. There was a car outside and they forced the children in. One teacher was killed because he refused to obey."
Testimonies of those that were forced to attend al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam training camps suggest boys are trained to handle guns and explosives while girls are used for domestic work or are forced to marry commanders. A 21-year-old man told researchers that armed groups including al-Shabaab and Jabathul Islamiya used teenagers to plant explosives in Mogadishu. "The bombs given to them came from Yemen and Eritrea. One of the leaders used to give young people between $1 and $100 and give maps and instructions to the young people to do it."
The 90-page study, based on interviews with 200 Somalis who have fled to neighbouring Kenya and Djibouti, reports that children as young as the age of eight have been recruited by fighting groups.
In the past 20 years of fighting in Somalia, more than 2.5 million people are believed to have fled their homes and 750,000 of them are registered as refugees in neighbouring countries. Somalia has become a huddle of warlord chieftainships using Islam to control land and undermine the western-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the peacekeepers of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).
The Amnesty report states that in the first two weeks of May this year, 398 of the 933 patients being treated for weapons-related injuries in Mogadishu hospitals were children under five. The report quotes a man from Beledweyne, near the border with Ethiopia, whose five children were killed by stray projectiles. "I had to pick up their bodies and bury them. The oldest was 12 and the youngest was two years old."
Citing UN figures that one in four children in Somalia is undernourished, Amnesty says al-Shabaab contributed to the current food crisis in the Horn of Africa by blocking aid because it considers food agencies to be linked to the TFG, Amisom or their donors. In recent weeks, however, as the drought in the Horn of Africa has got worse, al-Shabaab has lifted its ban of foreign aid organisations, and food has been delivered to areas of the war-torn country controlled by the Islamist group.
Children in Somalia victims of war crimes, rights group says (dpa)
Children in Somalia face myriad human rights violations, including illegal recruitment as soldiers, harassment by Islamist groups and a life plagued by fear, according to a report by rights group Amnesty International released Wednesday.
Many have been orphaned by the country's civil war, ongoing since the collapse of the central government in 1991, leaving them to fend for themselves, said the report, entitled In the Line of Fire. With a war raging, the school and health systems have collapsed.
Like all Somalis, children face the constant threat of dying in the conflict's crossfire, and the recent recurrence of a severe drought in the past year is forcing more to flee their homes in search of means to survive.
'The international community, including donors, have devoted a huge amount of financial and political resources to the fight against crimes of piracy off the coast of Somalia,' said Benedicte Goderiaux, Amnesty's Somalia researcher and the author of the report.
'In direct contrast, nothing has been done to address accountability for the war crimes which continue to be committed in Somalia and which affect millions of children,' Goderiaux told the German Press Agency dpa.
According to the report, the internationally supported Transitional Federal Government, the Islamist al-Shabab militia and even the African Union peace force in the country are all guilty of violating children's rights.
Amnesty singled out al-Shabab, an extremist group, as blocking the delivery of aid to civilians who are suffering in the humanitarian crisis, while also actively denying children the chance of an education.
According to the UN, only 23 per cent of children of primary school age are enrolled in or attend class, while the mortality rate of those under five is on the rise.
'Children have been victims of floggings and witnessed other horrific human rights abuses, including stonings, amputations and killings carried out in public by armed Islamist groups,' said the rights group.
The report calls for an international Commission of Inquiry to investigate the abuses, while urging world powers to act to protect Somali children.
Eleven Million at Risk in Horn of Africa By Denis Foynes (IPS)
"I have never seen anything like it. Many mothers have lost three or four children. It's a tragedy out here," Austin Kennan, regional director for the Horn of Africa for Concern Worldwide, told IPS from within the crisis zone.
The United Nations and humanitarian workers report that food insecurity is now at emergency levels across the Horn of Africa, affecting Kenya, Ethiopia and especially south Somalia, with 11 million people in dire need of emergency assistance due in part to a major prolonged drought.
"From our point of view, this is the worst drought we have seen in Africa since the 1950s, but it must be remembered that this is not the only factor that led to this level of crisis," Alun McDonald, media and communications officer for the Horn, East and Central Africa at Oxfam, explained to IPS.
"The effects of high staple food prices and the conflicts in the region over the last few decades have become all the more devastating due to the drought," said McDonald, who is based in Nairobi. "This combination has wreaked havoc in the region."
So dire is the situation that the Islamic terror group Al-Shabaab has lifted restrictions on foreign aid workers coming into the areas in Somalia they control.
But many aid workers and agencies are wary of returning. For example, the U.N. World Food Programme states that it won't even consider returning to Al-Shabaab-controlled territory until after an 18-month absence.
Valerie Amos, the U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, spent two days in the region earlier this month. "I spoke with a woman who walked five hours with her children to get help," Amos said. "More and more children are malnourished. Livestock has died as has a way of life. People have lost everything."
Many Somalis have simply abandoned their bone-dry farms and moved into the capital Mogadishu in hopes of avoiding starvation.
Scores of civilians have gone further. The rate of refugees arriving from Somalia into Ethiopia surged from 5,000 a month to 30,000 in the second week of June alone.
The influx is even larger in neighbouring Kenya. The U.N. states that thousands of Somalis crossing the borders are arriving in the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab, in Kenya.
The camp intended for 90,000 people now has around 380,000 refugees and is unable to cope, the U.N. says.
A few miles away from Dadaab lies a brand-new refugee camp built by the U.N. for 20 million dollars in 2010.
Yet it lies empty due to complaints from the Kenyan government that opening the camp will bring too many refugees and provide cover for the Somali terrorist group Al Shabaab among others who have targeted the country in the past.
International Aid
Late last week, a group of UK aid agencies including Concern and Oxfam launched a TV and radio fundraising appeal. The British government has also pledged 52 million pounds in aid to the region.
Since last year, when USAID's Famine Relief Warning System Network saw the crisis coming, the U.S. government has provided a total of 383 million dollars in emergency food and water, health care and hygiene supplies, including 348,000 metric tonnes of food.
But if a swift intervention is not organised by the international community, there are fears of a repeat of the famine in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s, when around one million people died.
"More money and assistance is needed to provide the required levels food and water," McDonald said. "We estimate that around 800 million dollars will be needed to effectively tackle the problem. Slow pledges are being made but quicker action must start now. "
The U.N. is expected shortly to declare the crisis to be a famine in parts of southern Somalia.
The announcement will likely be made by Mark Bowden, humanitarian co- coordinator for Somalia in Nairobi, based on data collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization.
The use of the word "famine" is based on rates of hunger, death and malnutrition. These levels must also be widespread in order to justify the use of the term.
The use of the term is expected to focus more world attention and hence more aid to the troubled area.
McDonald stressed to IPS that, "The work must not stop once this crisis has passed. In the long term, we need to fix a broken system so this doesn't occur again. Issues such as food prices, agriculture dependency and grazing rights need to be tackled."
"We used to see a serious drought in Africa every 10 years, then it became five and now it's every two or three years," he added, in a reference to the global climate changes now occurring due to fossil fuel emissions.
U.N. Special Advisor Jeffrey Sachs agreed, saying at a press conference that, "The famine crisis in Kenya and the Horn of Africa will never be solved by emergency relief operations like what we are seeing now. What is needed is sustained investment in dry lands of the region to pull people out of the extreme poverty."
"The pastoralists have been so poor that whenever they experience drought, they are totally devastated. They need massive investments to strengthen them, not relief supplies," he said.
WHY ONLY NOW?
UN to formally declare famine in Somalia (CTV)
The United Nations is set to declare a famine in drought-ravaged southern Somalia, the first time such a declaration has been made since the early 1990s.
More than 10 million people in the Horn of Africa are in need of emergency assistance due to drought and ongoing conflict, according to the UN
The famine announcement is expected Wednesday in Nairobi, and will be the first time the UN has declared a famine since 1992. It signals to donors the extreme need for more aid, and warns insurgents in Somalia that the population's suffering is taken seriously by the world community.
The formal conditions for famine are two adult deaths or four children deaths from hunger per 10,000 people a day, more than 30 per cent of children must be suffering from acute malnutrition and the population must have access to less than 2,100 kilocalories of food per day.
The drought, the worst seen in the region in 60 years, decimated the region's livestock and fields, both the only source of income and food for many people.
Thousands of people are arriving daily at large refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, raising fears of disease due to poor sanitation and overcrowding.
The population in Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in Kenya, has swelled to more than 380,000 people.
On Tuesday, the UN said that it needs further safety guarantees from armed groups in Somalia if it is to help those in need.
Somalia's most dangerous militant group, al-Shabab, has promised aid groups limited access to areas under their control. The group banned foreign agencies two years ago.
Oxfam said on Tuesday night that only around $200 million in new money has been provided for relief efforts so far. An estimated $1 billion is needed to stave off a major humanitarian catastrophe.
Meanwhile, top Canadian charities have banded together to address the Somalia crisis.
A network of five Canadian NGOs, including CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Quebec, Plan Canada and Save the Children Canada, are uniting to tackle the relief efforts.
The Humanitarian Coalition aims to reduce unnecessary competition, better educate the public on humanitarian needs, increase the impact of Canadian humanitarian responses and reduce administrative costs.
Canada has contributed more than $11 million to the crisis.
SOMALIA: Time for immediate action on famine (IRIN)
The humanitarian crisis in Somalia has degenerated into a famine in two regions and could get worse because respite from drought, a major cause of the crisis, which is compounded by insecurity, lack of aid and food price inflation, is unlikely until December or January 2012, the UN warned.
"We still do not have all the resources for food, clean water, shelter and health services to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Somalis in desperate need," Mark Bowden, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said. Immediate action was required to avoid famine spreading to all eight regions of southern Somalia.
"Every day of delay is literally a matter of life or death for children and their families in the famine-affected areas," Bowden told a news conference in Nairobi on 20 July.
"This is a time for exceptional actions" in terms of the speed at which aid is delivered, and the conditions under which donors should be willing to give, he added.
With malnutrition rates topping 50 percent in some districts, the UN announced that famine had hit Lower Shabelle and southern Bakool regions.
A recent assessment, Bowden said, highlighted "the shocking severity of the crisis", confirming that the rest of Somalia was "close to famine conditions".
According to the Integrated Phase Classification's five-point scale [: http://irinnews.org/printreport.aspx?reportid=93151 ], a famine is declared when at least 20 percent of households face extreme food shortages with limited ability to cope, the prevalence of global acute malnutrition exceeds 30 percent and crude death rates exceed two deaths per 10,000 people per day.
But naming a food crisis a famine does not legally require action in the way that announcing a genocide would, despite the politicization of the term and the gravity of the label.
"Morally speaking, famine is a term that must elicit moral indignation," said Bruno Geddo, a representative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
"Emotionally, it should push people to do more." World Food Programme (WFP) executive director, Josette Sheeran, said: "WFP saw this emergency coming... It is now vital that the coalition of international action - involving United Nations agencies, governments, non-governmental organizations and regional organizations - quickly receive generous support and donations required to make a difference."
Recently, Al Shabab militia, which control parts of Somalia, requested international food assistance. The inability of agencies to work in the region since early 2010 had prevented aid from reaching the very hungry, especially children, contributing to the crisis. Mounting death toll "Some 11,000 people have died due to drought in the past 45 days, 9,000 of them in the Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions, the rest in other regions in south-central Somalia,"
Abdikadir Hirsi Shekhdon, a member of the government drought committee, said in Mogadishu. "The government and the public are helping the vulnerable people," he added. "For example, the president has distributed 1,000 tents, 1,000 blankets and 1,000 mats to some of the displaced in Mogadishu." But with nearly half of the Somali population - 3.7 million people - in crisis, of whom an estimated 2.8 million people are in the south, the scale of the crisis is huge.
"Today the world's attention is on my country but I ask the world to address the fundamental causes of this humanitarian catastrophe and urgently ask for the resources needed to rebuild the Somali state in the midst of an ongoing conflict," Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said.
"This is going to get worse for the Somali people, before it gets better." The crisis has forced thousands of Somalis to seek refuge in the capital, Mogadishu. "After two years of consecutive drought and the death of all our livestock, I decided to head for Mogadishu in the hope of saving my children," Farhiya Osman Ahmed, 28, said. "Upon reaching the city, my children fell ill," she told IRIN.
"I don't know what disease they were suffering from. Three of them died and the fourth one is still sick; his condition has worsened in the past two weeks."
Warning signs
The humanitarian community has stepped up its response to the crisis, some by setting up cash-for-work or cash relief activities and distributing food. Action Contre la Faim, for example, is airlifting tons of food into Somalia, and UNHCR has added oral rehydration salts, high protein biscuits and water purification tablets to its emergency kits, items not usually included. "So far donors have committed less than US$200 million, leaving an $800 million black hole," Oxfam GB said in reference to humanitarian funding needs for the Horn of Africa before the famine announcement.
Help is still months away, yet warning signs were being reported a year ago by the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) and the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit. According to Chris Hillbruner, FEWS NET's decision and planning support adviser, the crisis shows that relatively good and accurate information when provided well in advance should help crisis response.
Bowden told IRIN that although the early warning information and analysis was exceptional, it had not translated into prevention.
"In Somalia, there is a mismatch between warning and response," he said. "We must listen to our early warning systems and safeguard the impartiality of our humanitarian responses." Fran Equiza, Oxfam's regional director, called for quick global action to avoid a repeat of such crises.
"Emergency aid is vital right now, but we also need to ask why this has happened, and how we can stop it ever happening again," she said. "The warning signs have been seen for months, and the world has been slow to act. Much greater long-term investment is needed in food production and basic development to help people cope with poor rains and ensure that this is the last famine in the region."
UN declares first famine in Africa for three decades as US withholds aid By Mike Pflanz (TheTelegraph)
The UN declaration will be the first in a series of 'food crises' in the Horn of Africa
Tens of millions of dollars in urgently-needed US aid for Somalia are being withheld even as parts of the country are set on Wednesday to be declared a famine zone.
The UN declaration will be the first in a series of 'food crises' in the Horn of Africa
Tens of millions of dollars in urgently-needed US aid for Somalia are being withheld even as parts of the country are set on Wednesday to be declared a famine zone.
Conditions in the country, hit first by war and then by drought, are so severe in some places what was an "emergency" has now tipped into a "catastrophe", the UN will say.
In parts of one of the two regions to be officially certified, 10 times the number of people are dying than the official threshold classifying famine. Tens of thousands are believed to have already have died in the south of the country.
The UN declaration will be the first in a series of "food crises" in the Horn of Africa, and the first time the term famine has officially been used since almost a million Ethiopians starved to death in 1984.
In parts of one of the two regions to be officially certified, 10 times the number of people are dying than the official threshold classifying famine. Tens of thousands are believed to have already have died in the south of the country.
The UN declaration will be the first in a series of "food crises" in the Horn of Africa, and the first time the term famine has officially been used since almost a million Ethiopians starved to death in 1984.
But Washington, the world's biggest donor to Somalia until 2009, is now barred from funding food appeals if its money risks "materially benefiting" terrorists.
The new rules, from the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, came into force after reports that al-Shabaab, Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked insurgents, were taxing food convoys, stealing supplies and threatening agencies' workers.
Since then, US aid spending in Somalia has fallen by 88 per cent, from more than £150m in 2008 to £13m this year.
By contrast, UN figures show that funding from other international donors including Britain has increased in the same period, largely channelled through local organisations and the few UN agencies still operating in southern Somalia.
That has still not been enough to avert the current disaster, said Jeremy Konyndyk, policy director with Mercy Corps in the US, which was affected by the anti-terror rules.
"Avoiding aid diversion is important, but the US's overzealous approach led to a damaging collapse in US humanitarian support to Somalia," he said.
"This has undermined humanitarian response and preparedness and other donors have been unable pick up the slack."
Oxfam, which warns on Wednesday of a half-billion pound "black hole" in funding for drought appeals for 11 million people across the Horn of Africa, said that the world had failed to respond quickly enough to what was a "predictable disaster".
"If more action had been taken earlier we would not now be at the stage where so many people are facing starvation," said Fran Equiza, Oxfam's regional director for the Horn of Africa.
Since Britain's Disasters Emergency Committee launched urgent appeals, more than £20m has been raised from individual donors.
The Government has pledged another £90m for what David Cameron called "the most catastrophic situation for a generation" in the Horn of Africa.
The scale of the outstanding need, however, meant that even "something very creative that has not happened before, like Live Aid" will not be enough, said a senior adviser to one British charity.
"It is only government level responses, from across all of the international community, that will have an impact now," he said.
The withdrawal of US funds for southern Somalia, coupled with al-Shabaab's long-held belligerence towards foreigners, were "now costing lives", said Mr Konyndyk of Mercy Corps.
He added: "The aid effort will remain totally inadequate if legal restrictions force the US to remain on the sidelines".
It is hoped that Wednesday's expected declaration of famine will spur Washington into a change of heart, and extend "good faith" deals that lift threats of prosecution of aid workers if future US aid is found to have been stolen by al-Shabaab.
Johnnie Carson, Hillary Clinton's deputy in charge of African affairs, said that Washington "had not and would not" talk to al-Shabaab.
He said, however, that the US was talking with organisations working in Somalia "see what their reception has been" since the Islamists' offer of an amnesty for aid deliveries last week.
"We are committed to doing all that we possibly can to assist the people of Somalia," he told The Daily Telegraph.
"The thing that we are clearly not trying to do is to allow food that is intended for victims to be siphoned off by an international terrorist group."
Some agencies, including Unicef, with support from Britain, have begun delivering airdropped supplies into Islamist-held areas.
However, mistrust of the Islamists is holding many back from increasing the scope of their operations in insurgent-held areas.
"We do have a very minimal presence," Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN's refugee agency UNHCR, said in Geneva.
"We need significantly better access than we have at the moment to address an emergency of this scale."
Under international law, there is no mandated extra response which must follow from an "official" declaration of famine.
But it is hoped that the first official use of the term in Africa since Band Aid 27 years ago will stand as a "wake-up call" to governments, including some in Europe and almost all in Africa, who have so far failed to respond.
The definition of famine agreed by most British aid agencies and the UN is designed to be very precise in order to avoid it losing potency.
A five-stage technical classification system calculates when a series of indicators become so severe that a â humanitarian emergency' tips into famine/humanitarian catastrophe'.
For Phase 5, the most severe, death rates are two people per 10,000, 30 per cent or more of the population are acutely malnourished and needing special feeding, and people can access less than 4 litres of water and 2,100 kcal of food per day.
Mark Bowden, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, is expected to say today that two regions of the country's south, all under control of al-Shabaab, have reached the threshold. The regions are Lower Shabelle and Bakool.
By contrast, UN figures show that funding from other international donors including Britain has increased in the same period, largely channelled through local organisations and the few UN agencies still operating in southern Somalia.
That has still not been enough to avert the current disaster, said Jeremy Konyndyk, policy director with Mercy Corps in the US, which was affected by the anti-terror rules.
"Avoiding aid diversion is important, but the US's overzealous approach led to a damaging collapse in US humanitarian support to Somalia," he said.
"This has undermined humanitarian response and preparedness and other donors have been unable pick up the slack."
Oxfam, which warns on Wednesday of a half-billion pound "black hole" in funding for drought appeals for 11 million people across the Horn of Africa, said that the world had failed to respond quickly enough to what was a "predictable disaster".
"If more action had been taken earlier we would not now be at the stage where so many people are facing starvation," said Fran Equiza, Oxfam's regional director for the Horn of Africa.
Since Britain's Disasters Emergency Committee launched urgent appeals, more than £20m has been raised from individual donors.
The Government has pledged another £90m for what David Cameron called "the most catastrophic situation for a generation" in the Horn of Africa.
The scale of the outstanding need, however, meant that even "something very creative that has not happened before, like Live Aid" will not be enough, said a senior adviser to one British charity.
"It is only government level responses, from across all of the international community, that will have an impact now," he said.
The withdrawal of US funds for southern Somalia, coupled with al-Shabaab's long-held belligerence towards foreigners, were "now costing lives", said Mr Konyndyk of Mercy Corps.
He added: "The aid effort will remain totally inadequate if legal restrictions force the US to remain on the sidelines".
It is hoped that Wednesday's expected declaration of famine will spur Washington into a change of heart, and extend "good faith" deals that lift threats of prosecution of aid workers if future US aid is found to have been stolen by al-Shabaab.
Johnnie Carson, Hillary Clinton's deputy in charge of African affairs, said that Washington "had not and would not" talk to al-Shabaab.
He said, however, that the US was talking with organisations working in Somalia "see what their reception has been" since the Islamists' offer of an amnesty for aid deliveries last week.
"We are committed to doing all that we possibly can to assist the people of Somalia," he told The Daily Telegraph.
"The thing that we are clearly not trying to do is to allow food that is intended for victims to be siphoned off by an international terrorist group."
Some agencies, including Unicef, with support from Britain, have begun delivering airdropped supplies into Islamist-held areas.
However, mistrust of the Islamists is holding many back from increasing the scope of their operations in insurgent-held areas.
"We do have a very minimal presence," Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN's refugee agency UNHCR, said in Geneva.
"We need significantly better access than we have at the moment to address an emergency of this scale."
Under international law, there is no mandated extra response which must follow from an "official" declaration of famine.
But it is hoped that the first official use of the term in Africa since Band Aid 27 years ago will stand as a "wake-up call" to governments, including some in Europe and almost all in Africa, who have so far failed to respond.
The definition of famine agreed by most British aid agencies and the UN is designed to be very precise in order to avoid it losing potency.
A five-stage technical classification system calculates when a series of indicators become so severe that a â humanitarian emergency' tips into famine/humanitarian catastrophe'.
For Phase 5, the most severe, death rates are two people per 10,000, 30 per cent or more of the population are acutely malnourished and needing special feeding, and people can access less than 4 litres of water and 2,100 kcal of food per day.
Mark Bowden, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, is expected to say today that two regions of the country's south, all under control of al-Shabaab, have reached the threshold. The regions are Lower Shabelle and Bakool.
Al-Shabab lifts airlift ban for starving Somalis (CatholicOnline)
The U.N. Children's Fund, or UNICEF on Sunday airlifted emergency nutrition supplies and water equipment to the town of Baidoa. The delivery included five tons of food and medicine to treat malnourished children. Included in the shipment was equipment to supply clean water for a camp near Baidoa that houses refugees.
The U.N. says it plans to send supplies to Mogadishu, the capital controlled by the internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government. Supplies will include kits with essential medicine to treat childhood illnesses such as respiratory tract infections, diarrhea and worm infestations in up to 100,000 people for three months.
UNICEF says that about 11 million people need humanitarian assistance in the Horn of Africa. UNICEF also estimates that about half a million Somali children face life-threatening conditions that could have long-lasting consequences for their physical and mental development.
Described by a U.S. official as one of the worst humanitarian crisis in decades, the East African hunger crisis has prompted stepped-up efforts by Western countries to provide relief.
Tens of thousands of Somali refugees are flooding camps in Ethiopia and Kenya - at a rate of more than 3,000 new arrivals per day - in search of food after several seasons without rain killed livestock and destroyed crops in Somalia.
Duncan Harvey, the acting country director for Save the Children in Ethiopia, has said that "in terms of the sheer numbers of people affected, this is one of the worst droughts the world has seen in a long time."
A senior U.N. official warned that the plight of millions of people left hungry was set to worsen, with the next rains expected in October and harvests months away.
"We are possibly seeing a perfect storm in the coming months ... We are going to do everything we can to ameliorate it," Anthony Lake, the UNICEF director said.
"We are scaling up in every way we can ... It is very bad now. There will be no major harvests until some time next year.
"The next six months are going to be very tough."
Will the International Community Have to Funnel Their Aid Through a Terrorist Organization? By Christopher R Albon (UNdispatch)
East Africa is suffering its worst drought in 60 years and millions are streaming towards already crowded refugee camps. One of the largest, at Dabaab, was built in the early 90s for 90,000 refugees. Today the camp contains 400,000 people, making it the largest refugee camp in the world — and it is still growing. According to one source 1,000 new refugees are arriving in the camp per day. In response, the international community has pressured the Kenyan government to open a new refugee camp built in 2010. (Previously, the Kenyan government has blocked the camp from opening, fearing it would encourage more refugees to enter their country from Somalia.)
Even Al Shabaab, the Islamic rebel group battling for control of Somalia has acknowledged the danger of the drought and removed its ban on humanitarian organizations operating inside its territory. However, it is not that simple. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Tara Vassefi in The Atlantic argue that Al Shabaab might be able to use international aid in Somalia to further its battle against the government:
Shabaab's propensity to extract economic gain from relief agencies also presents a challenge for U.S. policy. The U.S. has pledged $5 million to assist Somalis who have been struck by this drought. But, at the same time, U.S. policy is designed to prevent money from flowing to organizations like Shabaab, which has been named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity by the U.S. Treasury Department. Humanitarian organizations that provide money to such groups can face legal repercussions, even if it's extracted from them unwillingly as a "tax."As Gartenstein-Ross and Vassefi point out, the desire of the international community to assist the millions in need in East Africa is undermined by the very real risk that the aid will help their enemies. Without the ability to guarantee that international aid will not flow into the hands of groups like Shabaab, governments might well be reluctant to provide the amount of aid necessary to assist the desperate millions living and dying in the Horn of Africa.
Kidnapped: Life as a Somali Pirate Hostage by Colin Freeman: - review By Simon Scott Plummer (TheTelegraph)
Iraq and Somalia are not the sort of places you would visit unless they were in your line of business. Colin Freeman went to the first as a freelance reporter to flee the tedium of door-stepping minor celebrities for the London Evening Standard. He found himself in the right place at the right time and ended up as chief foreign correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph.
As such, he was asked to go to Somalia in the autumn of 2008 to report on the most extraordinary criminal phenomenon of recent years, the growth of Somali piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The cost to shipping and insurance companies and the governments that have contributed to the international naval task force attempting to control this racket runs into billions of pounds.
Freeman's brief, following the hijacking of the oil tanker Sirius Star (later ransomed for $3m), was to interview a pirate about why he did what he did. With a Spanish photographer, José Cendon, he landed at Bossaso in Puntland, a region which has declared semi-autonomy from the rest of the country, and, with the obligatory help of fixers, set about his task.
The fixers turned out to be in cahoots with a kidnapping gang, a fact Freeman and Cendon only discovered after spending 40 days as its hostages in various caves in Somalia's dauntingly arid interior.
The author is obviously of stern stuff. In Iraq he was shot in the backside by a member of the Shia Mahdi Army. In Somalia he endured the terrible uncertainty of not knowing whether he would be released or killed. Neither seems to have caused any personal trauma. Rather, in both The Curse of the Al Dulaimi Hotel, his last book, and Kidnapped, his new one, he treats these grim experiences with a self-deprecating humour which at times makes one laugh out loud.
The appeal in what he writes lies in its lack of pretentiousness and its honesty about the baser side of his character. He admits that thrill-seeking plays as much a part in his reporting as bearing witness. The $3m demanded by the gang for his release seems "rather a lot for a grubby hack like me".
He feels a surge of guilt about the pain which his "reckless selfishness" might be causing his parents and his girlfriend, Jane. He lacks the guts to attempt an escape for fear of the beating that might follow. And he finds himself ill-equipped to cope with boredom: "There was something uniquely life-sapping about a routine where you woke up and then spent the rest of the day doing nothing."
Fortunately, he had in Cendon an English-speaking companion with whom to share his ordeal. "As a hostage," he writes, "there is only so much time that can be spent musing profoundly on the nature of life and death: it is helpful to be able to while some of the hours away talking light-hearted twaddle."
As well as telling his own story, Freeman is illuminating on how Somalia's desperate poverty and political anarchy drive people into piracy, and on the near impossible task of controlling it.
He takes the example of a kidnapper who may be condemned by a European court, receive a brief prison sentence and then, on release, claim political asylum, thus escaping the misery back home. He also writes about Britain's Somali community, estimated at more than 100,000, its propensity for crime and the danger of its being radicalised by Islamic extremists.
One finishes this book admiring the author's wit in adversity and enlightened on one of the least known parts of the world. But one question remains: what was the deal, political and/or financial, which secured the hostages' release? On that Freeman is resolutely coy. [N.B.: Mr. Freeman actually is said by security analysts to not have been captured by sea-pirates but by a kidnapper gang involving his own security guards from Puntland. But being held hostage for ransom is in any case a horrible and life-changing experience for most. Somalis must stand up against this national shame and these heinous crimes.]
President Farole says Somali consultative meeting will be held in Garowe, not Mogadishu (Mareeg)
A/rahman (now Sheikh) Mohamud Farole, president of semi-autonomous regions of Puntland told on Sunday that UN-consultative meeting for Somalis will be held in Garowe of Puntland, not Mogadishu, reports said.
In press conference Puntland president, Farole held today in Garowe city, the capital of autonomous regions of Puntland administration said that the consultative talks could not be caught in Mogadishu saying that Amisom and the T.F.G don't control the city completely and was not secure.
The consultative talks will be held in Garowe and he who refuse it thinks badly, Puntland President, Farole said.
He called warring militias in Mudug region for peace and forget grudges between them.
Farole also called Somali people for quick help to the poor people who hit the severe drought in the southern parts of the country.
How Broadband will get to Somalia By Jeffrey Swindle (Global Broadband & Innovation)
Last week, I interviewed Mohamed Ahmed Jama, CEO of Dalkom Somalia and board member of Frontier Optical Networks Ltd (FON) in Kenya. Jama described four potential Broadband cables that could be a part of a terrestrial backbone throughout East Africa, including in Somalia. A fifth was announced yesterday in Somaliland.
Though all three of these proposed links are just that—proposals—they are indicative of the rapid growth of Broadband connectivity in the region. Most East African governments are actively engaged in rolling out backbone terrestrial networks, while four years ago the World Bank called East African connectivity the world's only "missing link."
South Sudan is working with the CTO to develop an ICT strategic plan; Burundi recently received funding from the World Bank; and Uganda has also invested as well. And private companies are facilitating the expansion of Broadband cables as well as they are working with the national governments to lay the cables and to fund the projects.
The East African Backhaul System was recently announced as a combined $400 million partnership between Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo governments and a variety of private telecoms. The unique partnerships between the public and private sector make the ICT space in East Africa distinct from other regions.
Potential backbone networks in Somalia, Ethiopia, and South Sudan are outlined below:
* Somalia's Connection to EASSy Cables
According to Jama, Dalkom Somalia has built two cable landing sites in Somalia from the EASSy submarine cable, one in Somaliland and the other in Mogadishu, Somalia. Unfortunately, the government of Somaliland revoked Dalkom's license last year before the cable was completed (scheduled to be finished in October, 2010).
The Somaliland government claimed that they had already signed an agreement with a local company, SomCable. However, no additional work has been carried out since last year, leaving construction at a stand-still and the region unconnected. In Mogadishu, on the other hand, the landing cable lays ready to be used, but remains unconnected due to security issues at the site. To make matters more frustrating, Dalkom has funding, contracts awarded and the regulatory approval to extend the cables from the landing site inward, creating a national terrestrial backbone. Security issues in the area are the only contingency.
* Mombasa—Nairobi—Moyale, Ethiopia Cable
The EASSy submarine cable has been extended inland previously from Mombasa to Nairobi. For the past year, discussions have been underway been the Kenyan and Ethiopian government on possibly constructing a terrestrial cable from Nairobi to Moyale, on the Ethiopian border. However, with FON's assistance, the cable has been built, but is yet to be lighted. The only remaining holdup is to sign an agreement of understanding with the Ethiopia government, which has historically been reluctant to work with private sector ICT companies.
* Somalia—Kenya Connection
According to Jama, there is 560 km remaining between fiber optic terrestrial backbone cables in Somalia and the state of Mandera in Northeastern Kenya. Jama proposes that the Kenyan government bring the fiber to the border, and then Dalkom Somalia would complete the Somali side.
This connection would connect Somalia to the African backbone network. However, there has been intermittent violence on the Kenya-Somalia border in Mandera, with the most recent issue being a land mine blast that killed eleven Kenyan officers. The volatility of the border could potentially lead to another security standstill before lighting the fiber, like in Mogadisho. Dalkom and the governments, then, need to concern themselves not only with the technical issues and construction of the remaining fiber, but also on the political instability of the region.
* Juba—Lokichogio Link
Southern Sudan and Kenya plan to construct a fiber optic cable link between the two nations as part of a larger project entitled "four-in-one." The project includes the construction of a railway line from Lodwar-Lokichogio to Juba, road rehabilitation, an oil pipeline, and fiber optic cables. Currently, the governments need to conduct a feasibility test given the mountainous nature of the route, especially the Great Rift Valley. In all likelihood, the project will not be finished before 2015.
* Djibouti—Somaliland SomCable
SomCable, supported by the interim government in the territory of Somaliland, reportedly signed an agreement to buy the necessary buildings and licensing in Djibouti to route the EASSy cable into Berbera and throughout Somaliland. The President of SomCable, Mohammed Gueti, announced his recent acquisitions just yesterday.
Gueti has strong ties with the president of Djibouti's family, arguably giving his company an advantage over Dalkom Somalia at winning the contract. However, as Jama points out, construction has yet to begin on this cable line, possibly suggesting that the announcement is merely a political move by the government of Somaliland as Gueti does has any rights to extend the EASSY Cable. Neither purchases any capacity from the members of the Consortium.
U.N. declares famine in two regions of south Somalia By Katy Migiro (Reuters)
The United Nations declared famine in two regions of southern Somalia Wednesday and said it could quickly spread unless donors took action.
Mark Bowden, humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle had been hit by the worst famine in the region for 20 years.
The U.N. is proposing "exceptional measures" of providing "cash relief" while it finds ways of getting larger volumes of food aid into southern Somalia, Bowden said. The U.N. is also appealing for $300 million over the next two months for Somalia.
"If we don't act now, famine will spread to all eight regions of southern Somalia within two months, due to poor harvests and infectious disease outbreaks," Bowden said.
"Every day of delay in assistance is literally a matter of life or death for children and their families in the famine-affected areas."
The U.N. said 3.7 million people across the war-ravaged Horn of Africa country, or almost half the population, were now in danger. Of them 2.8 million are in the south.
In the worst-affected areas, half the children are malnourished. "It is likely that tens of thousands will already have died, the majority of those being children," Bowden said.
Years of drought, that have also affected Kenya and Ethiopia, have hit harvests and conflict has made it extremely difficult for agencies to operate and access communities in the south of the country.
The south is controlled by al Shabaab Islamist insurgents, affiliated to al Qaeda, who are fighting to topple the Western-backed government. The group also controls parts of the capital Mogadishu and central Somalia.
In early July, the rebels lifted a ban on food aid which they had said created dependency. Some analysts say they are allowing aid in because they fear a public backlash if they do not. Others say the rebels want bribes.
"CASH RELIEF"
The U.N. has said the inability of food agencies to work in the region since early 2010 because of the ban had contributed to the crisis.
"If cash is made available, that will enable the market to continue to function," said Luca Alinovi, head of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization in Somalia.
The U.N. is working to improve its access to airstrips in al Shabaab-controlled territory so that it can import large volumes of food into the country, Bowden said.
Nearly 135,000 Somalis have fled since January, mainly to Kenya and Ethiopia. An average of 1,700 and 1,300 Somalis are arriving in Ethiopia and Kenya respectively each day.
The U.N. defines famine as at least 20 percent of households facing extreme food shortages, a crude mortality rate of more than 2 people per 10,000 per day and malnutrition rates of above 30 percent.
UN wants security guarantees for Somalia aid work (AP)
The United Nations said Tuesday it needs further safety guarantees from armed groups in Somalia if it is to help hundreds of thousands of people in need of emergency aid because of drought and conflict in the East African country. Aid groups have struggled to reach many of those affected because armed groups banished them from large parts of southern Somalia starting in 2009.
With thousands of people now on the brink of starvation, Somalia's most dangerous militant group, al-Shabab, has promised aid groups limited access to areas under their control.
But the U.N. refugee agency, which has distributed aid to 90,000 people in the capital Mogadishu and in southwest Somalia in recent days, said this wasn't enough.
"The situation we have for humanitarian workers inside Somalia at the moment is not what we want it to be," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva. "We do have a very minimal presence, and we have regular visits into the country, but we need significantly better access than we have at the moment to address an emergency of this scale."
The global body says over 11 million people in the region known as the Horn of Africa need emergency assistance after what is considered the worst drought in 60 years. Many have left their homes seeking help in large refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, making it easier for aid groups to reach them but raising the prospect of disease epidemics from large population movements and poor sanitation.
In Washington, Reuben Brigety, who oversees the State Department's refugee programs for Africa, said up to half of Somali refugees arriving at camps are suffering from acute malnutrition. He said that refugee flows of 3,200 a day could rise "still more dramatically" as hungry people seek assistance in neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya.
Brigety, who visited camps in those countries last week, praised their governments for pledging to keep their borders open. But he said donor nations must do more to deliver food and supplies inside Somalia.
So far, the U.N. has stopped short of calling the situation in East Africa a famine, though the formal conditions for it — two deaths per 10,000 — are present across at least parts of the border region between Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
"If you look at what's going on the ground, you look at the pictures, you listen to what everybody is saying, it's a very serious situation, whether you use that word or not," Emilia Casella, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program, told The Associated Press.
WFP has offices in four regions of Somalia from where it is trying to feed 1.5 million people, she said.
But the agency estimates that as many as 1 million people are in areas it can't currently access.
"Once we have the assurances of security and the ability to have full access to deliver and distribute and monitor, then we will be prepared to go back in," said Casella.
USAID's deputy administrator Don Steinberg said he would meet with aid officials from other wealthy governments on Wednesday in London to discuss what could be done to help.
Terrorism law blocking U.S. aid to Somali 'catastrophe' By Mike Pflanz (TheDailyTelegraph)
The United Nations is set to declare famine in parts of southern Somalia, aid officials said on Tuesday, signalling to donors the need for more aid and to insurgents that the population's suffering is taken seriously.
Urgently needed U.S. aid for Somalia worth tens of millions of dollars is being withheld as parts of the country are today to be officially declared a famine zone.
Urgently needed U.S. aid for Somalia worth tens of millions of dollars is being withheld as parts of the country are today to be officially declared a famine zone.
But Washington, the world's biggest donor to Somalia until 2009, is now barred from funding food appeals if there is a risk its aid will "materially benefiting" terrorists.
The new rules, from the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, came into force after reports that al-Shabaab, Somalia's al-Qaida-linked insurgents, were taxing food convoys, stealing supplies and threatening agencies' workers.
Since then, U.S. aid spending in Somalia has fallen by 88 per cent, from more than pounds 150?million in 2008 to pounds 13?million this year. By contrast, UN figures show that funding from other international donors including Britain has increased in the same period, largely channelled through local organisations and the few UN agencies still operating in southern Somalia.
That has still not been enough to avert the current disaster, said Jeremy Konyndyk, a policy director with Mercy Corps in the U.S., which has been affected by the anti-terror rules.
"Avoiding aid diversion is important, but the U.S.'s overzealous approach led to a damaging collapse in U.S. humanitarian support to Somalia," he said. "This has undermined humanitarian response and preparedness and other donors have been unable pick up the slack."
Oxfam, which warns today of a half-billion pound "black hole" in funding for drought appeals for 11?million people in the Horn of Africa, said that the world had failed to respond quickly enough to what was a "predictable disaster".
"If more action had been taken earlier we would not now be at the stage where so many people are facing starvation," said Fran Equiza, Oxfam's regional director for the Horn of Africa.
In parts of one of the two regions to be officially certified as in famine, the number of people dying exceeds the official threshold for that classification by a factor of 10.
Since Britain's disasters emergency committee launched urgent appeals, more than pounds 20?million has been raised from individual donors.
The Government has pledged a further pounds 90?million for what David Cameron called "the most catastrophic situation for a generation" in the Horn of Africa.
The scale of the outstanding need, however, meant that even "something very creative, like Live Aid" will not be enough, said a senior adviser to one British charity. "It is only government-level responses, from across all of the international community, that will have an impact now," he said.
The withdrawal of U.S. funds for southern Somalia, coupled with al-Shabaab's long-held belligerence towards foreigners, was "now costing lives", said Mr Konyndyk.
He added: "The aid effort will remain totally inadequate if legal restrictions force the U.S. to remain on the sidelines".
It is hoped that today's declaration of famine will spur Washington into a change of heart, although Johnnie Carson, Hillary Clinton's deputy in charge of African affairs, said that Washington "had not and would not" talk to al-Shabaab.
Some agencies, including Unicef, with support from Britain, have begun delivering airdropped supplies into Islamist-held areas.
However, mistrust of the Islamists is holding many back from increasing the scope of their operations in insurgent-held areas. "We do have a very minimal presence," Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN's refugee agency UNHCR, said in Geneva.
"We need significantly better access than we have at the moment to address an emergency of this scale."
Under international law, there is no mandated extra response which must follow from an "official" declaration of famine. But it is hoped that the first official use of the term in Africa since Band Aid 27 years ago will stand as a "wake-up call" to governments, including some in Europe and almost all in Africa, which have so far failed to respond.
--
Famine: the UN definition
The UN uses the five-stage Integrated Phase Classification.
Phase 4, a Humanitarian Emergency, is when up to two people per 10,000 are dying each day; when acute malnutrition rates are between 15 per cent and 30 per cent; almost all livestock has been lost and there is less than 7.5lt of water available each day per person.
Phase 5, Famine/Humanitarian Catastrophe, means more than two people per 10,000 die each day, acute malnutrition is above 30 per cent, all livestock is dead, and there is less than 2,100 kcal of food and 4 lt of water available per person per day.
- FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD (with an influence on Somalia and the water wars) :
"We're fighting terrorists, pirates, and militias. What happened to the days when we fought uniformed armies?"
SEE ALL THE ARTICLES BELOW LIKE A PICTURE, A COLLAGE AND LET THE MAIN COLOUR SINK IN. THEN LISTEN TO THE FINE TUNES AND DETAILS AND COME TO YOUR OWN CONCLUSION. WE TRY TO BALANCE THE FALSE PICTURE IMPLANTED INTO YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS BY THE MAINSTREAM'S RULERS - THE POWERS THAT BE.
Crocodile Tears As Food Aid Blockade Continues in Horn of Africa By Thomas C. Mountain (Sri Lanka Guardian)
As predicted here in the Sri Lanka Guardian - and many other sources, crocodile tears have begun to run down the faces of the likes of Anthony Lake, CIA director nominee turned Executive Director of UNICEF, as some 15 million people starve in the Horn of Africa. Tony Lake appeals to the world for tens, no, hundreds of millions of dollars to save the starving people of Ethiopia and Somalia, never once telling you that the majority, some 10 million, are in the Ogaden and Oromia regions and being subjected to a western funded food aid blockade by the Ethiopian military.
Another five million people, maybe more, are starving in Somalia. The heads of the western food agencies are loath to admit that a million or more of those starving are refugees created by the UN funded Ethiopian and AU armies invading and occupying Somali since 2006. The very same refugees who had their minimum survival rations cut by 70% by the likes of Tony Lake due to "funding shortfalls" before all the crocodile tears began to flow.
Since 2008 and the defeat and withdrawal of the Ethiopian army which invaded Somalia in 2006, the UN and its military wing in the African Union have intervened directly in the "war on terror" in Somalia in the form of some 10,000 troops, mostly from Uganda.
In the past 3 years the UN/AU army has laid waste to over half of Somalia's former capital of Mogadishu. Some 30 square miles of Mogadishu have been pretty much obliterated by heavy artillery, mortars, tanks and helicopter gun ships operated by the Ugandan army. In the last 3 years some 500,000 or more Somali residents of Mogadishu have had to flee for their lives due to the relentless UN/AU offensive, joining the half a million refugees created by the Ethiopian invasion.
The drought ravaging the Horn of Africa is already four years old and has developed into the worst drought to hit the region in 60 years. With the onset of drought in 2007 came the onset of a major counterinsurgency in the Ogaden region by the Ethiopian military, marked paid in full by the western aid and financial institutions. And with the counterinsurgency came the need to cover up this crime and so the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders were expelled. Out of sight, out of mind is the slogan today for most of the international media with no camera crews, no journalists, no news at all if they can help it about the 10 million facing forced starvation in south east and south west Ethiopia, the Ogaden and Oromia.
The last journalists who tried to get into the Ogaden, two Swedes, were sold out by the Somali Puntland warlords, ambushed by the Ethiopian para-militaries, their escorts slaughtered, with both journalists wounded and thrown into an Ethiopian dungeon, a message to all and wide to mind your own business when it comes to genocide in the Horn of Africa.
So the crocodile tears will flow and hundreds of millions of dollars supposedly meant to feed millions of starving people in the Horn of Africa will once again end up paying for the Ethiopian military's latest arms purchase or in the western bank accounts of Ethiopian P.M. Meles Zenawi and his cohorts. And for a while the international media will churn out stories filled with heartbreaking images of starving children in the Horn of Africa and never once tell you how some 10 million of these people are suffering from a western funded food aid blockade.
(*) Thomas C. Mountain is the only independent western journalist in the Horn of Africa, living and reporting from Eritrea since 2006. He can be reached at thomascmountain[at]yahoo.com.
(*) Thomas C. Mountain is the only independent western journalist in the Horn of Africa, living and reporting from Eritrea since 2006. He can be reached at thomascmountain[at]yahoo.com.
Briefing on the Current Situation in the Horn of Africa (U.S.A.Dep.OfState)
Special Briefing Johnnie Carson - Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs
Reuben Brigety - Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg; USAID Assistant Administrator Nancy Lindborg
Washington, DC - July 19, 2011
MS. FULTON: Good afternoon and welcome to the Department of State. Today, to address the emerging humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, we have four briefers to speak to you today about a number of areas and initiatives. We have with us Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson, who is the assistant secretary for African affairs. We have Dr. Reuben Brigety, who is the deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. We have Deputy Administrator Don Steinberg from the U.S. Agency for International Development. And we have Nancy Lindborg, assistant administrator for the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at the bureau – excuse me, at the Agency for International Development. Nancy is an addition to the lineup, so an extra special guest we have with us today.
I'm going to turn it over to each of the speakers in that order to give remarks, and then we'll open it up for questions following that. So I'd like to turn it over to Assistant Secretary Carson.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: Thank you. Good afternoon. We in the United States Government have been responding to the evolving humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa for some time, and my colleagues and I will provide you with additional details on this situation.
However, I wanted to underline the importance that we attach to providing an appropriate and timely response in full partnership with the international community. Severe drought, poor infrastructure and insecurity have had a debilitating impact on the welfare of millions of people in this region, especially in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. This crisis has resulted in severe malnutrition, acute hunger, and rising levels of starvation. It has generated extraordinary refugee flows across thousands of miles in East Africa.
The current crisis in the Horn has long-term and short-term implications. It threatens the lives of those at risk, especially young children and women. And it also endangers the hard-won development gains and the future prospects of millions of people throughout East Africa and the Horn. Today, over 11 million people are in need of emergency assistance in the Horn of Africa. In Kenya, an estimated 3.6 million people have been affected. This includes refugees, rural pastoralists, and urban poor who are unable to buy adequate food because of escalating prices.
In Ethiopia, at least 4.5 million people are in need of assistance. Almost 3 million people need assistance in Somalia. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees already in Kenya and in Ethiopia, new arrivals are coming in at staggering daily rates. Many of these most recent refugees are suffering from life-threatening malnutrition, and there may be many more in need of assistance in Eritrea, where a repressive regime fails to provide data on the humanitarian needs of its own people. The free flow of information is what allows people to make early choices that can help avert catastrophe. We urge the Government of Eritrea to cooperate with the UN agencies and other international organizations to address the issue of hunger and food shortage in that country.
The State Department and USAID have been working with the international community and governments in the region to respond to food, water, shelter, and sanitation needs of affected populations. As we work to address the short-term immediate needs in the region, we will continue to implement our Feed the Future initiative as part of our long-term strategy to mitigate the effects of prolonged drought and food shortage in this area in the future. The Feed the Future program is intended to increase agricultural productivity, shift away from rain-fed agriculture, promote better storage techniques, employ modern farming methods, and utilize science and technology to assist populations in adapting to increasing erratic weather patterns throughout the Horn of Africa. By investing in and working closely with regional governments, we hope the Feed the Future program will help reduce regional vulnerabilities to these types of humanitarian crises in the future.
An especially complex and difficult component of the Horn of Africa's humanitarian crisis is the high number of Somali refugees flowing into both Ethiopia and Kenya. This is a result of three overlapping and intersecting problems. The first is the extreme climate-induced drought that has prevailed intensely for the past two years and cyclically for more than 50 years. The second is the absence of a functioning central government in Somalia for over two decades. And the third is the presence of the anti-Western terrorist organization Al-Shabaab in south central Somalia. Al-Shabaab's activities have clearly made the current situation much worse. In January 2010, Al-Shabaab prohibited international humanitarian workers and organizations from operating in their areas of control. And its continued refusal to grant humanitarian access has prevented the international community from responding to and mitigating some of the cumulative and most disastrous consequences of the drought in south central Somalia.
We have seen the recent reports that Al-Shabaab claims that it will finally allow international humanitarian aid into areas under its control. We are consulting with international organizations that have worked in these areas to verify if there has been any real change in Al-Shabaab's policies that would allow us and others to operate freely and without taxation imposed for humanitarian deliveries. Al-Shabaab's current policies are wreaking havoc and are not helping Somalis living in the south central part of that country.
The drought and humanitarian crisis in the Horn will not end next week or next month. As this crisis and its humanitarian needs expand, the international community and host governments will be called upon to do more to respond to the immediate and critical humanitarian assistance needs in the Horn of Africa. We recognize the measures that the countries in the region are putting in place, and we applaud our partners who have already responded generously to the appeals for assistance. As we look for ways to implement more comprehensive approaches, we hope potential donors will increase food, shelter, and financial contributions as part of a focused campaign to meet the critical needs of the region.
I will now turn the podium over to my colleague, Dr. Reuben Brigety. Thank you.
DR. BRIGETY: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. My name is Reuben Brigety. I'm the deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for the State Department's refugee programs in all of continental Africa. Thank you for coming today.
I returned Sunday night from Kenya and Ethiopia, where I visited the refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya and in the Dolo Ado region of Ethiopia. In both countries, the State Department arranged for representatives of other embassies to accompany us, reflecting not only the high-level attention that our government is giving this emergency but also the multilateral approach we take to assisting refugees. These efforts are critical to saving lives and maintaining access to safe asylum in the neighboring countries of Somalia, even as they themselves struggle with the drought that may indeed be the worst in 60 years.
You have undoubtedly heard about the staggering rates of malnutrition amongst new arrivals in the refugee camps, up to 50 percent global acute malnutrition in Ethiopia, for example, reflecting the even more grim state of affairs for children inside Somalia. Humanitarian assistance experts expect this crisis to get worse before it gets better.
We have heard troubling reports from inside Somalia that the combined daily arrival rates of 3,200 new refugees in Ethiopia and Kenya could rise still more dramatically as the situation in Somalia grows increasingly desperate.
With enough human and financial resources, however, the international community can together address this refugee emergency. During my visit to Dadaab, the prime minister of Kenya announced that the government would open the already completed extension of one of three Dadaab camps to new refugees. It is the strong view of the Ethiopian and the Kenyan governments that the international community must do more to deliver food and other humanitarian assistance inside Somalia. The Kenyans and Ethiopians see this as a means of stemming the refugee flows even as they insist that they will not prevent anyone fleeing Somalia from crossing their borders. We understand the urgency of providing assistance to people inside Somalia and we welcome the continued generosity and support of the governments in the region that continue to host refugees in need.
Thank you very much, and I am pleased to turn the podium over to my colleague, Deputy Administrator Don Steinberg.
MR. STEINBERG: Thanks, Reuben. I too am just returning from the Horn of Africa, where I had a chance over the past week to visit Djibouti, Sudan, and Ethiopia to review the response of the United States Government and the rest of the international community to the tragedy of 100,000 Somali men, women, and children who are driven from their homes and in the refugee camps in Ethiopia, driven there by drought and violence.
We witnessed the sight of families stumbling into the camps through the bitter Ogaden desert and receiving their first nutritious meals in months. In most cases, that exodus took a week to ten days of walking through the desert. It was heart-wrenching. These numbers that we're describing in Somalia are amplified by even greater numbers of people fleeing to Kenya in search of food, water, and security as their crops and their livestocks wither and the longstanding conflict continues.
As Johnnie said, the number of people in the Horn of Africa affected by this tragedy is staggering – more than 11 million in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia in need of emergency life-saving assistance. The international community has responded to this recent surge. We are racing to keep up.
But at the same time, it's important to remember that we've long been preparing for this tragedy. As long ago as last summer, USAID-supported Famine Early Warning System Network, which we call FEWS NET, predicted this crisis, and in August of last year we started pre-positioning food and other supplies in Djibouti, in South Africa, and elsewhere in the region. Since October of last year, the United States Government has provided assistance to 4.4 million affected people, a total of $383 million of life-saving food, supplies, and other necessary aid, including 348,000 metric tons of food.
As we look ahead, the USAID response along with our partners in a whole-of-government effort, is focused on three interlocking challenges. In the short run, we're going to continue our support of an aggressive and coordinated international response to the immediate humanitarian emergency. I am going to London tomorrow – actually, this evening – to coordinate with all of the major donors who are operating to respond. We're having a meeting where we're going to be discussing this issue and seeing what more we can do.
At this very moment, Raj Shah, the administrator of USAID, is on his way to Kenya, where he will visit the Dadaab refugee camp as well as the Wajir region in northern Kenya that is equally suffering from these problems.
Our response, again, is going to be primarily focused on food and water, but at the same time, we're focused on health and disease so that we can prevent outbreaks in the refugee camps and other areas.
Our second prong, however, is to help communities confront the drought and extreme food insecurity. In Ethiopia, for example, we're providing a safety net program that provides cash and work for food. And the work involves digging wells, creating medical clinics, nutrition education and sanitation. As a result of those programs, about 7.5 million Ethiopians are not among those who are currently in need of international aid.
Equally important, we are working throughout the region to create sustainable food security by strengthening agriculture and rural development. President Obama's innovative and forward-looking Feed the Future initiative, which Johnnie Carson has described in detail, is already at work improving agricultural production, boosting markets, building infrastructure, bringing innovation, addressing the entire value change, and bringing women into the process of development. American food security and emergency assistance experts with vast experience in the region are working together with our international counterparts to pursue a coordinated, aggressive, and comprehensive response to the short-, medium-, and longer-term approaches. Again, the 11 million people in need of assistance in the eastern Horn deserve nothing less. And with that, I'd like to ask our assistant administrator for democracy, conflict, and humanitarian assistance, Nancy Lindborg, to say a few words.
MS. LINDBORG: Thanks, Don. And good afternoon. I want to underscore that, as I think all of us know, drought is not new for this region. This region suffers cyclical droughts and through the years have – it has experienced significant suffering. However, 20 years ago we established something that Don mentioned called FEWS NET, the Famine Early Warning System. And this is – which is a USAID funded initiative – works closely with the UN to identify in advance rainfall conditions, does extensive analysis of historical and current rainfall cropping patterns, livestock health, market prices, and malnutrition rates. As a result, this enabled us to know as early as last October that we would be facing record low rainfalls. And we along with the international community, were able to preposition supplies and prepare to respond.
In addition, there has been significant work in the – particularly in Ethiopia that has enabled communities to be much better prepared to withstand severe drought. And as a comparison, in 2002, 2003, which was the last time Ethiopia had a serious drought, there were 15 million Ethiopians who required humanitarian assistance. This year it's 4.5. As serious as that number sounds, it represents a significant step forward in establishing community resilience. This ability to be better prepared and to have those early warnings, coupled with, as Don described, the Feed the Future initiative that builds productivity, will continue to enable that region to withstand the ravages of drought.
Specifically, however, in Somalia, we've been unable to reach some of the most affected populations. We have, however, been able to reach 1.5 million people in the more accessible areas of Somalia and been able to move forward with significant aid that provides therapeutic feeding, critical health treatments, clean water, proper sanitation, hygiene education, and supplies to help the prevention of disease. I traveled to Hargeisa at the end of May both to underscore our commitment to the people of Somalia as well as ensure that we were providing as much assistance as we could.
We know that there's a severe and unabated humanitarian crisis in southern Somalia, and aid workers are unable to reach reliably 61 percent of people in need due to the risk, the insecurity, and the inaccessibility through the presence of armed groups, like Al-Shabaab. As you know, since January 2010, the United Nations World Food Program has unable – has been unable to operate in southern Somalia because of the extremely dangerous conditions. This is true for other international and nongovernmental organizations as well. It's no coincidence that the Somalis who have the greatest need are living in the areas that are the most insecure. We are, however, as Ambassador Carson noted, very encouraged to hear that aid groups are now being asked to help in some of these insecure areas.
We are working aggressively with other donors and the humanitarian community to test the possibility of delivering assistance in these previously inaccessible areas and are working closely to identify means of assistance. We call on the international community to continue to step forward with the assistance needed throughout the region. As Don said, we expect the conditions to deteriorate, especially if the fall rains are not as good as they need to be, and this requires all of us to be working aggressively to meet the needs of the region. Thank you.
MS. FULTON: Okay. I'd like to open it up for questions. If you would help our briefers out, please just identify yourself and let us know who it is that you would like to ask the question. Do you want to go first, Michelle?
QUESTION: Yeah. I have two questions. Michelle Kelemen, NPR. The first one for Dr. Brigety. You talked about this extension at that one camp, but the Kenyans have been reluctant to open this, they're worried about the influx of Somalis, they talk about concerns about terrorism. What are you telling them about that? Are you offering them any sort of assurances? And then I have one other question following up either for you, Ms. Lindborg, or for Johnnie Carson about whether U.S. sanctions on Al-Shabaab are complicating. I know you talk about the complications coming from the Al-Shabaab and the insecurity, but are U.S. sanctions preventing USAID agencies in going in?
DR. BRIGETY: Michelle, thank you very much for that question. As of last Thursday, the Government of Kenya has publicly decided to open the second camp. The camp is called Ifo II. I was standing next to Prime Minister Raila Odinga as he made that announcement to an international press gathering in Dadaab last Thursday. This is – as you've mentioned, this is a development that the international community has been requesting for some time. We welcome the Kenyan Government's decision to open that camp. It is our understanding that while previously, the Government of Kenya saw opening the camp as essentially a security risk, only inviting more refugees in, they have recognized that, certainly over the last year or so, that there have been flows of refugees that have come unabated and, as they say, in increasing numbers just in the last several weeks.
Thus what has developed over the last several months is essentially a series of spontaneous settlements on the outskirts of the camps of Ifo, where refugees are settling in an unorganized way, in a way in which they aren't properly registered. And that was seen by the Government of Kenya finally as an even greater security threat, having these large numbers of people that are coming in an unorganized way and filling them in an unorganized way, which is part of the reason why they decided to open up Ifo II.
We continue to work with the Government of Kenya. We are – continue to be strong partners with them. We welcome, as I say, this decision to open a camp and we look forward to their increasing cooperation as this crisis unfolds. Thank you.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: In response to the second question, U.S. sanctions are not the issue or the problem. The issue and the problem is Al-Shabaab. International organizations such as CARE, Save the Children, UNICEF, the WFP, don't have sanctions. But it is those organizations that have been equally denied an opportunity to operate in south central Somalia. We call on all of those in south central Somalia who have it within their authority to allow refugee groups and organizations to operate there to do so. But the issue is Al-Shabaab. It's not sanctions. Organizations do not – such as the ones I just mentioned – don't have sanctions, but they've also been barred.
MS. FULTON: Thanks. Next question.
Jill?
QUESTION: Thank you. Jill Dougherty from CNN. I wanted to follow up on the – testing the possibility of – excuse me – delivering this aid. Can you give us a better idea, Ms. Lindborg, of how this is being done? Do people go into the field? Are they talking to Al-Shabaab? What exactly is going on?
MS. LINDBORG: Under the auspices of the UN, they are testing what might be possible. The – clearly, what we all are hoping for is the ability to deliver assistance without some of the punitive conditions and the insecurity that have resulted from the Shabaab control over the last year or year and a half. So there are probes already being made, there are discussions underway, and we hope to have more information in the next week.
QUESTION: The probes? Is that discussion or –
MS. LINDBORG: Well, I think you saw in the media that UNICEF went last week with an expedition into the Baidoa. There are opportunities to work in select areas where there isn't the impediments created by tolls, by taxing, by threats of insecurity, and by kidnapping. So where one is able, where we as the international community are able to provide assistance and ensure that it's reaching those who are desperately in need, we are fully prepared to do so.
MS. FULTON: Next question. Right here.
QUESTION: Yeah. I will have – one question with – for – to Mr. Carson. You know Somalia – in 1992, there was a similar situation and the international community, including the United States, responded in a bigger way. What's the next plan, apart from sending some donations to Somalia? Is there any other plan from the U.S. Government toward Somalia? Is there any (inaudible) you are going to provide Somalia?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: Let me say that the Horn of Africa has faced over the years a number of cyclical droughts. And indeed, back in the late 1980s, we saw another major drought situation occur. After that, I think my colleagues have pointed out that the FEWS NET program was established to be able to monitor and to warn about droughts. We also started working with various governments to improve their ability to adjust to extreme climatic conditions, to change crops, to be able to store and protect more food and to do a number of other things. The United States over the last decade has been one of the largest and continues to be one of the largest suppliers of humanitarian support and assistance to the region. We continue to work with governments throughout the region, and we hope that our Feed the Future program will contribute to better protection of people against droughts in the future.
MS. FULTON: Next question?
QUESTION: Another question for Assistant Secretary Carson. George Zornick from The Nation magazine. Last week our magazine reported on the existence of a CIA-run prison in Mogadishu. Is this something that you or the State Department was aware of, the existence of this prison?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: I will not comment on any issues related to the CIA or to intelligence matters.
QUESTION: Can you say whether you've been working with the recognized officials of Somalia to brief them on what's happening there?
MS. FULTON: We're going to stick to briefing on the situation – the emerging humanitarian situation in the Horn today. So next question in that vein.
QUESTION: The World Health Organization yesterday issued a warning that 9 million people are at risk of cholera and measles outbreak in the region, and it has been aggravated by fast movement of the people who are exposed to the drought. And is there a clear picture that what has been done?
MS. LINDBORG: Hi. I – also in response to the previous question, we've looked very closely at the famine in '92, and what we've learned is that there are several very important and critical steps that we, the international community, need to take. And the first is ensure that we're able to address public health issues more effectively, including exactly the kind of communicable diseases that are most prevalent, especially when you have populations that are moving and populations that are malnourished. So it's cholera, it's measles, it's diarrhea, it's all these diseases that we need to effectively address and very quickly enable vaccinations and health treatments to reach.
Secondly, we need to ensure that there's improved access of food. There are – there is availability of food in some of the markets. The inflation rate is so high that those – many families are unable to afford the food. And thirdly, one needs to get food in, especially therapeutic food for those who are at most risk, through high malnutrition, of reaching fatalities. We remain very concerned about the situation and are working very closely with the international community to ensure that we get the right approaches in quickly, based on what we know from past famines and past drought situations.
MS. FULTON: I think we have time for about two more questions.
QUESTION: Camille Elhassani from Al-Jazeera English Television. I had a question about Eritrea. You – Mr. Carson, you've called for them to provide the data so that you know what the situation is there. Has there – have you seen refugees from Eritrea moving into neighboring countries, and do you have an expectation that they are going to cooperate so that you and the other international community can help them?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: Eritrea is a closed and increasingly reclusive country, and its government has not been particularly helpful in sharing data and information about the severity of the food shortages or the drought in its country. Because it is a part of the Greater Horn of Africa, we assume that conditions in Eritrea are probably quite similar to the drought conditions that we are seeing in other places – in Ethiopia and in Kenya, Djibouti, and in Somalia. Because we don't know what's happening, our understanding of the situation is limited, but we encourage them to be more open about their needs and the needs of their population.
MS. FULTON: Thank you. Last question, Brad.
QUESTION: Yes. I think for Mr. Steinberg. You said you're going tomorrow to a donors conference in London. Could you just explain what you aim to accomplish there? Will there be new funding talked about, new plans about reaching new groups? What is this consolidated approach going to be?
MR. STEINBERG: Yeah, indeed. Once a year, the major development ministers from the OECD countries get together to coordinate to talk about larger development issues, to reflect on the state of what we're doing. We have decided, as of yesterday at the request of the United States Government, to use that as an opportunity to draw us together to talk frankly about two issues – one, the situation in Southern Sudan and how we can promote an aggressive comprehensive response to the very exciting events in Juba with its independence, but secondly, to address the situation in the Horn of Africa.
We suspect that a number of ministers will come with new ideas, with new proposals for assistance. This is, as we've said, a rapidly changing environment, and we've already received very strong indications of international support coming together. We will also, in the Horn with Administrator Shah's visit there, be coordinating with our partners UNHCR, OCHA, UNICEF, the World Food Program in particular, to ensure a coordinated and comprehensive response to what is, at present, one of the true impending disasters that we're all facing.
QUESTION: Can I ask a Sudan question while we have Johnnie Carson here?
MS. FULTON: If you want.
QUESTION: There's – I mean, there's a letter going around today with a lot of activists talking about much tougher action against Sudan, including the possibility of drone strikes or cruise missile strikes to prevent ethnic cleansing going on in Southern Kordofan and Abyei, and I wonder if you've received these recommendations, whether you have any concerns about – what are your latest concerns about what's going on in those two regions?
MS. FULTON: Would you indulge us?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: Just --
MS. FULTON: Thank you.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: -- very, very briefly, only to say that we remain very focused on Sudan and the need to encourage both parties, North and South, to complete all of the elements of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that have not yet been resolved. These issues are Abyei, they are also oil and transitional financial arrangements, they also include the need to resolve issues related to citizenship, and five, issues related to border demarcation. It is important that both sides resume their discussions as quickly as possible to move towards a resolution of all of these issues.
We also remain deeply concerned about the continuing violence that we have seen in Southern Kordofan, and we urge the Government of Sudan to move as quickly as possible to stop the violence that is being perpetrated by its soldiers, and to align itself, again, with its commitments under the global – under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
MS. FULTON: Thank you.
MR. STEINBERG: Can I --
MS. FULTON: Oh, yes.
MR. STEINBERG: -- just comment very, very quickly? Because USAID is indeed launching, in a whole-of-government approach, a very aggressive response to the humanitarian crisis that we've talked about here with about 180,000 people driven from their homes, both from Abyei and from South Kordofan. We do, as Assistant Secretary Carson said, have a very serious access problem, and in – especially in the Nuba Mountains. And we have called aggressively, both bilaterally but also multilaterally, on the Government of Sudan to open up access to those regions, to allow humanitarian workers in, to, as Assistant Secretary Carson said, to cease the violence that is occurring now, and to reach a permanent solution to the question of the SPLM's North role in that region.
MS. FULTON: Okay. With that, I'd like to thank our briefers and thank you, everyone, for joining us today.
MS. FULTON: Good afternoon and welcome to the Department of State. Today, to address the emerging humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, we have four briefers to speak to you today about a number of areas and initiatives. We have with us Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson, who is the assistant secretary for African affairs. We have Dr. Reuben Brigety, who is the deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. We have Deputy Administrator Don Steinberg from the U.S. Agency for International Development. And we have Nancy Lindborg, assistant administrator for the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at the bureau – excuse me, at the Agency for International Development. Nancy is an addition to the lineup, so an extra special guest we have with us today.
I'm going to turn it over to each of the speakers in that order to give remarks, and then we'll open it up for questions following that. So I'd like to turn it over to Assistant Secretary Carson.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: Thank you. Good afternoon. We in the United States Government have been responding to the evolving humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa for some time, and my colleagues and I will provide you with additional details on this situation.
However, I wanted to underline the importance that we attach to providing an appropriate and timely response in full partnership with the international community. Severe drought, poor infrastructure and insecurity have had a debilitating impact on the welfare of millions of people in this region, especially in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. This crisis has resulted in severe malnutrition, acute hunger, and rising levels of starvation. It has generated extraordinary refugee flows across thousands of miles in East Africa.
The current crisis in the Horn has long-term and short-term implications. It threatens the lives of those at risk, especially young children and women. And it also endangers the hard-won development gains and the future prospects of millions of people throughout East Africa and the Horn. Today, over 11 million people are in need of emergency assistance in the Horn of Africa. In Kenya, an estimated 3.6 million people have been affected. This includes refugees, rural pastoralists, and urban poor who are unable to buy adequate food because of escalating prices.
In Ethiopia, at least 4.5 million people are in need of assistance. Almost 3 million people need assistance in Somalia. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees already in Kenya and in Ethiopia, new arrivals are coming in at staggering daily rates. Many of these most recent refugees are suffering from life-threatening malnutrition, and there may be many more in need of assistance in Eritrea, where a repressive regime fails to provide data on the humanitarian needs of its own people. The free flow of information is what allows people to make early choices that can help avert catastrophe. We urge the Government of Eritrea to cooperate with the UN agencies and other international organizations to address the issue of hunger and food shortage in that country.
The State Department and USAID have been working with the international community and governments in the region to respond to food, water, shelter, and sanitation needs of affected populations. As we work to address the short-term immediate needs in the region, we will continue to implement our Feed the Future initiative as part of our long-term strategy to mitigate the effects of prolonged drought and food shortage in this area in the future. The Feed the Future program is intended to increase agricultural productivity, shift away from rain-fed agriculture, promote better storage techniques, employ modern farming methods, and utilize science and technology to assist populations in adapting to increasing erratic weather patterns throughout the Horn of Africa. By investing in and working closely with regional governments, we hope the Feed the Future program will help reduce regional vulnerabilities to these types of humanitarian crises in the future.
An especially complex and difficult component of the Horn of Africa's humanitarian crisis is the high number of Somali refugees flowing into both Ethiopia and Kenya. This is a result of three overlapping and intersecting problems. The first is the extreme climate-induced drought that has prevailed intensely for the past two years and cyclically for more than 50 years. The second is the absence of a functioning central government in Somalia for over two decades. And the third is the presence of the anti-Western terrorist organization Al-Shabaab in south central Somalia. Al-Shabaab's activities have clearly made the current situation much worse. In January 2010, Al-Shabaab prohibited international humanitarian workers and organizations from operating in their areas of control. And its continued refusal to grant humanitarian access has prevented the international community from responding to and mitigating some of the cumulative and most disastrous consequences of the drought in south central Somalia.
We have seen the recent reports that Al-Shabaab claims that it will finally allow international humanitarian aid into areas under its control. We are consulting with international organizations that have worked in these areas to verify if there has been any real change in Al-Shabaab's policies that would allow us and others to operate freely and without taxation imposed for humanitarian deliveries. Al-Shabaab's current policies are wreaking havoc and are not helping Somalis living in the south central part of that country.
The drought and humanitarian crisis in the Horn will not end next week or next month. As this crisis and its humanitarian needs expand, the international community and host governments will be called upon to do more to respond to the immediate and critical humanitarian assistance needs in the Horn of Africa. We recognize the measures that the countries in the region are putting in place, and we applaud our partners who have already responded generously to the appeals for assistance. As we look for ways to implement more comprehensive approaches, we hope potential donors will increase food, shelter, and financial contributions as part of a focused campaign to meet the critical needs of the region.
I will now turn the podium over to my colleague, Dr. Reuben Brigety. Thank you.
DR. BRIGETY: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. My name is Reuben Brigety. I'm the deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for the State Department's refugee programs in all of continental Africa. Thank you for coming today.
I returned Sunday night from Kenya and Ethiopia, where I visited the refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya and in the Dolo Ado region of Ethiopia. In both countries, the State Department arranged for representatives of other embassies to accompany us, reflecting not only the high-level attention that our government is giving this emergency but also the multilateral approach we take to assisting refugees. These efforts are critical to saving lives and maintaining access to safe asylum in the neighboring countries of Somalia, even as they themselves struggle with the drought that may indeed be the worst in 60 years.
You have undoubtedly heard about the staggering rates of malnutrition amongst new arrivals in the refugee camps, up to 50 percent global acute malnutrition in Ethiopia, for example, reflecting the even more grim state of affairs for children inside Somalia. Humanitarian assistance experts expect this crisis to get worse before it gets better.
We have heard troubling reports from inside Somalia that the combined daily arrival rates of 3,200 new refugees in Ethiopia and Kenya could rise still more dramatically as the situation in Somalia grows increasingly desperate.
With enough human and financial resources, however, the international community can together address this refugee emergency. During my visit to Dadaab, the prime minister of Kenya announced that the government would open the already completed extension of one of three Dadaab camps to new refugees. It is the strong view of the Ethiopian and the Kenyan governments that the international community must do more to deliver food and other humanitarian assistance inside Somalia. The Kenyans and Ethiopians see this as a means of stemming the refugee flows even as they insist that they will not prevent anyone fleeing Somalia from crossing their borders. We understand the urgency of providing assistance to people inside Somalia and we welcome the continued generosity and support of the governments in the region that continue to host refugees in need.
Thank you very much, and I am pleased to turn the podium over to my colleague, Deputy Administrator Don Steinberg.
MR. STEINBERG: Thanks, Reuben. I too am just returning from the Horn of Africa, where I had a chance over the past week to visit Djibouti, Sudan, and Ethiopia to review the response of the United States Government and the rest of the international community to the tragedy of 100,000 Somali men, women, and children who are driven from their homes and in the refugee camps in Ethiopia, driven there by drought and violence.
We witnessed the sight of families stumbling into the camps through the bitter Ogaden desert and receiving their first nutritious meals in months. In most cases, that exodus took a week to ten days of walking through the desert. It was heart-wrenching. These numbers that we're describing in Somalia are amplified by even greater numbers of people fleeing to Kenya in search of food, water, and security as their crops and their livestocks wither and the longstanding conflict continues.
As Johnnie said, the number of people in the Horn of Africa affected by this tragedy is staggering – more than 11 million in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia in need of emergency life-saving assistance. The international community has responded to this recent surge. We are racing to keep up.
But at the same time, it's important to remember that we've long been preparing for this tragedy. As long ago as last summer, USAID-supported Famine Early Warning System Network, which we call FEWS NET, predicted this crisis, and in August of last year we started pre-positioning food and other supplies in Djibouti, in South Africa, and elsewhere in the region. Since October of last year, the United States Government has provided assistance to 4.4 million affected people, a total of $383 million of life-saving food, supplies, and other necessary aid, including 348,000 metric tons of food.
As we look ahead, the USAID response along with our partners in a whole-of-government effort, is focused on three interlocking challenges. In the short run, we're going to continue our support of an aggressive and coordinated international response to the immediate humanitarian emergency. I am going to London tomorrow – actually, this evening – to coordinate with all of the major donors who are operating to respond. We're having a meeting where we're going to be discussing this issue and seeing what more we can do.
At this very moment, Raj Shah, the administrator of USAID, is on his way to Kenya, where he will visit the Dadaab refugee camp as well as the Wajir region in northern Kenya that is equally suffering from these problems.
Our response, again, is going to be primarily focused on food and water, but at the same time, we're focused on health and disease so that we can prevent outbreaks in the refugee camps and other areas.
Our second prong, however, is to help communities confront the drought and extreme food insecurity. In Ethiopia, for example, we're providing a safety net program that provides cash and work for food. And the work involves digging wells, creating medical clinics, nutrition education and sanitation. As a result of those programs, about 7.5 million Ethiopians are not among those who are currently in need of international aid.
Equally important, we are working throughout the region to create sustainable food security by strengthening agriculture and rural development. President Obama's innovative and forward-looking Feed the Future initiative, which Johnnie Carson has described in detail, is already at work improving agricultural production, boosting markets, building infrastructure, bringing innovation, addressing the entire value change, and bringing women into the process of development. American food security and emergency assistance experts with vast experience in the region are working together with our international counterparts to pursue a coordinated, aggressive, and comprehensive response to the short-, medium-, and longer-term approaches. Again, the 11 million people in need of assistance in the eastern Horn deserve nothing less. And with that, I'd like to ask our assistant administrator for democracy, conflict, and humanitarian assistance, Nancy Lindborg, to say a few words.
MS. LINDBORG: Thanks, Don. And good afternoon. I want to underscore that, as I think all of us know, drought is not new for this region. This region suffers cyclical droughts and through the years have – it has experienced significant suffering. However, 20 years ago we established something that Don mentioned called FEWS NET, the Famine Early Warning System. And this is – which is a USAID funded initiative – works closely with the UN to identify in advance rainfall conditions, does extensive analysis of historical and current rainfall cropping patterns, livestock health, market prices, and malnutrition rates. As a result, this enabled us to know as early as last October that we would be facing record low rainfalls. And we along with the international community, were able to preposition supplies and prepare to respond.
In addition, there has been significant work in the – particularly in Ethiopia that has enabled communities to be much better prepared to withstand severe drought. And as a comparison, in 2002, 2003, which was the last time Ethiopia had a serious drought, there were 15 million Ethiopians who required humanitarian assistance. This year it's 4.5. As serious as that number sounds, it represents a significant step forward in establishing community resilience. This ability to be better prepared and to have those early warnings, coupled with, as Don described, the Feed the Future initiative that builds productivity, will continue to enable that region to withstand the ravages of drought.
Specifically, however, in Somalia, we've been unable to reach some of the most affected populations. We have, however, been able to reach 1.5 million people in the more accessible areas of Somalia and been able to move forward with significant aid that provides therapeutic feeding, critical health treatments, clean water, proper sanitation, hygiene education, and supplies to help the prevention of disease. I traveled to Hargeisa at the end of May both to underscore our commitment to the people of Somalia as well as ensure that we were providing as much assistance as we could.
We know that there's a severe and unabated humanitarian crisis in southern Somalia, and aid workers are unable to reach reliably 61 percent of people in need due to the risk, the insecurity, and the inaccessibility through the presence of armed groups, like Al-Shabaab. As you know, since January 2010, the United Nations World Food Program has unable – has been unable to operate in southern Somalia because of the extremely dangerous conditions. This is true for other international and nongovernmental organizations as well. It's no coincidence that the Somalis who have the greatest need are living in the areas that are the most insecure. We are, however, as Ambassador Carson noted, very encouraged to hear that aid groups are now being asked to help in some of these insecure areas.
We are working aggressively with other donors and the humanitarian community to test the possibility of delivering assistance in these previously inaccessible areas and are working closely to identify means of assistance. We call on the international community to continue to step forward with the assistance needed throughout the region. As Don said, we expect the conditions to deteriorate, especially if the fall rains are not as good as they need to be, and this requires all of us to be working aggressively to meet the needs of the region. Thank you.
MS. FULTON: Okay. I'd like to open it up for questions. If you would help our briefers out, please just identify yourself and let us know who it is that you would like to ask the question. Do you want to go first, Michelle?
QUESTION: Yeah. I have two questions. Michelle Kelemen, NPR. The first one for Dr. Brigety. You talked about this extension at that one camp, but the Kenyans have been reluctant to open this, they're worried about the influx of Somalis, they talk about concerns about terrorism. What are you telling them about that? Are you offering them any sort of assurances? And then I have one other question following up either for you, Ms. Lindborg, or for Johnnie Carson about whether U.S. sanctions on Al-Shabaab are complicating. I know you talk about the complications coming from the Al-Shabaab and the insecurity, but are U.S. sanctions preventing USAID agencies in going in?
DR. BRIGETY: Michelle, thank you very much for that question. As of last Thursday, the Government of Kenya has publicly decided to open the second camp. The camp is called Ifo II. I was standing next to Prime Minister Raila Odinga as he made that announcement to an international press gathering in Dadaab last Thursday. This is – as you've mentioned, this is a development that the international community has been requesting for some time. We welcome the Kenyan Government's decision to open that camp. It is our understanding that while previously, the Government of Kenya saw opening the camp as essentially a security risk, only inviting more refugees in, they have recognized that, certainly over the last year or so, that there have been flows of refugees that have come unabated and, as they say, in increasing numbers just in the last several weeks.
Thus what has developed over the last several months is essentially a series of spontaneous settlements on the outskirts of the camps of Ifo, where refugees are settling in an unorganized way, in a way in which they aren't properly registered. And that was seen by the Government of Kenya finally as an even greater security threat, having these large numbers of people that are coming in an unorganized way and filling them in an unorganized way, which is part of the reason why they decided to open up Ifo II.
We continue to work with the Government of Kenya. We are – continue to be strong partners with them. We welcome, as I say, this decision to open a camp and we look forward to their increasing cooperation as this crisis unfolds. Thank you.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: In response to the second question, U.S. sanctions are not the issue or the problem. The issue and the problem is Al-Shabaab. International organizations such as CARE, Save the Children, UNICEF, the WFP, don't have sanctions. But it is those organizations that have been equally denied an opportunity to operate in south central Somalia. We call on all of those in south central Somalia who have it within their authority to allow refugee groups and organizations to operate there to do so. But the issue is Al-Shabaab. It's not sanctions. Organizations do not – such as the ones I just mentioned – don't have sanctions, but they've also been barred.
MS. FULTON: Thanks. Next question.
Jill?
QUESTION: Thank you. Jill Dougherty from CNN. I wanted to follow up on the – testing the possibility of – excuse me – delivering this aid. Can you give us a better idea, Ms. Lindborg, of how this is being done? Do people go into the field? Are they talking to Al-Shabaab? What exactly is going on?
MS. LINDBORG: Under the auspices of the UN, they are testing what might be possible. The – clearly, what we all are hoping for is the ability to deliver assistance without some of the punitive conditions and the insecurity that have resulted from the Shabaab control over the last year or year and a half. So there are probes already being made, there are discussions underway, and we hope to have more information in the next week.
QUESTION: The probes? Is that discussion or –
MS. LINDBORG: Well, I think you saw in the media that UNICEF went last week with an expedition into the Baidoa. There are opportunities to work in select areas where there isn't the impediments created by tolls, by taxing, by threats of insecurity, and by kidnapping. So where one is able, where we as the international community are able to provide assistance and ensure that it's reaching those who are desperately in need, we are fully prepared to do so.
MS. FULTON: Next question. Right here.
QUESTION: Yeah. I will have – one question with – for – to Mr. Carson. You know Somalia – in 1992, there was a similar situation and the international community, including the United States, responded in a bigger way. What's the next plan, apart from sending some donations to Somalia? Is there any other plan from the U.S. Government toward Somalia? Is there any (inaudible) you are going to provide Somalia?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: Let me say that the Horn of Africa has faced over the years a number of cyclical droughts. And indeed, back in the late 1980s, we saw another major drought situation occur. After that, I think my colleagues have pointed out that the FEWS NET program was established to be able to monitor and to warn about droughts. We also started working with various governments to improve their ability to adjust to extreme climatic conditions, to change crops, to be able to store and protect more food and to do a number of other things. The United States over the last decade has been one of the largest and continues to be one of the largest suppliers of humanitarian support and assistance to the region. We continue to work with governments throughout the region, and we hope that our Feed the Future program will contribute to better protection of people against droughts in the future.
MS. FULTON: Next question?
QUESTION: Another question for Assistant Secretary Carson. George Zornick from The Nation magazine. Last week our magazine reported on the existence of a CIA-run prison in Mogadishu. Is this something that you or the State Department was aware of, the existence of this prison?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: I will not comment on any issues related to the CIA or to intelligence matters.
QUESTION: Can you say whether you've been working with the recognized officials of Somalia to brief them on what's happening there?
MS. FULTON: We're going to stick to briefing on the situation – the emerging humanitarian situation in the Horn today. So next question in that vein.
QUESTION: The World Health Organization yesterday issued a warning that 9 million people are at risk of cholera and measles outbreak in the region, and it has been aggravated by fast movement of the people who are exposed to the drought. And is there a clear picture that what has been done?
MS. LINDBORG: Hi. I – also in response to the previous question, we've looked very closely at the famine in '92, and what we've learned is that there are several very important and critical steps that we, the international community, need to take. And the first is ensure that we're able to address public health issues more effectively, including exactly the kind of communicable diseases that are most prevalent, especially when you have populations that are moving and populations that are malnourished. So it's cholera, it's measles, it's diarrhea, it's all these diseases that we need to effectively address and very quickly enable vaccinations and health treatments to reach.
Secondly, we need to ensure that there's improved access of food. There are – there is availability of food in some of the markets. The inflation rate is so high that those – many families are unable to afford the food. And thirdly, one needs to get food in, especially therapeutic food for those who are at most risk, through high malnutrition, of reaching fatalities. We remain very concerned about the situation and are working very closely with the international community to ensure that we get the right approaches in quickly, based on what we know from past famines and past drought situations.
MS. FULTON: I think we have time for about two more questions.
QUESTION: Camille Elhassani from Al-Jazeera English Television. I had a question about Eritrea. You – Mr. Carson, you've called for them to provide the data so that you know what the situation is there. Has there – have you seen refugees from Eritrea moving into neighboring countries, and do you have an expectation that they are going to cooperate so that you and the other international community can help them?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: Eritrea is a closed and increasingly reclusive country, and its government has not been particularly helpful in sharing data and information about the severity of the food shortages or the drought in its country. Because it is a part of the Greater Horn of Africa, we assume that conditions in Eritrea are probably quite similar to the drought conditions that we are seeing in other places – in Ethiopia and in Kenya, Djibouti, and in Somalia. Because we don't know what's happening, our understanding of the situation is limited, but we encourage them to be more open about their needs and the needs of their population.
MS. FULTON: Thank you. Last question, Brad.
QUESTION: Yes. I think for Mr. Steinberg. You said you're going tomorrow to a donors conference in London. Could you just explain what you aim to accomplish there? Will there be new funding talked about, new plans about reaching new groups? What is this consolidated approach going to be?
MR. STEINBERG: Yeah, indeed. Once a year, the major development ministers from the OECD countries get together to coordinate to talk about larger development issues, to reflect on the state of what we're doing. We have decided, as of yesterday at the request of the United States Government, to use that as an opportunity to draw us together to talk frankly about two issues – one, the situation in Southern Sudan and how we can promote an aggressive comprehensive response to the very exciting events in Juba with its independence, but secondly, to address the situation in the Horn of Africa.
We suspect that a number of ministers will come with new ideas, with new proposals for assistance. This is, as we've said, a rapidly changing environment, and we've already received very strong indications of international support coming together. We will also, in the Horn with Administrator Shah's visit there, be coordinating with our partners UNHCR, OCHA, UNICEF, the World Food Program in particular, to ensure a coordinated and comprehensive response to what is, at present, one of the true impending disasters that we're all facing.
QUESTION: Can I ask a Sudan question while we have Johnnie Carson here?
MS. FULTON: If you want.
QUESTION: There's – I mean, there's a letter going around today with a lot of activists talking about much tougher action against Sudan, including the possibility of drone strikes or cruise missile strikes to prevent ethnic cleansing going on in Southern Kordofan and Abyei, and I wonder if you've received these recommendations, whether you have any concerns about – what are your latest concerns about what's going on in those two regions?
MS. FULTON: Would you indulge us?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: Just --
MS. FULTON: Thank you.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON: -- very, very briefly, only to say that we remain very focused on Sudan and the need to encourage both parties, North and South, to complete all of the elements of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that have not yet been resolved. These issues are Abyei, they are also oil and transitional financial arrangements, they also include the need to resolve issues related to citizenship, and five, issues related to border demarcation. It is important that both sides resume their discussions as quickly as possible to move towards a resolution of all of these issues.
We also remain deeply concerned about the continuing violence that we have seen in Southern Kordofan, and we urge the Government of Sudan to move as quickly as possible to stop the violence that is being perpetrated by its soldiers, and to align itself, again, with its commitments under the global – under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
MS. FULTON: Thank you.
MR. STEINBERG: Can I --
MS. FULTON: Oh, yes.
MR. STEINBERG: -- just comment very, very quickly? Because USAID is indeed launching, in a whole-of-government approach, a very aggressive response to the humanitarian crisis that we've talked about here with about 180,000 people driven from their homes, both from Abyei and from South Kordofan. We do, as Assistant Secretary Carson said, have a very serious access problem, and in – especially in the Nuba Mountains. And we have called aggressively, both bilaterally but also multilaterally, on the Government of Sudan to open up access to those regions, to allow humanitarian workers in, to, as Assistant Secretary Carson said, to cease the violence that is occurring now, and to reach a permanent solution to the question of the SPLM's North role in that region.
MS. FULTON: Okay. With that, I'd like to thank our briefers and thank you, everyone, for joining us today.
Life in a refugee camp (OttowaCitizen)
Now imagine they're the lucky ones, that the imaginary Halifax is an island surrounded by hunger, desperation and violence. Imagine there are more people at the gates, hoping for some measure of what the people inside have - a scrap of tent, a bowl of something.
There is a city just like that: Dadaab, Kenya, built for 90,000 refugees, now swelled with about 400,000. Dadaab is only the largest of its kind. There are more than half a million Somali refugees in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. A new extension has been announced at Dadaab, but with 1,300 or more refugees arriving every day, the camp will remain congested.
The Somalis are fleeing a combination of violence and drought. Somalia, with its combination of ascendant Islamist extremism, poverty and protracted conflict, is one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
Merely adding to the size of Dadaab and other refugee settlements in surrounding countries is no solution; it is not even a particularly effective stopgap. It's creating a generation of children who'll know nothing but a fugitive, dependent life. It's a tragic waste. Instead of contributing to the economic development and stability of the region, they'll remain a drain on it for as long as they're penned in the camps. Yes, donor nations, corporations and individuals must give generously to ensure the UN refugee agency has enough tents, medicine and food. They must also work with the UNHCR to get the camp population to a more manageable level. That means finding ways to resettle some refugees in safer situations - either back in Somalia, where possible, or in neighbouring countries, or in third countries as a last resort.
Canada has been successfully resettling some refugees from long-term camps over the past few years. Canada must continue to step up those efforts, and encourage more countries, especially those closer to conflict zones, to join the resettlement work. The UNHCR estimates that 800,000 people (or about 10 per cent of the world's refugee population) have no real choice but resettlement; but in 2010, resettlement countries provided only 80,000 spaces.
Huge, permanent refugee camps are a problem to be solved, not a solution to maintain at ever-increasing human and financial costs.
BUSINESS WITH REFUGEES EXPANDS
WHAT IS UNHCR DOING TO ACHIEVE THAT UNHCR BECOMES OBSOLETE ?
UNHCR set to open new refugee camp in Dolow, Ethiopia By Sahra Abdi Mohamud (Sunatimes)
Dolow The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, is set to open a new camp in Dolow on the Ethiopian side of the border, to ease congestions in a newly opened camp which has been overwhelmed by thousands of drought displaced Somali refugees crossing into the neighbouring Ethiopian in search of humanitarian help. At least two thousand drought displaced Somalis arrive daily in refugee camps in Dolow Ado, along the Ethiopian-Somali border, thus making the camps incapable of holding such influx of new arrivals.
UNHCR says drought victims who managed to reach to refugee camps in the neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia need an immediate humanitarian help since most of them have trekked long distances to reach into these camps, with most children severely malnourished.
Almost 45 percent of drought-stricken children are taken to refugee camps while severely malnourished while the rest die of malnutrition and starvation on their way before making to the camps.
The rising influx of Somali refugees fleeing drought in their country into the neighbouring countries, have forced aid agencies in the region to appeal for an immediate humanitarian support in dealing with the worsening situation, drawing the attention of the international community to focus on humanitarian situation in the region.
Europe not doing enough for Africa - UK (AP)
He did not mention the Somali government. A report by a Somali government official says Arab donors gave tens of millions of dollars in cash over the past two years. The funds are unaccounted for.
Donors will work through established charities and not the Somali government.
Tony Lake, the head of the UN Children's Fund, says the situation will worsen because there is no harvest to bring in.
South Sudan: Row looms as Juba locks out Somalis (TheNation)
On Monday, traders of Somali origin asked Juba to relax new regulations that bar them from entering the newest African state.
The traders who have been camping at Nadapal border point, the gateway to South Sudan, termed the new rules as punitive as they subjected them to heavy losses.
A senior Kenya Revenue Authority official, who sought anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the press, said that the rules were introduced two weeks ago due to what is believed to be security reasons.
"Customs officials from South Sudan have remained firm on the new rules, and it is the Foreign Affairs ministry that can intervene on the matter," the official said.
Mr Ahmed Musa, a truck driver affected by the move, said the traders were resorting to hiring non-Somali drivers to cross into South Sudan.
Kenyan traders, including those of Somali origin, have flocked to South Sudan in search of new business opportunities.
"Most of South Sudan receives its essential commodities including cereals and vegetables from Lokichogio and the new rules will interfere with the anticipated boom in trade," the KRA official added.
Kenya has established Immigration and customs offices at the Nadapal border point and built 51 housing units for KRA, public health and police departments.
"Plans are under way to construct more units, including a military barracks," Mr Patrick Muriira, the Turkana West DC said by telephone.
The area had been deserted for long as it was occupied by Sudan People's Liberation Army during the struggle to split from Khartoum.
It has also been a battle zone between members of the Turkana and Toposa communities due to plenty of pasture and water.
Mr Muriira, however, called on the two pastoral communities to discard cattle rustling and banditry and venture into legitimate business.
Malawi riots erupt in Lilongwe and Mzuzu (BBC)
Some protesters are demanding President Bingu wa Mutharika's resignation
Riots have broken out in cities in Malawi as opposition groups protest against President Bingu wa Mutharika's government. At least one person has died in the northern city of Mzuzu and protesters are burning barricades and looting property in the capital.
The authorities have banned live broadcasts of the riots.
The trouble started after a court ruled on Tuesday the protests, called against the high cost of living, were illegal.
'Running battles'
Northern Region Police spokesperson Norah Chimwala told the BBC that one person had died in the unrest in Mzuzu, some 300km (185 miles) north of the capital, Lilongwe.
Seven other people have been shot by police and they had been taken to Mzuzu Central Hospital for treatment, she said.
There have also been reports that the property of a government minister has been attacked by demonstrators in the city.
The BBC's Joel Nkoma in Lilongwe says the situation is also tense there, where angry crowds have been shouting, "Let him [Mr Mutharika] go".
On Tuesday, ruling party supporters armed with machetes warned people in Blantyre not to protest
He says police have fired teargas and have set up roadblocks to prevent protesters from entering the city centre, where all shops are closed and streets deserted. The riots are taking place in three townships near Lilongwe - Biwi, Kawale and Nchesi, our reporter says.
"There have been running battles between the police and demonstrators, Malawi Human Rights Commission spokesman Mike Chipalasa told the AFP news agency.
"People are angry. The situation is tense," he said.
A shop owned by an MP from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and a warehouse belonging to a businessman allied with Mr Mutharika have been looted, our reporter says.
AFP reports that the homes of three policemen have also been set alight in Lilongwe.
Police have also confiscated the camera of a photographer covering the protests, correspondents say.
The owner of Malaw's private Capital Radio, Alaudin Osman, told the BBC the authorities had ordered the station to stop live broadcasts because they were allegedly aggravating the situation.
"Rather than being shut down all together, we have decided to comply with the regulation," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
Aid row
On Tuesday, DPP supporters, armed with machetes, smashed the vehicles of two private radio stations in Blantyre. They roamed the streets of the city, threatening to deal with anyone who took part in the protests, correspondents say.
Mr Osman said Blantyre was relatively peaceful on Wednesday.
High Court judge Chifundo Kachale granted the injunction that the nationwide protests - organised by a coalition of civil society groups - were illegal in a late night ruling on Tuesday.
The demonstrations were called to protest against rising fuel prices, a shortage of foreign exchange reserves, alleged bad governance and poor international relations.
Last week, the UK cut direct aid to Malawi after a diplomatic spat with Mr Mutharika's government.
The UK accused Malawi of mishandling the economy and failing to uphold human rights.
The government recently passed an austerity budget, raising taxes to reduce dependence on aid.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an estimated 75% of the population living on less than $1 (60p) a day.
Global: Schools No Havens in War Zones (HRW)
- Children are entitled to go to school in a safe environment, even during times of conflict. Attacks on schools and the military use of schools jeopardize children's safety and education. - Bede Sheppard, senior children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch
Governments should improve protections for students and teachers during wartime by explicitly outlawing attacks on schools and curtailing their use by the military, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 162-page report, "Schools and Armed Conflict: A Global Survey of Domestic Laws and State Practice Protecting Schools from Attack and Military Use," examines domestic laws and military policies in 56 countries around the world. Governments have been slow to update and align their domestic legislation with the explicit prohibitions on attacks on schools under international criminal law, Human Rights Watch said. They are also failing to account for the negative consequences for children's right to education when armed forces convert schools into bases and barracks.
"Children are entitled to go to school in a safe environment, even during times of conflict," said Bede Sheppard, senior children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Attacks on schools and the military use of schools jeopardize children's safety and education."
Since December 2008, schools have been attacked in at least 16 armed conflicts. Opposition armed groups are primarily responsible for such attacks, because they view schools as symbols of the government or oppose educational practices such as schooling for girls. Under the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, an intentional attack on any building dedicated to education is a war crime if the building is not a military objective. Yet Human Rights Watch's survey revealed that only 27 out of the 56 surveyed countries had domestic legislation explicitly criminalizing intentional attacks on schools.
"An attack on a school is an attack on a child's future and on a country's development," Sheppard said. "Having a law on the books that says plain and simple that an attack on a school can be a war crime sends an important message that centers of learning should not be targets during war."
In the same time period, government forces or non-state armed groups have used or occupied schools as bases, barracks, or for other military purposes in at least 14 armed conflicts. In some situations, military use of school buildings has displaced all students from the school. In others, forces occupied only parts of school buildings, while students tried to carry on their studies in the remaining space.
The simultaneous use of a school for both military and education purposes places civilians at unnecessary risk and violates international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said. Moreover, a prolonged use of a school for military purposes risks interfering with children's right to education.
Human Rights Watch's global survey highlights eight countries with laws or military policies that either explicitly ban or restrict the use of education buildings by military forces: the Philippines, Colombia, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Ecuador, the United Kingdom, and, in the case of higher education buildings, Greece. The report notes, however, that instances of school use by armed forces nonetheless continue to be of concern in the Philippines, Colombia, and India.
"The Philippines and Colombia have shown that banning the use of schools by their armed forces is not at odds with combating an insurgency," Sheppard said. "Other countries should do the same and end a practice that endangers both students and education."
The schools attacked in the 16 armed conflicts since December 2008 are in Afghanistan, Burma, the Central African Republic (CAR), Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), India, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Libya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia, Sudan, Thailand, and Yemen.
Schools occupied or used as bases, barracks, or for other military purposes in at least 14 armed conflicts during the same time period by government forces or non-state armed groups are in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Libya, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, and Yemen.
Human Rights Watch called on governments to make explicit in their criminal and military law that an intentional attack on school buildings not being used for military purposes during armed conflict is a war crime. All countries should also enact domestic legislation or other policies that either prohibit or regulate armed forces' use of schools to protect the safety of children and teachers, and to ensure children's right to education.
BAE criticised by UK MPs over Tanzania corruption By Mark Doyle (BBC) The 162-page report, "Schools and Armed Conflict: A Global Survey of Domestic Laws and State Practice Protecting Schools from Attack and Military Use," examines domestic laws and military policies in 56 countries around the world. Governments have been slow to update and align their domestic legislation with the explicit prohibitions on attacks on schools under international criminal law, Human Rights Watch said. They are also failing to account for the negative consequences for children's right to education when armed forces convert schools into bases and barracks.
"Children are entitled to go to school in a safe environment, even during times of conflict," said Bede Sheppard, senior children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Attacks on schools and the military use of schools jeopardize children's safety and education."
Since December 2008, schools have been attacked in at least 16 armed conflicts. Opposition armed groups are primarily responsible for such attacks, because they view schools as symbols of the government or oppose educational practices such as schooling for girls. Under the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, an intentional attack on any building dedicated to education is a war crime if the building is not a military objective. Yet Human Rights Watch's survey revealed that only 27 out of the 56 surveyed countries had domestic legislation explicitly criminalizing intentional attacks on schools.
"An attack on a school is an attack on a child's future and on a country's development," Sheppard said. "Having a law on the books that says plain and simple that an attack on a school can be a war crime sends an important message that centers of learning should not be targets during war."
In the same time period, government forces or non-state armed groups have used or occupied schools as bases, barracks, or for other military purposes in at least 14 armed conflicts. In some situations, military use of school buildings has displaced all students from the school. In others, forces occupied only parts of school buildings, while students tried to carry on their studies in the remaining space.
The simultaneous use of a school for both military and education purposes places civilians at unnecessary risk and violates international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said. Moreover, a prolonged use of a school for military purposes risks interfering with children's right to education.
Human Rights Watch's global survey highlights eight countries with laws or military policies that either explicitly ban or restrict the use of education buildings by military forces: the Philippines, Colombia, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Ecuador, the United Kingdom, and, in the case of higher education buildings, Greece. The report notes, however, that instances of school use by armed forces nonetheless continue to be of concern in the Philippines, Colombia, and India.
"The Philippines and Colombia have shown that banning the use of schools by their armed forces is not at odds with combating an insurgency," Sheppard said. "Other countries should do the same and end a practice that endangers both students and education."
The schools attacked in the 16 armed conflicts since December 2008 are in Afghanistan, Burma, the Central African Republic (CAR), Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), India, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Libya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia, Sudan, Thailand, and Yemen.
Schools occupied or used as bases, barracks, or for other military purposes in at least 14 armed conflicts during the same time period by government forces or non-state armed groups are in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Libya, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, and Yemen.
Human Rights Watch called on governments to make explicit in their criminal and military law that an intentional attack on school buildings not being used for military purposes during armed conflict is a war crime. All countries should also enact domestic legislation or other policies that either prohibit or regulate armed forces' use of schools to protect the safety of children and teachers, and to ensure children's right to education.
BAE, based at Warton near Preston, Lancashire, agreed to pay £30m to the Tanzanian peopleThe British arms and aircraft firm BAE Systems has been severely criticised by a UK parliamentary inquiry into a corruption case surrounding an air-traffic-control deal with Tanzania.
MPs accused BAE of unilaterally setting up a compensation arrangement for Tanzania that was a "complete sham". BAE admitted to not keeping full accounting records of £8m ($12m) it paid to an agent who brokered the deal.
After a plea bargain, it was not found guilty of any wider corruption charges.
The controversy relates to the supply in 1999 of an air-traffic radar control system.
But it could also be a test case for campaigners who say bribery and corruption are a brake on economic development.
In a plea bargain with the prosecuting authorities, the Serious Fraud Office, BAE agreed to pay £30m to the Tanzanian people.
The £30m was effectively a compensation payment to Tanzania - because of the revelation of the embarrassing £8m payment and allegations that the military-style air-traffic system was unnecessarily complex and expensive.
BAE and the Serious Fraud Office said they could not say if the £8m was used for bribery to seal the radar sale.
A top BAE lawyer, Philip Bramwell, said the company sincerely apologised for events of the past - and he agreed it would not make payments similar to the £8m now.
'Naive'
MPs on the watchdog International Development Committee dismissed some of the company's positions as "waffle" and "dissembling".
They repeated a judge's comments that it was "naive in the extreme" to think the £8m was used legitimately and that there was "a high probability" that the sum had been used in the negotiating process to "favour" the BAE bid to supply the radar.
The MPs also asked BAE executives why none of the £30m had yet been paid.
They questioned the right of the company to set up its own advisory board to decide on how the money should be spent - rather than give the money directly to the government of Tanzania, as a group of Tanzanian MPs had requested.
Committee chairman Malcolm Bruce MP asked whether it was not "offensive" for the company to suggest it knew better how to spend the money than the government of Tanzania.
With the Tanzanian government, British aid ministry the Department for International Development has drawn up a plan to spend the money on the Tanzanian education system - for desks, text books and teachers' accommodation.
Mr Bruce advised BAE to hand the money over to this project "as soon as possible".
The director of the Serious Fraud Office, Richard Alderman, who also appeared before the committee, said he was surprised the money had not yet been disbursed as promised by BAE.
He undertook to write to the company to ask why not - and said there would be "consequences" if there were further delays.
Sources: U.S. drone strike kills at least 50 in Yemen By Hakim Almasmari (CNN)
A U.S. drone strike targeting militants in southern Yemen Thursday killed at least 50 people, two Yemeni security sources said.
This comes as the United States and the Yemeni government step up their efforts to target militants, including those Islamists who've taken over several cities in recent weeks....
"The casualty toll is high because fighters were gathered in that area with family members," said the senior security source in Abyan.
Two eyewitnesses said that at least 30 civilians who were hiding from the continuous attacks were among the dead.
"No one knows who is dying in Abyan. We want to leave the province, but go to where? Leaving the province is a slow death for all of us," said Yousra Bandar, a mother of three.
Two years ago, a U.S. drone attack in Abyan killed 62 people.
New study proves falsity of John Brennan's drone claims By Glenn Greenwald
In late June, President Obama's chief Terrorism adviser, John Brennan, made an extraordinary claim about drone attacks in Pakistan: "in the last year, 'there hasn't been a single collateral death because of the exceptional proficiency, precision of the capabilities that we've been able to develop." He added: "if there are terrorists who are within an area where there are women and children or others, you know, we do not take such action that might put those innocent men, women and children in danger." The London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism had heard similar claims from Obama officials over the past several months, and thus set out to examine the relevant evidence to determine if those claims are true.
Last night, they issued the findings of their study which, simply put, definitively establish that the administration's claim about civilian deaths is patently false. Contrary to Brennan's public assertions, "a detailed examination by the Bureau of 116 CIA 'secret' drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2010 has uncovered at least 10 individual attacks in which 45 or more civilians appear to have died." That count -- which includes numerous children -- covers only the civilian deaths which the Bureau could definitively establish by identifying the victims by name. Given how conservative their methodology was, these findings almost certainly under-count, probably dramatically, the number of civilian deaths at U.S. hands during the period about which Brennan made his claim: "at least 15 additional strikes warrant urgent investigation, with many more civilian deaths possible."
Other data similarly establish how false and misleading are Brennan's claims. A British photojournalist providing on-the-scene reporting of the aftermath of drone strikes in Waziristan documented this week that "far more civilians are being injured or dying than the Americans and Pakistanis admit" and "for every 10 to 15 people killed, maybe they get one militant." To describe Brennan's claims as merely "inaccurate" or "untrue" is to be unduly generous.
My guest on Salon Radio today is Chris Woods, who led the Bureau's investigation into Brennan's claims. The 15-minute discussion can be heard by clicking PLAY on the player below. Woods explains why it is so pernicious to allow false claims about drone attacks like the one Brennan issued to go unchallenged. Most remarkably, he explains that even once the Bureau presented the evidence they compiled to the Obama administration, Obama officials continued to insist that Brennan's claims were true, telling the Bureau: "the most accurate information on counter-terror operations resides with the United States."
But as the ACLU today notes regarding the Bureau's study, the Most Transparent Administration Ever™ refuses to honor the ACLU's FOIA requests for information about drone attacks:
To his credit, Joe Scarborough interviewed Jeremy Scahill this morning on Morning Joe regarding Obama's use of a secret prison in Somalia, his escalating drone attacks, and the reaction of Democrats to all of this. It's well worth watching:
UPDATE: The transcript of the interview with Chris Woods is available here.
Last night, they issued the findings of their study which, simply put, definitively establish that the administration's claim about civilian deaths is patently false. Contrary to Brennan's public assertions, "a detailed examination by the Bureau of 116 CIA 'secret' drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2010 has uncovered at least 10 individual attacks in which 45 or more civilians appear to have died." That count -- which includes numerous children -- covers only the civilian deaths which the Bureau could definitively establish by identifying the victims by name. Given how conservative their methodology was, these findings almost certainly under-count, probably dramatically, the number of civilian deaths at U.S. hands during the period about which Brennan made his claim: "at least 15 additional strikes warrant urgent investigation, with many more civilian deaths possible."
Other data similarly establish how false and misleading are Brennan's claims. A British photojournalist providing on-the-scene reporting of the aftermath of drone strikes in Waziristan documented this week that "far more civilians are being injured or dying than the Americans and Pakistanis admit" and "for every 10 to 15 people killed, maybe they get one militant." To describe Brennan's claims as merely "inaccurate" or "untrue" is to be unduly generous.
My guest on Salon Radio today is Chris Woods, who led the Bureau's investigation into Brennan's claims. The 15-minute discussion can be heard by clicking PLAY on the player below. Woods explains why it is so pernicious to allow false claims about drone attacks like the one Brennan issued to go unchallenged. Most remarkably, he explains that even once the Bureau presented the evidence they compiled to the Obama administration, Obama officials continued to insist that Brennan's claims were true, telling the Bureau: "the most accurate information on counter-terror operations resides with the United States."
But as the ACLU today notes regarding the Bureau's study, the Most Transparent Administration Ever™ refuses to honor the ACLU's FOIA requests for information about drone attacks:
* * * * *The trouble is that United States refuses to share its information -- even basic information -- with the public.
Indeed, it is absurd that senior government officials would claim that there have been no civilian casualties in drone strikes in Pakistan, and at the same time refuse to confirm or deny the existence of civilian casualty data in response to the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act request. This kind of selective disclosure not only deprives the public of basic information about the human cost of the government's actions, but it also undermines the credibility of the government's statements. . . .
The public debate on drone strikes is severely hobbled by the government's failure to provide basic information not just about the number of innocent civilians killed, but also about the legal criteria that its uses in conducting targeted drone killings, and the internal accountability measures that are in place to ensure that strikes -- especially those conducted by the CIA -- comply with the law.In light of this new finding, it's not hard to see what accounts for this refusal to engage in basic disclosure. Secrecy is not only the linchpin for abuses of power, but it also enables the government to issue misleading propaganda in an unchallenged manner. As drone attacks become an increasingly prominent tool in the American war arsenal, it's more vital than ever that government deceit about these attacks not be tolerated. The discussion with Woods can be heard here:
To his credit, Joe Scarborough interviewed Jeremy Scahill this morning on Morning Joe regarding Obama's use of a secret prison in Somalia, his escalating drone attacks, and the reaction of Democrats to all of this. It's well worth watching:
UPDATE: The transcript of the interview with Chris Woods is available here.
Attack Helicopters Boost NATO Air Ops over Libya By Chris Pocock
Attack helicopters, including British AH-64D Apache, are launched from ships off the Libyan coast.
Recent briefings in Brussels and London on Operation Unified Protector reveal that attack helicopters provided by France and the UK are now making key contributions to NATO-led operations over Libya, which has been extended until the end of September. British AH-64 Apaches plus French Tigers and Gazelles have destroyed more than 300 targets since their introduction on June 4. Flying at night, they have provided "a valuable psychological and cognitive effect," according to one British Army officer. The helicopters' mix of weapons (Hellfire or HOT missiles, rockets and guns) might be more suited to attacking light vehicles and control points employed by Libyan regime forces in concealed and urban areas than the combat aircraft operating from higher altitude.
Nevertheless, fast jets continue to strike a variety of targets. UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornados and Typhoons have demonstrated "an incredible 99-percent success rate against fixed targets, and 98 percent against moving targets," according to a senior officer who recently returned from the Combined Air Operations Center in Italy.
By early last week, the forces had flown some 15,000 sorties and struck nearly 3,000 targets. "We have degraded Ghadhafi's military capacity to the point that he is no longer capable of running any major offensive operation," said a NATO spokesman. "Numerous senior civil servants and military commanders have defected from the regime."
However, NATO has not been able to prevent rocket attacks on the beseiged enclave of Misrata from continuing, and skirmishes elsewhere. And there is no sign of a rebellion against the regime in Tripoli and other heartlands.
Other noteworthy aspects of the campaign include:
• Officials still insist that NATO has no forward air controllers or special forces operating on the ground in Libya. This has led to increased reliance on persistent surveillance from intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) assets, sometimes for many days, to ensure that potential targets can be verified and the risk to civilians can be assessed properly.
• France claims to be flying 25 percent of total sorties, using Rafales, Super Etendards, Mirage 2000D/N/-5s, E-2C Hawkeyes, E-3F AWACS and KC-135 tankers. French Air Force Rafale operations have now moved from Solenzara to Sigonella.
• NATO has acknowledged only one incident in which civilians were killed in an airstrike. Unconfirmed reports reaching AIN suggest that the incident, in Tripoli on June 18, was caused by the guidance failure of tailfins on a French AASM weapon.
• The deployment of RAF aircrew onboard U.S. Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint sigint (signals intelligence) aircraft, in a co-manning arrangement. The RAF withdrew its last Nimrod R1 sigint aircraft from the Libyan operation last month, and retired the type from service. A NATO spokesman hinted that NATO has identified dissention in the ranks of the Libyan regime forces through sigint reporting.
• The U.S. continues to provide Predator UAV patrols. The Italian air force now has its first two Reaper UCAVs (unmanned combat air vehicles) operational at Amendola, from where they could provide 12- to 14-hour coverage over Libya per flight, if authorized by Rome.
MUST READ:
Financial Terrorism Analysis: How Global Bankers Plunder Nations
– Lessons from Greece By Andrew Gavin Marshall (GlobalResearch)
Introduction
In late June of 2011, the Greek government passed another round of austerity measures, ostensibly aimed at getting Greece "back on track" to economic progress, but in reality, implementing a systematic program of 'social genocide' in the name of servicing an endless and illegitimate debt to foreign banks. Right on cue, protests and riots broke out in Athens against the draconian measures, and the state moved in to do what states do best: oppress the people with riot police, tear gas and bashing batons, leaving roughly 300 people injured.
PLS READ ON
Andrew Gavin Marshall is an independent researcher and writer based in Montreal, Canada, writing on a number of social, political, economic, and historical issues. He is co-editor of the book, "The Global Economic Crisis: The Great Depression of the XXI Century." His website is http://www.andrewgavinmarshall.com
Source Notes 1-146 here.
RUSSIA vs CANADA - OPERATION NANOOK 11
ARCTIC 1-31 Aug 2011 Canadian forces stage show of force in disputed region (newsahead)
Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay recently described Operation Nanook 11 as "the largest operation that has taken place in recent history." The now-annual Canadian military exercises in the Arctic were established to buttress Canada's claim to part of the Arctic sea floor where Russian and Canadian claims overlap. Russia is establishing permanent military bases in its northern territories to support its claim, and all five Arctic nations are racing to gather data to support their claims amid reports that global warming could leave the resource-rich region ice-free and accessible by 2030.
The United States Geological Survey says the Arctic seabed could hold 13 per cent of the world's oil reserves and 30 per cent of its gas resources. The rival nations are Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States. In 2012 the data from each will go before a United Nations panel that will decide which nations own which sections of the Arctic seabed.
A Russian scientific expedition — led by a nuclear-powered icebreaker — has set sail for the Arctic to solidify Russia's claim, and has announced it will station two new Arctic warfare brigades north of 60 degrees — a move that will expand Russia's northern military capabilities far beyond those of Canada, according to the Montreal Gazette.
According to the Canadian Defence Department, Operation Nanook 11 is to play out in several phases on and near Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island, with more than 1,000 Canadian Forces personnel participating. It will involve CF-18 fighter jets as well a surveillance and transport aircraft, a warship, infantry companies from Quebec and Alberta, and 5 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group — Inuit reservists who have broad experience surviving in the extreme environment of the Far North. (WRITTEN Jul 2011)
RELATED READING:
Canadian Forces Operation NANOOK 11: Planning for CF Northern operation now underway (Canadian Defence Department)
http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/daily/archive-nanook11-eng.asp
Russia launches Arctic expedition, beefs up military presence (Montreal Gazette 6 Jul 2011)
http://www.canada.com/news/Russia+launches+Arctic+expedition+beefs+military
+presence/5060448/story.html#ixzz1RXJbmlQi
France, Germany, Poland Push EU Military Headquarters In Brussels
France, Germany, Poland back permanent EU military HQ (AFP)
France, Germany and Poland want the idea of a permanent European Union military headquarters in Brussels to be pursued despite British opposition, their foreign ministers said Monday.
The ministers issued a joint statement after EU foreign and security policy chief Catherine Ashton released a report on possible ways for states to pool and share military capacities, which the ministers discussed.
The text of her report mentioned a "permanent civilian-military planning and conduct of operations capacity" or permanent European military headquarters, Alain Juppe, Guido Westerwelle and Radoslaw Sikorski said in the statement.
Ashton's report also called for sharing defence capacities, improving EU-NATO relations and operational engagements by EU tactical groups, the statement said.
The EU's misguided military ambitions by Geoffrey Van Orden
Europe should focus on improving NATO rather than creating an EU army and military headquarters
As you cannot get closer to the bone of national sovereignty than defence, the European Union has regarded fulfilment of its ambitions in this field as a major political objective. In 1998, the British Labour Government agreed that the EU should develop an autonomous military capability. From 1998 onwards, realising the genie that it had released, British defence and foreign ministers fought a rearguard action against the union's growing defence appetite. But at each stage, they eventually gave in to pressure - in order to achieve some long-forgotten objective in some unrelated area of policy.
The most sensitive aspect is the recruitment, training, and deployment of the EU's own troops. That is a long way off - although, there have been tentative efforts by France and Germany at various times. As if the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation did not exist, the 1999 European Council in Helsinki gave birth to the idea of a 15-brigade EU force of 60,000 troops - sustainable in the field for a year. This ridiculous notion did not get far at the time. But, as in other sensitive areas of policy, the union proceeds by small steps. Sometimes it needs to take a step back in order to make a bigger leap forward at a more opportune moment – "reculer pour mieux sauter" as Giscard d'Estaing might have put it.
The Nice Treaty saw the creation of the EU Military Committee - replicating the similar body long-established at NATO - that would be served by a union military staff. But such a staff does not have the capacity or means to control military missions in the field. This requires an operational headquarters with all the associated command and communications capabilities. During the Labour years, resistance to this EU operational headquarters was gradually eroded. In 2003, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced "there is no case for having operational planning and the running of operations per se in an EU headquarters, separate either from supreme headquarters allied powers Europe or from national headquarters".
Shortly afterwards, the EU established an operational planning cell. In December 2003, the then Belgian Prime Minister lauded this creation in a way that he may now regret: "I compare this cell for the planning and conduct of common military operations to the European Central Bank. Twenty years ago, we started off with a monetary institute, with a degree of ambition which was lower even than that of the military cell. It has grown into the ECB we all know."
The determination to create a fully-fledged military capability with the levers of command directly under European control has not diminished. Yesterday, the Foreign Affairs Council was again confronted with a demand for the creation of a permanent EU operational headquarters. The UK took a tough line on this, insisting the union focused on more constructive areas of work. The defence and security issues that confront us - Libya, Afghanistan, international terrorism, piracy - are too serious to be playthings for the EU's political ambitions.
The fact is, the union brings no additional military capabilities to the table and takes on no additional European share of the transatlantic defence burden. Instead, it is yet another call on the same diminishing pool of national armed forces and is a serious distraction from NATO, which should be the main focus of international military commitment for the democracies. While NATO struggles to persuade its member states to contribute to strategically vital missions, such as Libya, the EU continues to spend money and effort copying NATO's structures and desperately trying to find military tasks on which it can stick its badge.
It is ridiculous that coordination mechanisms between the union and NATO are now required to enable more or less the same nations to talk to themselves in different locations in Brussels. Adept at identifying attractive justifications for its ambitions, the EU now tries to justify its desire for an operational headquarters by claiming some unique amalgam of civil and military capabilities. This is, of course, just window-dressing.
The reality is that the EU is incapable of getting both parts of this difficult equation right – its civil delegation in Kampala has had nothing to do with the Uganda-based military training mission for Somali recruits. The EU's counter piracy operation off the coast of Somalia is having diminishing success because of weak rules of engagement and lack of robust legal structures to back the naval operations. The International Maritime Bureau says there has been a 36 per cent increase in global pirate attacks compared with last year.
If you want the EU to become an integrated state called Europe - then of course you would want it to have its own flag, anthem, currency, citizenship, fiscal policy, foreign policy and, therefore, a diplomatic service and military capability. If, as I do, you totally reject this view of the EU and wish to see a community of sovereign nations, focused on economic growth and the single market along with a limited number of other areas of intimate cross-border cooperation - you correctly view with great concern every effort to enhance the EU's military role.
Instead of dressing up its ambitions and misleading our people and our allies with smoke and mirrors about "enhanced military capabilities", the "comprehensive approach", and "going where others can't" - the union should come clean about its political desire for a pan-European army. If, though, the EU just wants to be useful - it should stop trying to play soldiers and focus its efforts on civil matters that might complement the military efforts of NATO.
(*) Geoffrey Van Orden MEP is the Conservative defence and security spokesman in the European Parliament and a former senior army officer
As you cannot get closer to the bone of national sovereignty than defence, the European Union has regarded fulfilment of its ambitions in this field as a major political objective. In 1998, the British Labour Government agreed that the EU should develop an autonomous military capability. From 1998 onwards, realising the genie that it had released, British defence and foreign ministers fought a rearguard action against the union's growing defence appetite. But at each stage, they eventually gave in to pressure - in order to achieve some long-forgotten objective in some unrelated area of policy.
The most sensitive aspect is the recruitment, training, and deployment of the EU's own troops. That is a long way off - although, there have been tentative efforts by France and Germany at various times. As if the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation did not exist, the 1999 European Council in Helsinki gave birth to the idea of a 15-brigade EU force of 60,000 troops - sustainable in the field for a year. This ridiculous notion did not get far at the time. But, as in other sensitive areas of policy, the union proceeds by small steps. Sometimes it needs to take a step back in order to make a bigger leap forward at a more opportune moment – "reculer pour mieux sauter" as Giscard d'Estaing might have put it.
The Nice Treaty saw the creation of the EU Military Committee - replicating the similar body long-established at NATO - that would be served by a union military staff. But such a staff does not have the capacity or means to control military missions in the field. This requires an operational headquarters with all the associated command and communications capabilities. During the Labour years, resistance to this EU operational headquarters was gradually eroded. In 2003, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced "there is no case for having operational planning and the running of operations per se in an EU headquarters, separate either from supreme headquarters allied powers Europe or from national headquarters".
Shortly afterwards, the EU established an operational planning cell. In December 2003, the then Belgian Prime Minister lauded this creation in a way that he may now regret: "I compare this cell for the planning and conduct of common military operations to the European Central Bank. Twenty years ago, we started off with a monetary institute, with a degree of ambition which was lower even than that of the military cell. It has grown into the ECB we all know."
The determination to create a fully-fledged military capability with the levers of command directly under European control has not diminished. Yesterday, the Foreign Affairs Council was again confronted with a demand for the creation of a permanent EU operational headquarters. The UK took a tough line on this, insisting the union focused on more constructive areas of work. The defence and security issues that confront us - Libya, Afghanistan, international terrorism, piracy - are too serious to be playthings for the EU's political ambitions.
The fact is, the union brings no additional military capabilities to the table and takes on no additional European share of the transatlantic defence burden. Instead, it is yet another call on the same diminishing pool of national armed forces and is a serious distraction from NATO, which should be the main focus of international military commitment for the democracies. While NATO struggles to persuade its member states to contribute to strategically vital missions, such as Libya, the EU continues to spend money and effort copying NATO's structures and desperately trying to find military tasks on which it can stick its badge.
It is ridiculous that coordination mechanisms between the union and NATO are now required to enable more or less the same nations to talk to themselves in different locations in Brussels. Adept at identifying attractive justifications for its ambitions, the EU now tries to justify its desire for an operational headquarters by claiming some unique amalgam of civil and military capabilities. This is, of course, just window-dressing.
The reality is that the EU is incapable of getting both parts of this difficult equation right – its civil delegation in Kampala has had nothing to do with the Uganda-based military training mission for Somali recruits. The EU's counter piracy operation off the coast of Somalia is having diminishing success because of weak rules of engagement and lack of robust legal structures to back the naval operations. The International Maritime Bureau says there has been a 36 per cent increase in global pirate attacks compared with last year.
If you want the EU to become an integrated state called Europe - then of course you would want it to have its own flag, anthem, currency, citizenship, fiscal policy, foreign policy and, therefore, a diplomatic service and military capability. If, as I do, you totally reject this view of the EU and wish to see a community of sovereign nations, focused on economic growth and the single market along with a limited number of other areas of intimate cross-border cooperation - you correctly view with great concern every effort to enhance the EU's military role.
Instead of dressing up its ambitions and misleading our people and our allies with smoke and mirrors about "enhanced military capabilities", the "comprehensive approach", and "going where others can't" - the union should come clean about its political desire for a pan-European army. If, though, the EU just wants to be useful - it should stop trying to play soldiers and focus its efforts on civil matters that might complement the military efforts of NATO.
(*) Geoffrey Van Orden MEP is the Conservative defence and security spokesman in the European Parliament and a former senior army officer
News of the World phone hacking whistleblower is found dead at home (CLG)
-'Police investigations into this incident are ongoing.' –Mr Hoare blew the whistle on the phone hacking scandal during an investigation by The New York Times last September. 18 Jul 2011
A former News of the World reporter who was the first to allege that Andy Coulson knew phone hacking was taking place at the paper was today found dead at home. Sean Hoare's body was found on a extraordinary day when a Met police chief John Yates and Scotland Yard chief Paul Stephenson resigned over the phone hacking scandal, four senior officers were facing questions and the Prime Minister was forced to call an emergency session of Parliament, were Ruppert Murdoch was also physically attacked. Whistleblower Coulson was discovered at 10.40am at his home in Watford, Hertfordshire.
----------------
SOMALI WATERWORLD
THE SITUATION ON SOMALIA's 6th ESTATE:
- YOU ARE PERSISTENTLY BEING LIED TO WITH IMPUNITY
- TRENDS
- SOLUTIONS PENDING
- ECOTERRA STATEMENT and
- THE WISH-LISTS FOR THE NAVIES, THE UN AND BAN KI-MOON
READ ALL AND UNDERSTAND AT: http://beforeitsnews.com/story/135118
and NAVAL NAVEL INSPECTION I
and NAVAL NAVEL INSPECTION II
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it."
Henry Ford (1863 - 1947)
HOSTAGE CASES UNDER OBSERVATION: (© ecoterra/ecop-marine)
Genuine members of families of the abducted seafarers or true vessel owners can call +254-719-603-176 for further details or send an e-mail in any language to office[AT]ecoterra-international.org
FV NN IRAN : Seized March 02, 2009. The Iranian fishing vessel and her 29 crew was seized by Somali pirates. The vessel was missing and wanted. Navy soldiers on French warship FS NIVOSE and her helicopter fired warning shots at a dhow and then snipers from the Estonian Vessel Protection Detachment (VPD) destroyed her skiffs, which were abandoned before the dhow and the hostages were commandeered back to the coast. The vessel and crew are still held hostage.
MV SOCOTRA 1 : Seized December 25. 2009. The vessel carrying a food cargo for a Yemeni businessman and bound for Socotra Archipelago was captured in the Gulf of Aden after it left Alshahir port in the eastern province of Hadramout. 6 crew members of Yemeni nationality were aboard. Latest information said the ship was commandeered onto the high seas between Oman and Pakistan, possibly in another piracy or smuggling mission. 2 of the original crew are reportedly on land in Puntland. VESSEL STILL MISSING and/or working as pirate ship, was confirmed by Yemeni authorities.
The vessel is wanted.
MSV HUD HUD seized March 23, 2010. The motorized, Pakistan-flagged and Pakistan-owned Dhow with 11 Pakistani crew was used to hijack MT ELENI P, a Greek merchant vessel which was released after the payment of a ransom.
Freed seafarers of the Greek merchant ship reported that after the successful boarding of MT ELENI P the pirates left the MSV HUDHUD and all embarked on MT ELENI P. It was therefore assumed that MSV HUD-HUD was set free on 12. May 2010.
It is, however, now reported by the Authorities, that the owners of the vessel still claim to not know the whereabouts of this vessel and its crew. MSV HUD HUD also flies sometimes the flag of the Comoros was established from the records of the Sharjah creek customs office in the UAE.
The vessel is wanted.
MV ICEBERG I : Seized March 29, 2010. The UAE-owned, Panama-flagged Ro-Ro vessel MV ICEBERG 1 (IMO 7429102) with her originally 24 multinational crew members (9 Yemenis, 6 Indians, 4 from Ghana, 2 Sudanese, 2 Pakistani and 1 Filipino) was sea-jacked just 10nm outside Aden Port, Gulf of Aden. The 3,960 dwt vessel was mostly held off Kulub at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia. Since negotiations had not yet achieved any solution, the vessel was taken to the high seas again. Then the USS McFaul intercepted and identified the ship on 19th May 2010, despite the pirates having painted over her name and re-named the ship SEA EXPRESS, while the vessel was on a presumed piracy mission on the high-seas. Since about 50 pirates on the ship made any rescue operation impossible without endangering the 24 crew, the naval ship followed the commandeered vessel's movements for the next 36 hours, until it began to sail back towards the coast of Somalia. Already back then it had transpired that the shipping company Azal Shipping based in Dubai refused to pay any ransom and the ship is apparently not insured, though it carries quiet valuable cargo. For a long time it seemed that the British cargo owner was influencing the not forthcoming negotiations. The sailors soon had no more food, water or medicine from their stores on board. Chief Officer Kumar, Chief Engineer Mohamed and Second Engineer Francis also stated since months that they urgently need Diesel for the electricity generators. The crew requested in July and August again humanitarian intervention as before but could only receive some supplies through intervention by local elders and a humanitarian group, because the owner-manager neglects the crew. In September some negotiations for the release started again, but were not concluded or continued, because the captors consider the offer of the shipowner as unrealistic. According to the Chinese state-media newswire XINHUA, the acting director at the ministry of foreign affairs in Accra (Ghana) Mr. Lawrence Sotah said the ministry, in response to a petition by a relative of one of the hostages, had commenced investigations, but reportedly stated also that their location and reasons for the kidnapping remained unknown. "We do not have any information as to what the pirates are demanding, because the owners of the ship or the pirates themselves have not put out any information which will be helpful for us to know exactly what they want," he said. "Ghana's mission in Saudi Arabia has been contacted to assist, " Sotah said. He said the ministry was working with other international security organization to get to the bottom of what he termed the "alleged" kidnapping.
The vessel is owned by a company called ICEBERG INTERNATIONAL LTD, but registered only with "care of" the ISM-manager AZAL SHIPPING & CARGO (L.L.C) - Shipping Lines Agents - Dubai UAE, whose representative Mr. Yassir Amin - said to be a Yemeni - was stating to all sides that he is handling the case.
Though EU NAVFOR spokesman Cmdr. John Harbour had stated that the vessel was carrying just "general mechanical equipment" and was heading for the United Arab Emirates when it was attacked, it carries according to the owner-manager generators, transformers and empty fuel tanks. It could now be confirmed that besides other cargo it carries generators and transformers for British power rental company Aggreko International Power Projects and the cargo seems to be better insured than the vessel.
One of the sailors from Ghana was able to speak to a journalist back home and stated on 22. September: "They have given us a 48 hour deadline that if we don't come up with anything reasonable they will kill some of us and sink the vessel. I am appealing to the Ghanaian authority that they should do something to save our lives because our treatment here is inhuman". The vessel was then very close to the shore of Garacad. In the beginning of October the Somali pirates allegedly threatened to kill the sailors and to sell the body organs of the 22 hostages, if their ransom demands are not met in the near future. Media reports said the information was received via a text message from one of the hostages, but investigations showed that the message, which read that the pirates will kill them and then remove their eyes and kidneys in order to be sold, is more a sort of a macabre hoax. On 27. October the third officer (name of the Yemeni man known but withheld until next of kin would speak out) died. The crew reported the case, evidence was provided and the owner confirmed that he also knows. Since there is no more light diesel to run the generators for the freezer, the owner reportedly just gave instructions to take the body off the vessel, but has made no arrangements to bring it back to Yemen.
Thereafter it was said that the group holding the ship would use it again to capture other vessels when two skiffs were taken taken on board hinting at plans that the gang intended to commandeer the ship to the high-seas again. But vessel and crew were then still held at Kulub near Garacad at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, because the vessel was out of fuel. The pirates, however, managed then to refuel from another vessel.
The National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) in Yemen as well as ECOTERRA Intl. sent a letter on behalf of the families, following the news that one crew member had committed suicide.
The kidnap victim's families previously published a letter to the President in the state-owned October 14 newspaper in September.
"As it is the state's duty to protect its citizens and because of your public responsibility as the country's president, we demand you free the Yemeni hostages and investigate officials who did not do their duty to rescue them," reads the letter from HOOD to the President.
Also the families of the Indian seafarers on board have several times called upon the President and the Prime Minister of India and addressed the Indian Minister to help and solve the crisis, since the shipowner is not even responding to their requests for information. Though Dubai's Azal Shipping, fronting for the real owners, stated to a maritime website that the crew would not be malnourished, the governments of the seafarers already have statements from the captain and crew-members themselves, which state otherwise and also describe the appalling medical situation.
Again an urgent request to deliver relief-supplies in form of food, water and urgently required medicine as well as fuel for the generators has been made by the captain and crew, but was so far neglected by the ship-owner, who also has not yet facilitated the transfer of the body of the deceased to his Yemeni family. A great number of the still surviving 23 crew are suffering now from serious medical conditions of various kind , ranging from blindness, infections to mental illness, and most suffer from skin rashes, which make now humanitarian intervention and medical assistance compulsory.
It is hoped that the Indian Prime Minister, who was in the UAE, can achieve that the owners of the vessel are now really engaging in a tangible process to free the vessel and not just rely on their so-called consultants.
Latest reports state that the vessel is now only one mile off the beach off Kulub. Dangers that it might get wrecked on the beach are real, because the chief engineer alerted that there is no more fuel on board to manoeuvre the vessel away from the shore and heavy winds and waves push the vessel closer to land.
It would not be the first time that unscrupulous vessel or cargo owners even hope to cash in on the insurance money for a wrecked ship and lost cargo in such a case.
Since 02. February 2005 the classification society Bureau Veritas had withdrawn from this vessel, because a survey of the ship was already overdue back then and no survey has been carried out since. But this did not stop disputed outfits like the Canadian company Africa Oil to use the ICEBERG I as their supply vessel for their adventures with the Australian oil-juggler Range Resources and the Puntland regional administration and to take equipment back to Djibouti when their deal finally went sour recently.
The vessel is also not covered by an ITF Agreement and the crew will have serious difficulties to get their rights even once they come free.
Already the family of the deceased Yemeni seafarer and their lawyer from Aden had no success to achieve any co-operation from the vessel owner or their front-men - a situation experienced by several organizations already before.
Meanwhile the flag-state Panama and the governments of the seafarers have been addressed and are requested to step in. Panama's Shipping Registry, the largest in the world at the end of 2010, has finally exited the "grey list" compiled by signatories of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MOU.) The Paris MOU compiles a list of shipping registries that are not in compliance with international standards. It is expected now that the authorities from Panama will take their guarantor position as flag-state concerning the lives of the seamen on MV ICEBERG serious now.
For a long time reports said that the body of the deceased seafarer was decomposing, while vessel and crew are obviously also earmarked to rot unattended in that hell.
Reports from the destitute families say that the vessel-owner hasn't even paid any outstanding salaries and the Indian government has so far only reacted with diplomatic niceties, but no help to the situation in any way.
The vessel has now been moved from Kulub to Ceel Dhanaane south of Garacad, but the chief engineer said he has no more fuel to run the generators and that during one of the manoeuvres the propeller and shaft were damaged.
During the first week of February humanitarian mediation efforts achieved that some crew-members could talk to their families and the families reported that the vessel owner has completely abandoned the crew and his vessel, while also officials from the numerous governments, who are tasked because their nationals are hostages, reportedly also have achieved no step ahead, while the so-called owner of the vessel from AZAL SHIPPING recently stated to the pirates: "Whether you kill the crew or you sink the ship I don't care." - as documented by the crew.
Reports on a certain Somalia website, however, claiming that the chief engineer was missing from the ship and had been taken to an undisclosed location on land, turned out to be simply not true.
The families of the Indian hostages on board went therefore public mid February 2011 and decried the total irresponsibleness of the Indian government. They stated to CNN/IBN that neither the Indian Prime Minister nor the the ministers concerned nor any of the authorities tasked with the duties to care for the hostage seafarers had shown any activity to work on the release of the seafarers on MV ICEBERG I.
The Yemeni family of the deceased sailor had been informed that they had to make a decision what should happen with the corpse, since the pirates were no longer willing to put diesel into the generator for the freezer.
The captain of the ill-fated ship stated that the owners of the vessel had given up ownership and has now addressed the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to assist him with the transfer of ownership and the sale of vessel and cargo in order to recover the wages of the crew and to buy their freedom. He confirmed this also to the families and to CNN/IBN and sent respective written communication to the IMO.
The fathers of six Indian crew members of MV Iceberg I said now they will begin a hunger strike outside the home of India's Prime Minister in Delhi until the hostages are freed.
For the first time in nearly a year, the Seafarers Association of India, now woke up too and they said "they were looking into the matter."
Meanwhile the alleged owner of the vessel at AZAL shipping, who is said to be of Yemeni origin, tried unsuccessfully to derail the brunt of the media and families, who even called now on the authorities of the UAE to arrest him, by claiming that he would negotiate through a Somali exGeneral, who used to work for the Somali government.
The fear that the shipping company wants to wreck the vessel is not over. NexLaw, a Consultancy founded and run by one Ravi Ravindran, who originated from Singapore and moved his business from Turkey into the Dubai Maritime City Free Zone under the name DMCEST and is dealing mainly with shipwrecks was on the case since long. Ravi Ravindran said Yassir Amin of Azal Shipping had mandated him. But with which task, is the question. To wreck it? The NexLaw/DMCEST company claimed already earlier to have been involved also in the case of secretly U.S.-owned but Yemen-based MV SEA PRINCESS II, a seajacked small tanker which was another case where one dead seafarer on board had to be decried and which was then finally freed by the involvement of the cargo-owners and not the consultancy. Since Ravi Ravindran obviously didn't achieve a release, Yassir Amin now resorted to claim that he had involved a Somali exGeneral from Mogadishu.
Recent media reports by one Indian paper about a second death among the crew could not be verified and are believed to be not true. However, the situation of the crew is now really precarious with the shipowner apparently incapable and the pirates demanding.
Dutch warship HNLMS De Ruyter (F 804) had apparently tried in March to receive the body of the deceased Yemeni seafarer from the pirates, but because they approached in a way that the pirates believed it could be trick to launch an attack, their attempt was not successful. On the 27. October 2010 Wagdi Akram, a Yemeni and father of four , the third officer, jumped overboard in a fit of dementia. Akram's body was retrieved, stored in a freezer, wrapped in an orange plastic casing with a few bags of ice to keep it cold. Meanwhile it is reported that the gang had to dispose the body into the sea, since there was no more diesel to run the generator and even the crew is cooking now with firewood on board. The electric power having failed when the diesel for the generators ran out, and because the vessel owner did absolutely nothing to help the family to receive the body for burial, the man's remains were thrown overboard.
More and more signs are pointing to an outcome similar to that of ill-fated MV RAK AFRIKANA, which was wrecked on the coast of Somalia. Only in this case it will be most likely a more serious disaster, since the vessel is reportedly also carrying toxic fluids in containers, which are according to the manifest supposed to be empty. Already IMO, UNEP and other organizations, whose duty is to avert such grave pollution of a coastal ecosystem, have been called upon and the naval forces are urged not to let this vessel go down.
The case has turned into the most ugly tragedy if Somali pirate history, since it has been revealed now that the Chief engineer apparently is so severely handicapped now that his survival is seriously endangered.
MV ICEBERG I, however, still still moored at Ceel Dhanaane at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast, while diplomatic avoidance games and the neglect of responsibility from the side of the ownership unfortunately continue.
"We'll nearly die, all people are mental. In some more days people will kill themselves," said the hostage as reported by CNN/IBN, who had received a video tape from the ship and spoke to the crew.
"We have given the go-ahead to all countries in the world to deploy their navy ships there [the waters of Somalia]," Somali Ambassador to Indonesia, Mohamud Olow Barow, had told the media during a press conference in Jakarta on 12. April 2011. This broad statement is, however, disputed by the Somali Transitional Federal Parliament.
Despite several appeals from the families of the sailors, the government has not initiated a firm action yet, leaving the families miffed. The families have now reiterated their demand for government intervention in the matter and help release the sailors abducted.
Jaswinder Singh from Haryana is one the 6 Indians onboard the captured MV Iceberg that has been held captive by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Ever since the vessel got hijacked the family has been waiting to hear Jaswinder's voice. His family, like others, have been running from one ministry to other to bring back the sailors home.
Nirmal Kaur said, "I appeal to the Indian government to bring my husband back. It has been over a year now and no actions has been taken from our government."
``Our prime interest is to save the life of every Indian sailor being held hostage...that is the guiding concern for the government,'' said overseas Indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi.
However and despite all the diplomatic and media hype, nothing is happening concerning the release negotiations, observers close to the case reported on 02. May 2011.
In June 2011 it was reported that the Chief Engineer had finally succumbed to his injuries. The death could, however, at first not be verified until Satnam Singh, a rescued seaman from MV SUEZ, who returned home, independently confirmed on 24. June 2011 that the the MV ICEBERG 1 Chief Engineer MOHAMED ABDALLA ALI KHAM, a Yemeni national, had indeed succumbed to the spinal injuries inflicted on him by the pirates.
Also according to rescued MV Suez sailor NK Sharma, two sailors of MV Iceberg have already been killed by the pirates. He added that those killed are not Indians, which confirms our report.
Describing her daily struggle, sailor Ganesh's mother Pushplata Mohite said, "We can't sleep at night, can't sleep in the day, food doesn't taste good, every morning we wonder why are we alive. When we can't help our own son, what is the point of living?"
Life for Ganesh's family has come to a standstill. His brother Mangesh, who just passed his school said he will only celebrate once he sees Ganesh.
"The government of India should at least do something for MV Iceberg. Pirates have already killed two people on that ship," Madhu Sharma, wife of NK Sharma, told NDTV.
Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs, however, said that the government will not negotiate with pirates as this will only encourage piracy. They added that the Ministry of External Affairs and other ministries are in touch with the ship owners and will play the role of a facilitator. This, however, the Indian official had stated already a year ago with no tangible result leading to the release of the hostages.
The alleged governmental disinterest coupled with a ransom demand of nearly Rs 11.2 crore ($2.5 million) has forced the families of six Indian sailors help captive on board the MV Iceberg-I to do exactly that.
"We can no longer trust the government because it has failed to keep its promises. We request the business fraternity and Bollywood to help us in raising funds for the release of our sons.
They have helped needy families in the past and we hope that they will help us too. We will take to the roads to draw people's attention if need be," said Purshottam Tiwari, father of Dheeraj, who is the chief officer-in-command of MV Iceberg-I.
Mr Tiwari alleged that the government is unwilling to help them because the people involved are not high-profile ones.
"Our children are very low profile as compared to captives in other cases. Had it been a plane hijack, the government would have done anything to ensure the captives' release.
The hijack of IC-814 by a Pakistan-based terror organisation is one such example where the government released hardcore terrorists and doled out money to send negotiators to help with the passengers' release," he said.
The distraught families have pleaded with the who's who of the nation, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, Congress Spokesperson Manish Tewary, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, the Director General (Shipping) and even yoga guru Ramdev, but to no avail. The families also staged a dharna near Jantar Mantar along with Sushma Swaraj.
Indian sailors on board the MV Iceberg-I are: Dheeraj Tiwari from Nashik, Swapnil Jadhav from Satara, Ganesh Mohite from Mumbai, Saji Kumar Purshottam from Kerala, Santosh Kumar Yadav from Uttar Pradesh and Jaswinder Singh from Haryana.
Efforts by the families to raise the demanded ransom are still not supported by the Indian government and it is hoped that third-line efforts are not faced by similar setbacks like it was the case in the release of MV SUEZ. AZAL shipping and the UAE, however, have now been urged to also finally co-operate with the release efforts and to end the ordeal.
THAI FISHING FLEET : Seized April 18, 2010 with a total crew of 77 sailors, of which 12 are Thai and the others of different nationalities, the Thailand-flagged vessels operating out of Djibouti were fishing illegal in the Indian Ocean off Minicoy Island in the fishing grounds of the Maldives. All three vessels were then commandeered towards the Somali coast by a group of in total around 15 Somalis. Already there are reports of three dead sailors with these vessels.
FV PRANTALAY 11 with a crew of 26 (freed and towed by Indian Navy and Coastguard, returned to Thailand )
FV PRANTALAY 12 with an original crew of 26 (taken over by a second pirate group and held together with crew off Eyl; said to be no longer seaworthy)
FV PRANTALAY 14 with a crew of 25 (shot up, set ablaze and sunk by Indian Navy and Coastguard)
None of these vessels is registered and authorized by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission to fish in the Indian Ocean.
The fleet was mostly held off the coast at Kulub near Garacad (06 59N 049 24E) at the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia. The captors already threatened since months to use one of the hunter-vessels of the group as a piracy-launch, while negotiations have not been forthcoming. Prantalay 14 left the coast in the morning of 20. September to what is said to be another piracy expedition. Three skiffs, three ladders and other equipment were observed to be on board. The vessel has been further observed on 28. September near the shipping lanes in the area. On 30. September at 10h15 UTC a Pirate Action Group consisting of one skiffs with ladders and weapons was reported in position 07 34 N 057 39 E, which is assessed to be connected to an operation of this fishing vessel as Mother Ship - reported in position 06 47 N 060 51 E. A regional minister from Puntland got into problems when final negotiations for the release of the held vessels were supposed to take place at Garacad, but went sour. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wants the navy to extend its anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia for another month. He will seek cabinet approval for an additional budget of about 100 million baht for this purpose, navy chief Admiral Kamthorn Phumhiran said earlier. Adm Kamthorn said Mr Abhisit wants the mission of The Royal Thai Navy Counter Piracy Task Unit of two navy ships with 351 sailors and 20 special warfare troops on board, which had left Thailand on Sept 10 and is now operating in the Gulf of Aden, extended. The mission was originally set for 98 days, ending on Dec 12., but the usual fishing season goes beyond that time, which is believed to be behind the extension demands. Now also FV PRANTALAY 11 left on another hunting mission for piracy prey, because the Thais have not at all even tried to wrench the ships from the fists of their captors. Only PRANTALAY 12 and her crew was then left as a super-hostage at the coast until on 16th November also FV PRANTALAY 12 sailed again to the oceans. All vessels were were and are abused for piracy missions since the shipowner PT Interfisheries didn't secure their release.
FV PRANTALAY 11 and FV PRANTALAY 12 returned in the meantime after having been used to capture another merchant vessels, and were first held again off Kulub (near Garacad) at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast. FV PRANTALAY 11 was said to be still out hunting but then came to Ceel Gaan near Harardheere, while P RANTALAY 12 is moored north of Hobyo and PRANTALAY 14 was shot out of the water by the INDIAN NAVY.
The Indian Navy and Coast Guard sunk FV PRANTALAY 14 in a military action, which was termed an anti-piracy operation and was executed near the Lakshadweep group of islands in the utmost southeastern portion of the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. The Islands belong to India.
The Somali buccaneers had been using FV Prantalay 14 and the two other pirated vessels of that fishing fleet from Thailand as piracy launches after their owner refused a deal to have the vessels released against a ransom.
Indian warship INS CANKARSO, a fast attack craft, intercepted FV PRANTAY 14 during evening hours of 21. January 2011 around 370 km off the Kochi coast.
According to a statement from the Indian navy their frigate fired the first shot as a warning shot well ahead of the bows of Prantalay in order to force the pirated fishing vessel to stop. Then the pirates opened fire with automatic weapons in a desperate bid to escape. The Indian naval vessel then opened up and in what the Indian navy reportedly called 'limited fire in self defense' they used heavy guns, probably including ship-to-ship missiles or a torpedo, which caused the Thailand ship to burst into flames and to sink. The vessel wouldn't have sunk so fast if only the excess fuel for the outboard engines of the skiffs had exploded.
The Indian navy stated that they rescued 20 fishermen and arrested 15 Somali pirates.
But the crew of FV PRANTALAY 14 comprised 26 seafarers of Thai and Myanmar nationalities..
Despite official requests the Indian authorities have so far not answered the question was happened to the missing 6 crew-members and if any of the surviving crew-members is injured.
Likewise it has not been communicated how many Somalis lost their live in the attack and how many of the 15 arrested are injured, because in a communicated picture only 12 arrested Somalis were shown.
In a similar attack against commandeered Thai fishing vessel FV EKAWAT NAVA 5 the Indian Navy had killed all crew, except for one survivor, who was found by a merchant ship six days after the attack floating in the Gulf of Aden. He survived and could tell the real story. The government of Thailand back then had officially protested to the Indian Government.
FV PRANTALAY 11 was then reported as being held at the Central Somali coast off Ceel Gaan (Harardheere district), but must have left for another piracy mission, since it was freed on 05. February 2011 by the Indian Navy near the Lakshadweep islands. 52 men, of which 28 are said to be pirates and 24 men of the original 26 member crew, were arrested in the swoop after some exchange of gunfire. No information has transpired yet concerning the 2 missing crew members.
According to informed sources, the Thai fishing vessel FV PRANTALAY 14 had 25 Somali pirates on board of which 15 were captured alive. 10 Somalis were killed during the exchange of fire and 14 Somalis were arrested, while one wounded man is treated for his injuries at a medical facility.
Allegedly the heavy 40mm and 20mm gunfire from INS CANKARSO, a fast Indian attack craft which had intercepted FV PRANTALAY 14 during the evening hours of 21. January 2011 around 370 km off the Kochi coast, was sufficient to sink the vessel. Other reports, however, stated that the sinking vessel was engulfed in flames.
The fishermen stated that 22 of the original crew of 26 sailors were on this piracy trip and 20 survived the naval operation. The nationalities of the two seamen who died in the attack were not released yet.
After the operation by the Indian navy and coastguard to free FV PRANTALAY 11 - with 52 people surviving - 28 were identified as pirates and 24 crew. The vessel then was taken in tow by the Indian Navy and secured.
Further details on how many people were killed during the operation have not yet been made available, but human rights observers wondered why the arrested men were shown blindfolded and were being led into the cells with black sacks over their heads. India has announced it would probe links, which the Somali pirates might have with terrorist groups.
At least five crew members of the three Thai trawlers hijacked by pirates have been reported to have died of hunger and sickness after the owner of the trawlers refused to pay ransom during the 10-month-long hostage crisis.
Strapped of resources, the pirates provided little food during this time to the hostages. "Four crew members on FV PRANTALAY 14 fell sick and died due to lack of medical supplies and one crew member from PRANTALAY 11, the vessel rescued by the Navy and Coast Guard on Sunday, is also reported to have died of the same reason," an Indian officer from Yellow Gate police station, where the culprits are held, stated.
Thai officials, who had regularly been alerted about the plight of the seafarers have so far not managed to achieve any peaceful solution. >From the original crews of Prantalay 11 and 14 only 44 seafarers survived the ordeal.
FV PRANTALAY 12, more like a factory ship and not as fast as others in her fleet, as well as maybe some other survivors of the crews from the two other vessels were still kept under pirate control in Somalia. Though pirates, like in the case of the attack by the South Korean Navy on pirated MV SAMHO JEWELRY, made announcements that they would retaliate for each of the killed or arrested Somali, such acts had not been recorded yet.
Unfortunately it is reported that there are also no real negotiations to free FV PRANTALAY 12, the last of the Thai fishing fleet, which was reportedly fishing illegally in the Indian Ocean. One member of the original crew was missing or dead already some time back and three crew had died during the last months. The vessel and the remaining around 20 crew were mostly held at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast off Ceel Dhanaane. No solution was in sight for most of the time.
The FV PRANTALAY 12 is due to her involvement in piracy now also wanted, but it must be observed that the PRANTALAY-12 has now on board a tripod mounted with a 12.7mm Heavy Machine Gun
NATO, who had earlier stated that the release of the FV Prantalay 12, the last of a group of three fish-poaching vessels of a Thai fleet, "would currently take place", while we reported that it is still at the same location with its crew as hostages, reiterated now and rephrased:
FV PRANTALY 12, although still in pirate possession, is no longer in a seaworthy state and, according to a pirate statement, will be returned without ransom payment in due course.However, it is interesting to note that NATO seems to have direct contacts with the Somali pirates - something which ship-captains and analysts claimed since long, since they had observed specific pirate attacks under the watch of naval vessels with no response from the official watch-keepers.
Other observers reported from Galkayo that the Somali broker, who earlier had disappeared with the ransom money for the release of the Prantalay fleet, is back in town.
FV Prantalay 12 recently had left for a a new piracy mission, but came back without having achieved anything and was now used as supply vessel for the other hostage ships. Mid May 2011 the pirate group holding the vessel was attacked by another armed Somali group and the vessel was then forcibly taken over. The second group allegedly first had the consent of the owner and were geared up by the Somali broker, who had received the ransom money but then disappeared for months, to "liberate" the vessel. Several crew members of this vessel reportedly already had died of mal-nutrition and disease during the many month of the hostage crisis. Then a release was expected by NATO, though local onservers maintained that the second group is also a pirate group and they are expecting now their share from the earlier paid ransom, which caused the delay in the release, confusing even NATO, who had communications with the pirates.
The vessel, which reportedly is no longer seaworthy and her crew are still held hostage off Eyl at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia. The release announced by NATO already in early June 2011 did not yet come through.
That five of the original crew of this vessel are dead already is confirmed, but it is not clear how many survivors of the crew are still with the vessel.
On 12. July 2011 FV PRANTALAY was still reported to be moored 7nm off Eyl.
FV AL-DHAFIR : Seized on May 06 or 07, 2010. The Yemen coastguard of the Arabian peninsular state reported the case to have occurred off the coast of Yemen. Yemen's Defence Ministry confirmed that the 7 Yemeni nationals on board were abducted to Somalia. Yemen's coastguard said Somali pirates captured the fishing vessel, while it was docked at a Yemeni island in the Red Sea and had taken it to Somalia. The coastguard was continuing its efforts to retrieve the boat, the Defence Ministry said, but meanwhile the dhow was said to be held at the Somali shore close to Kulub. The vessel is missing and wanted.
MSV SHUVAL : Seized May 08, 2010. Latest information retrieved about the fate of this Yemen-flagged vessel confirmed a sighting at Garacad, where the vessel was at anchorage on 9. June 2010. Yemeni authorities could not tell the number of crew and are further investigating.
FV NN YEMEN : Seized August 26, 2010. The earlier reports provided by maritime observers speaking of the capture of a fishing vessel were confirmed now to the extend that the type and flag of the vessel have been identified. The Yemeni fishing vessel with at least 10 sailors on board was seized in the territorial waters of Somalia. The name of the vessel and Yemeni registration is not yet known. The Yemeni boat was sailing near the north coast of Somalia when the captors attacked it with small skiffs. They later headed toward the Somali coast. Present location unknown. At the beginning of November 2010 in total at least five Yemeni fishing vessels were held by the Somali sea-gangs, though the Yemen authorities could not provide a detailed account. The case of this vessel has not yet been closed - the vessel is missing and wanted.
MT OLIB G : Seized September 08, 2010. Reports from our local observers were confirmed by EU NAVFOR: Early on the morning of 8 September, the Greek-owned, Malta-flagged Merchant Vessel (M/V) MT OLIB G (IMO 8026608) - a Greek-owned chemical tanker - was pirated in the east part of the protected Gulf of Aden corridor. After having received a report from a merchant vessel that a skiff was approaching MV OLIB G, and after several unsuccessful attempts to make contact with the vessel, the USS PRINCETON warship of Task Force 151 launched its helicopter. The helicopter was able to identify two pirates on board MT OLIB G, the EU report stated. The MT OLIB G was sailing West in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor en route from Alexandria to India through the Gulf of Aden - allegedly carrying only ballast. The Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) is an area in which EU NAVFOR (Task Force 465), NATO (Task Force 508) and Combined Maritime Force (Task Force 151) coordinate the patrol of maritime transits. It is, however, not known yet if the vessel was involved in dumping or why it was just sailing with ballast. The MT OLIB G, deadweight 6,375 tons, has a crew of 18, among which are 15 Georgian and 3 Turkish. Crew and vessel are not covered by ITF Agreement. The vessel has as registered owners FRIO MARITIME SA and as manager FRIO VENTURES SA, both of Athens in Greece. The attack group is said to consist of people from the Majerteen (Puntland) and Warsangeli (Sanaag) clans, who had set out from Elayo. After the well timed attack - more or less synchronized with attacks on two other vessels - and the subsequent overpowering of the crew the vessel was then commandeered towards the Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, where it was first held near Eyl and then off Kulub. According to media reports the owner of the vessel initially offered a ransom of $75,000, but later raised it to $150,000. However, the sea pirates want no less than $15 million, a Press TV correspondent reported. Both sides seem to be not realistic.
However, information had transpired that the Georgian government made arrangements with the vessel owner to free the ship and crew by end of February 2010, but that hasn't come true.
Vessel and crew are at present still held south of Eyl and north of Garacad near a place called Ceel Fusc at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia and different reports about continued conflicts have been received.
Negotiations are on and off.
MSV NASTA AL YEMEN : Reportedly seized on Sept. 14, 2010. Number of crew yet unknown, but presumed 9. Further report awaited from Yemen.
SEVEN INDIAN CREW OF MT ASPHALT VENTURE : Seized September 28, 2010. The Panama-flagged asphalt tanker MT ASPHALT VENTURE (IMO 8875798) was captured on her way from Mombasa - where the vessel left at noon on 27. September, southbound to Durban, at 20h06 UTC = 23h06 local time in position 07 09 S 40 59 E. The vessel was sailing in ballast and a second alarm was received at 00h58 UTC = 03h58 LT. The ship with its 15 all Indian crew was then observed to have turned around and is at present commandeered northwards to Somalia. EU NAVFOR confirmed the case only in the late afternoon of 29. September. Information from the ground says a pirate group from Brawa had captured the vessel and at first it was reported that the vessel was heading towards Harardheere at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast, while the tanker had first contact at the Somali coast near Hobyo and was then commandeered further north. The vessel is managed by ISM manager OMCI SHIPMANAGEMENT PVT LTD from Mumbai and owned by BITUMEN INVEST AS from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, who uses INTER GLOBAL SHIPPING LTD from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates as ship-handler. The Government of India and other authorities are informed. Concerning the condition of the crew so far no casualties or injuries are reported, but the vessel seems to have had an engine problem. Negotiations had commenced but have so far not been reaching anywhere. Vessel and crew were held off Kulub at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, then had been transferred southwards to Ceel Gaan in the Harardheere area at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast with negotiations more stuck than smooth; and when the crew reportedly had no more food, clean water and diesel a hasty and ill-planned release against a ransom drop was enacted on 15. April 2011. While the vessel got away at least some distance, seven Indian crew were left behind on the beach, who continue to be held as hostages.
Sunil Puri, a New Delhi-based spokesman for Interglobal, a United Arab Emirates-based company that owns the ship, called the pirates' action "unprecedented," and said to the media that it wasn't immediately clear why the pirates acted as they did. "We are still trying to ascertain why that happened. We kept our side of the bargain. We don't know why they weren't released. This is an unprecedented situation. In the past they have always kept their word," Puri told AP.
"It was a joint understanding among us not to release any Indian citizens," a pirate who gave his name as Abdi told Reuters from pirate stronghold Harardhere. "India has not only declared war against us, but also it has risked the lives of many hostages," he said.
However, it is clear that the release operation was not properly planned and executed - analysts maintain. Already before this case and at present 15 other sailors from three different cases are held hostage on land without their ships, awaiting to be freed.
"My name is Bahadur Singh. I'm the chief engineer of Asphalt Venture held by Somali pirates. We are seven people here," said the hostage in a contact CNN-IBN made and which gave a proof of life.
Indian seafarers, organized by the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI), the Maritime Union of India as well as shipowners' representatives, marched in Mumbai on 27. April 2011 to demand action against piracy and to show solidarity with the seven crew members of the Asphalt Venture held hostage in Somalia despite the fact that a ransom was paid. After waiting in vain for about a fortnight in Somali waters for the release of seven members still held hostage by Somali pirates, Indian freighter Asphalt Venture with its eight freed crew reached Mombasa in Kenya with only half the crew. "With the engineering officers still in captivity and no engine power, the vessel proceeded slowly under tug tow and under escort of an Indian Naval frigate out of Somali waters," the statement added.
So far it is not clear if India is prepared to arrange for a swap.
The son of the Chief Engineer of the captive ship under Somali pirates Kapil Grewal, has lashed out at the government and demanded immediate intervention from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.Captive sailor Bahadur Singh's son, Kapil Grewal, said "Mr Manmohan Singh is the leader of one of the most powerful nations today, and it is time he acts like one. It is not a question of my father, it is a question of several fathers, brother and sons, so treat them as your own family."Grewal's father Bahadur Singh, the Chief Engineer of Asphalt Venture is still in Somali pirates' captivity along with six other officers in spite of a ransom payment and the worst is, unlike earlier when they were confined to the ship, now they are at an undisclosed location near Haradhere in Somalia."
In the case of MV Iceberg and MV Suez, the government had maintained that all that it can do is put pressure on the ship owner to expedite negotiations, but in the case of Asphalt Venture the ship owner has already paid a ransom and now the ball is firmly in the government's court as to how they will negotiate with the pirates.
meanwhile the owners of Asphalt Venture reportedly have been able to re-establish contact with the negotiators, opening up a fresh channel of dialogue to get back the remaining hostages. This case will show if the demand to release the over 120 Somali brethren from Indian prison in exchange for the seven Indian hostages is serious or if the pirate-gang just used the talk to increase the ransom.
The captain of MV Asphalt Venture, who was released along with seven others, had offered to go back and hold talks for release of the remaining crew, while the newly founded Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) of the Indian government only decided that it would "wait and watch for the outcome of negotiations between pirates and ship owners."
But now sources from the shipping company stated that the pirates do not want to carry on with any dialogue involving the company and instead want to speak directly with the Government of India. The pirates want to talk about their accomplices who are currently in Indian custody after they were arrested following Indian Navy and Coast Guard operations in the Indian Ocean in the last few months. But New Delhi, it seems, doesn't want to negotiate with the pirates. The decision was taken at an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG),
However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court now issued notices to the Central government of India on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking release of Indian Nationals held hostage by Somali pirates. A division bench headed by acting Chief Justice A K Goel issued notices to the Central government on a PIL filed by World Human Rights Protection Council through its chairman Advocate Ranjan Lakhanpal.
The Indian state organs are meanwhile holding at least 126 Somalis from piracy connected cases in detention.
FV NN IRAN : Seized October 01, 2010. The Iranian fishing vessel with her 13 crew was attacked by Somali pirates when sailing together with another Iranian fishing vessel. One of the two Iranian boats escaped, but this one with 13 crew mebers is still missing and is wanted.
MSV ZOULFICAR (aka M.S.V. Madina Zulficar?): Seized on October 19, 2010. This is a motorized sailing dhow, which was captured near the Socotra archipelago. It must not be mixed with the case of earlier pirated Comorian MV ALY ZOULFECAR, which is free. Yemen authorities stated that it would not be a Yemeni vessel, but could possibly be from Iran. Number of crew is not known and further details are awaited. It could, however, be the M.S.V. Madina Zulficar, a known blockade-breaker registered in India, but often flying the flag of the UAE or Somalia. The vessel is missing and wanted.
MSV AL-NASSR : Seized October 28, 2010 off Socotra.The motorized Dhow was captured on October 28, 2010 at 11h56 UTC (14h56 local time) in position 12:08N – 054:25E off Socotra Island, Somalia, according to the IMB Piracy reporting centre. Once a British protectorate, along with the remainder of the Mahra State of Qishn and Socotra and being a strategic important point, the four islands making the Archipelago of Socotra were accorded by the UN in 1967 to Yemen, though they are very close to the mainland of the very tip of north-eastern Somalia. Several of the female lineages of the inhabitants on the island, notably those in mtDNA haplogroup N, are reportedly found nowhere else on earth. The Dhow with presently unknown flag and about 10 crew was heading now towards the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor of the Gulf of Aden (IRTC) and is likely to be used as pirate-base and/or decoy to capture a larger vessel. Further reports are awaited.
MT POLAR : Seized Oct. 30, 2010. Armed pirates in two skiffs boarded and sea-jacked the Liberian-owned product tanker MT POLAR (IMO 9299563) with 24 crew members aboard in the very early morning hours at 01h40 UTC (04h30 local time on 30. October 2010 in position 12:12N – 064:53E. The incident occurred according to the Piracy Reporting Centre 633nm east of Socotra island, off Somalia; or 684 miles (1,100 kilometres) east of the Indian Ocean island of Socotra according to EU NAVFOR. According to a EU NAVFOR statement the owners of the Panamanian-flagged 72,825 dwt vessel MV POLAR, Herculito Maritime Ltd, confirmed early Saturday that pirates are in command of the ship, which was en route from St. Petersburg and Kronstadt to Singapore with a cargo of fuel oil.
While it is undisputed that the ship originally had 24 crew members, EU NAVFOR reported one Romanian, three Greek nationals, four nationals from Montenegro and 16 Filipinos, but according to the ICSW (International Committee on Seafarer's Welfare) there are three Greek nationals, 16 Pinoy seafarers, three from Montenegro and one Romanian as well as one Serb. In connection with this case AFP concluded that though naval powers have deployed dozens of warships to patrol the region's waters they have failed to stem piracy, one of the few thriving businesses for coastal communities in a country devastated by war and poverty. According to reports from Somalia the already sea-jacked Iranian fishing vessel from Hobyo was used to capture this vessel in tandem with covering VLCC SHAMHO DREAM. Allegedly the captain of the Iranian fishing vessel thereafter received money from the pirates and was released with his vessel and crew.
Paradise Navigation S.A. is a Panamanian registered company, established in Greece under law 89
Constantinos Tsakiris is the Chairmman and Managing Director of Paradise Navigation SA, a shipping management company established in Greece and founded back in 1968, as Navipower Compania Naviera SA, by the Tsakiris family, a traditional Greek ship-owning and operating family.
Constantinos Tsakiris is the Chairmman and Managing Director of Paradise Navigation SA, a shipping management company established in Greece and founded back in 1968, as Navipower Compania Naviera SA, by the Tsakiris family, a traditional Greek ship-owning and operating family.
MT POLAR had reached the Somali coast in the morning of 30. October and was held off Hobyo. On Monday, 22. November 2010 one Filipino seafarer was reported by the Seafarers Network from Greece to have died allegedly of a heart attack.
At 02h33UTC on 23 November 2010, MV POLAR was reported in position 07°49N 055°53E - apparently on a piracy mission.
At 19h40 UTC on 25. November 2010, MV POLAR was observed in position 09 29N 068 44E, course 258, speed 12.6 kts. The pirated vessel was conducting piracy operations, using the surviving crew members as human shield, was briefly back and held off Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast, but is then was conducting again pirate operations. MV POLAR was observed at 16h38 UTC on 10. March 2011 in position 06 36 N 051 20 38 E on a course of 079 with speed 10 kts possibly acting as pirate launch.
Thereafter the vessel returned to the coast and is held since the beginning of April 2011 at Ceel Caduur north of Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast.
The negotiations appeared to have been conpleted and a release operation was expected - as reported on the 10. of June 2011 from Somalia. But a final agreement was apparently challenged due to disagreements among the pirates and now a decisive move to reach a final conclusion and to end the ordeal is underway, though the supernumerals on board make it a difficult case.
SY CHOIZIL : Seized 26. October 2010. South-African owned SY CHOIZIL was sea-jacked after having left Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Though news through the seafarer's network had broken much earlier, the case was officially only confirmed on 08. November. The yacht is owned and was sailed by South African skipper Peter Eldridge from Richards Bay on the northeast coast of KwaZulu Natal, who escaped after the yacht was commandeered to Somalia, while his South African team-mates Bruno Pelizzari (aka Pekezari), in his 50's, with partner Deborah from Durban were taken off the boat and are still held hostage on land in Somalia. Several questions remain still unanswered, though after the return of the skipper to South-Africa it was officially stated that the yacht had been abducted off Kenya this is still conflicting with other naval reports. Since the own yacht of the abducted couple is still moored at the harbour in Dar es Salaam it could well be that they only joined or actually hired skipper Eldridge first for a short trip north to Kenya.
Both present hostages, Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend "Debbie", Deborah Calitz, were on board when the yacht under the command of Peter Endrigde allegedly heading south to Richards Bay from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on October 21 or 22. Together with the skipper and owner of the yacht, the trio were said at first to have then encountered the pirates on 31. October 2010 in the open sea.
At least one of the attacking pirates appeared to have been from Tanzania and spoke KiSwahili. However, the sloop rigged sailing yacht set up for long distance cruising was then commandeered to Somalia by five Somalis - apparently with the aim to reach Harardheere at the Central Somali coast.
When observers had on 04. November a sighting of a yacht near the Bajuni Island of Koyaama at the Southern coast of Somalia, the search for a missing yacht was on in order to identify the boat and the sailors, but neither the Seychelles nor the network of yachts-people reported any missing yacht, though at that point already even the involvement of a second yacht was not ruled out.
Navies were then trailing the yacht at least since 04. November.
The fleeing yacht was on 06. November forced by the pursuing navies to come close to Baraawa (Brawa). There the yacht had "officially" again been located by the EU NAVFOR warship FS FLOREAL when it was "discovered to be sailing suspiciously close to shore", so the statement. Despite numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the yacht, including a flypast by the warship's helicopter, allegedly no answer was received and the French warship launched her boarding team to investigate further, a EU NAVFOR statement revealed and it was also officially stated that they had received a Mayday signal. Why only then the emergency call was sent and not much earlier, has so far not been explained.
After a direct chase by naval forces escalating the situation and the yacht running aground, SY CHOIZIL's skipper Peter reportedly jumped over board during a close naval swoop, when also shots were fired and a naval helicopter and a commando team in a speedboat were engaged. Other reports state the owner of the yacht, Peter Eldridge, managed to escape when he refused to leave the boat he built with his own hands 20 years ago. Officials now put it as "the yacht's skipper refused to cooperate" - usually a call for immediate and even deadly response in any hostage situation the world over where armed assailants are involved.
However, Peter Eldridge was later picked up by the French navy and was placed into safety on a Dutch naval vessel. He is confirmed to be a South-African by nationality and his next of kin were informed immediately. After he then arrived at the Kenyan harbour of Mombasa on board the Dutch warship, he was handed over to South African officials and brought to Kenya's capital Nairobi, from where he returned to South-Africa.
Peter Eldridge, who was a member of the Zululand Yacht Club which uses the Richards Bay Harbour as its base, stated later: "The yacht was attacked by pirates - all men aged between 15 and 50 - on October 26," and thereafter: "They demanded money. They took the money that Deborah and Pelizzari were carrying for their families. They demanded more and we told them that we did not have more because we were ordinary people."
Andrew Mwangura, co-ordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, said earlier he assumed the yacht had been towed to Mombasa as could have been expected with all the naval presence, but at the same time ECOTERRA Intl. received information from their marine monitors in Somalia saying the yacht was left behind by the naval forces and was at that time drifting. Peter Eldridge's wife, Bernadette, told later the South African Times that she did not know whether her husband Peter would return to Somalia to retrieve what's left of his yacht, SY Choizil, which was run aground during the incident. It is, however, unclear how official statements and the owner himself can speak of "having resisted to the pirates" and insisting that he "was not leaving his yacht alone", when at the same time he must have left it to be rescued by the navy.
"We only can hope that a report speaking of the killing of one man, whereby at present nobody can say if that had been caused by the naval interaction or by the pirates or if it is mixed with another case, will turn out to be not correct at all," a spokesman from ECOTERRA Intl. said on 07. November and added: "and we hope and urge the local elders to ensure that the innocent woman and man will be set free immediately. Since the Al-Shabaab administration, who governs vast areas in Southern Somalia, where the ancient coastal town of Baraawe (Brawa) is located, had earlier openly condemned any act of piracy, it is hoped that a safe and unconditional release of the hostages can be achieved."
The naval command of the European Operation Atalanta stated on 09. November that the whereabouts of the other two crew members was "currently unknown, despite a comprehensive search by an EU NAVFOR helicopter."
Karl Otto of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Cape Town stated that the Department of International Relations and Co-operation was handling the hostage situation.
International Relations and Co-operation spokesperson Saul Kgomotso Molobi confirmed this on 10. November and said the pirates had not yet made any ransom demand.
While the families of the Durban couple are sick with worry while they wait to hear from the kidnappers, the skipper's wife said: "We have been restricted from giving out more information. I have been told not to say more," but did not want to reveal who had told her to keep quiet.
South African High Commissioner Ndumiso Ntshinga said he is in constant contact with authorities in Somalia who are involved in the search for Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend.
Ntshinga indicated that maybe the story that the were taken off Kenya - as the Seychelles had claimed - is not correct, by saying: "We have always believed that their reach was mostly around Somalia but if they are going to be going down to the Gulf of Mozambique then it is worrying," said Ntshinga. Naval sources not with EU NAVFOR had earlier stated the attack was at the boundary between Tanzania and Kenya while other naval sources had spoke of the boundary between Tanzania and Mozambique.
After two weeks into the crisis the South African government still stated only: "At this point in time we do not know where they are. We have instructed our consulate to handle the matter," foreign ministry spokesman Malusi Mogale told AFP.
Director of Consular Services at the International Relations Department, Albie Laubscher, said all they can do is wait.
"The situation is that we are expecting the pirates to make contact in some way or another."
Information from Somalia says that the couple was held then for a few days held firth south and then inside Brawa but thereafter was moved to an undisclosed location.
For the Government of South Africa Mr. Albie Laubscher, the director of consular services at the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, said the families of the Durban couple had been briefed that the hostage drama could be a long, drawn-out affair. He said it was government policy not to pay ransom.
The escaped skipper Peter Eldridge maintains that they had been sea-jacked off the Kenyan coast, but failed to explained why they were there instead on their planned route to the South from Dar es Salaam.
A friend of Pelizzari, Jason Merle, said the former elevator technician had decided about four years ago to sell his house and build a yacht. 'He and Debbie invested their lives in that boat, which is now docked in Dar es Salaam, waiting for them to come back to Tanzania,' Merle said. 'They don't have any money. Neither does the family. Ransom is going to be pointless. They're not going to get anything out of that couple. The only thing they have is that yacht and a laptop.'
The abducted yacht SY CHOIZIL is still held at the Somali coast, while the couple is now said to be held somewhere in the area of Somalia's embattled capital Mogadishu.
In an effort to send the message to pirates that Deborah is African born and should not be treated like a European or an American, Deborah's brother Dale van der Merwe has denied media reports his sister was of British or Italian descent.
'She does not have any British ties and has never set foot in Britain. We are worried that should her captors read this... it may skew their perception of who Debbie really is and try attach values to her as it was done in the case of the recently released British Chandler couple.'
He said the couple were 'ordinary workers'. They had been sailing for almost two years, stopping at ports on Africa's coast to 'visit and do occasional work'. See: http://yachtpals.com/node/12445
'Anyone who knows or meets them (including their captors) will see that they are gentle and kind people who are not interested in politics but only love sailing, ' he said and added 'Debbie and Bruno will help anyone regardless of their politics, religion, nationality or race, and frequently at their own cost. They are just fellow Africans who work hard and have a passion for sailing."
The family asked the couple's captors to keep them unharmed and release them back to their families and children, whom they have not seen for so long.
The Dutch Navy detained two groups of Somalis during the last week of November, believing those arrested could be involved in the abduction of Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend Deborah Calitz. The people on board of two different skiffs threw their guns overboard when they realised they were about to be attacked by a naval force. But only skipper Peter Eldridge would be able to confirm whether any of the suspects were involved in the attack. Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said fishermen and coastal traders also carried weapons in these dangerous waters and the Dutch Navy could have the wrong men and add to the complications. The Kenyan and the South-African government had refused to accept the men for prosecution, since there was no evidence, and the Dutch Navy was for days in limbo - not knowing what to do with them. Then on 05 November five of these Somalis were flown on a military plane to Eindhoven, in the south of the Netherlands to stand trial in Rotterdam for abducting the two South Africans from their yacht. The five were among some 20 suspected pirates rounded up last month in two separate operations. The other 15 were released due to a lack of evidence at an undisclosed location and their case is seen by human rights lawyers as illegal arrest and possible refoulement.
After now more than one month the South African government maintains that no ransom demands have been made, but has not stated if there was no contact or if other demands were brought forward.
According to South African officials there was still no sign of the South African couple captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia at the end of November and Carte Blanche spoke to their Durban-based families, who are concerned that there've been no ransom demands.
International Relations spokesman Clayson Monyela said on 10. December that the kidnappers have yet to make contact with the South African government or the relatives of Bruno Pelizzari and his partner, Deborah Calitz.
It seems that the first contact possibilities were lost by the South-African officials.
The daughter of Mrs. Calitz also appealed to the captors to at least come forward and start talks on a release.
But after two months, on Thursday, 25. December 2010, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Clayson Monyela still could only say: "There is nothing new on the South African couple who were hijacked by Somali pirates." Mrs. Calitz' brother Dale van der Merwe said: "The situation stays unchanged, we are still waiting for information.
Skipper Peter Eldridge was in January 2011 interviewed by police and court officials in the Netherlands on the case and reportedly testified that the attack had happened off Tanzania and not off Kenya, as he allegedly had stated to South African officials earlier, who issued this as statement. As South African media reported, Eldridge stated that he also looked at photographs of the accused men and identified some of them as the pirates who had hijacked the Choizil. Why he was not taken through a proper process of identification and raises questions for the defence lawyers.
As of mid January 2011 communication lines seem to have been established with those who hold the couple now and the yacht is used off Barawa to shuttle from and to the illegal dhows, who load charcoal at the coastal town for illegal export. While the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia has no say in that area also the Islamist Al Shabaab administration seems to do nothing against this illegal trade, which also has been termed haram already by several Muslim scholars.
An article by a South-African media house exaggerating the ransom demands while quoting unnamed sources of so-called family friends, was not only rubbished in South-Africa but also from circles close those, who hold the couple in the moment. Andrew Mwangura, officer of the Seafarer's Assistance Program, and frequent reporter on pirate issues, had earlier said that the pirates could be persuaded to take a smaller sum. It seems that unscrupulous brokers and media have no restraint in trying to hype up the story.
However, the brother of Mrs. Calitz said on 31. January 2011 that any ransom demand for his sister was "pointless" unless he could speak to her. Dale van der Merwe said he had asked telephone callers demanding a USD10 million (R70m) ransom for the release of his sister Deborah Calitz for proof that she was alive. "I said to them: 'If you really are who you say who you are, then let me speak to her.' They said no." And van der Merwe appealed again: "We are asking you to please let them go... They are just ordinary Africans like yourselves with similar problems, we are not rich."
International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Director General, Clayson Monyela, said the department was doing its part to ensure the safe return of the two, while also the calls of the three daughters of Deborah Calitz to free their mother have so far not been responded to by the kidnappers.
While the official line of the South African Government to not negotiate or pay ransoms remains unchanged, in mid February 2011 a second brother of Mrs. Calitz - Kevin van der Merwe who lives in Auckland, New Zealand - broke the silence and called for a public funds-drive to enable the family to make an offer for a release to the Somali hostage takers, who hold them now. He said time was running out and they had to do something, adding: ''I am very worried about them mentally and physically.''
A trust account was being set up and he said even the smallest donation would help.
The ransom demanded for the safe release of a Durban couple being held hostage by Somali pirates has been dropped by half, with religious leaders in Mogadishu putting pressure on the pirates to let them go unconditionally, but neither will the family be able to collect the still multimillion dollar ransom nor do they seem to get the right advice and as longer the case takes as more complicated it will get to finalize it.
The obvious media black-out until June 2011 was only interrupted by the spread of false rumours and has not helped the hostages a bit.
On 20. June 2011 Deborah Calitz's daughter, Samantha, then broke the silence and told Eyewitnessnews she believes her mother is alive, after the pirates answered a proof of life question two weeks ago and she said the family is still hopeful she will be released unharmed. Neither Calitz nor her partner Bruno Pelizzari have been allowed to speak to their families but De Jesus said the news they have received is good. "Apparently they are being kept in a compound type of a place where they can exercise and walk around a bit," she said. She said they are still trying to negotiate down the ransom the pirates are demanding. While a Somalia-reporting website and South-African news-outlets engage in pure speculations, the relatives of Pelizzari say they have not received fresh information. They hope the couple will be released as it is impossible for them to raise the demanded ransom.
Meanwhile the yacht, which had been taken by the pirate group to the South but had broken down with engine failure has disappeared again from the island of Koyama. Local elder reported in the beginning of July that they are happy to no longer be threatened by the sea-gangsters.
Van der Merwe said he knew the couple were alive because during each phone call he asked "proof of life questions", which were always answered correctly.
Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesman Clayson Monyela said the government was working with the Pelizzari and Calitz families but would not pay or compensate any ransom money.
FV AL JAZEERA : Seized November 04, 2010. The Yemeni fishing vessel with an unknown number of crew is missing and wanted.
MSV AL BOGARI : Sighted November 7, 2010, as being hijacked, no further data.
FV SAMANALI (Lorance) : Seized Nov 11, 2010 or shortly thereafter. The missing Sri Lankan Fishing Vessel Samanali (Lorance) has the Registration Number 1 DAY-A-0164-NBO. The names of the 4 man crew consisting of the skipper and three crew-fishermen have been provided with the crewlist.They are all of Sri Lankan nationality. The small 34 ft. (10.36 m) wooden fishing boat sports as main colour a light Blue with red and yellow stripes. The deck colour is white.
Vessel and crew sailed on 10. November 2010 at 17h45 from Hendala, at Wattala on Sri Lanka's Western coast.
It was between 10th November and 30th November that two other Sri Lankan FV's were attacked by suspected Somali Piratesand it is feared that this FV may have also been pirated.
The vessel is still missing and wanted.It was between 10th November and 30th November that two other Sri Lankan FV's were attacked by suspected Somali Piratesand it is feared that this FV may have also been pirated.
FV NN COMOROS : Seized on November 18, 2010. The Comoros-flagged fishing vessel with a two man crew was confirmed sea-jacked inside the territorial waters of the Comoros. So far the identity of the vessel has not been released and the fate of the crew is not known.
MV ALBEDO : Seized on November 26, 2010. The Malaysia-flagged box-ship MV ALBEDO (IMO 9041162) en route from Jebel Ali in the UAE to Mombasa in Kenya was boarded in the early morning hours and an alarm was raised at 03h00 UTC (06h00 LT) in position 05:38N – 068:27E, which is around 255 nm west of the Maldives group of islands. The master had reported to the Malaysian owners already on that fateful Friday that pirates were on-board and his vessel was hijacked. That information was then forwarded to to the navies. However, EU NAVFOR confirmed only 3 days later on mid-Monday that the vessel was captured. Why EU NAVFOR only reported so late is not known, but maybe because a Danish Navy frigate was sailing Saturday to the rescue of the German freighter MCL Bremen, a multi-purpose 130-metre freighter, which was nearby attacked by pirates. But following standard procedures, the whole crew barricaded themselves in a secret room and the attackers later left that vessel before the warship arrived and MLC BREMEN is reportedly sailing free.
The sea-jacked 1,066-TEU container vessel MV ALBEDO has a crew of 23 sailors. Six hail from Sri Lanka and others from Pakistan, Iran, India and Bangladesh. Registered owner and manager is MAJESTIC ENRICH SHIPPING SDN, which was incorporated on January 25, 2008 as a private limited company under the name of Majestic Enrich Sdn Bhd in Malaysia by Iranian shipping executives and on April 3 changed its name to Majestic Enrich Shipping Sdn Bhd.
According to the owners, most of the containers contain cement, which by now is assumed to have been already rendered unusable due to the extended stay on sea in high humidity.
The vessel was held south of Ceel Gaan at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast off Harardheere, had been briefly used for a spin at the beginning of April 2011, but returned to the coast. Communications to secure the release of vessel and crew ran reportedly into problems and real negotiations for her release are said to have not yet achieved a consent. The vessel is now held off Ceel Dhanaane because a serious problem had also evolved between the two clan groups who have members among the pirate gang holding the vessel. A mock attack by naval forces with close overflights and closing in of a naval vessel only created havoc but did not contribute to a better solution finding.
FV NN IRAN (Reg: 4/3386) : Seized December 07, 2010. The Iranian fishing vessel with the Registration Number 4/3386 and her crew of 11 was allegedly seized by Somali pirates together with a second Iranian fishing vessel (4/3810), which had been released and did reach Iran. No. 4/3386 is still missing and wanted.
MV MSC PANAMA : Seized December 10, 2010. At 12h12 UTC (09h12 LT) on 10 December 2010 the U.S.American-owned container vessel MSC PANAMA (IMO: 8902125) was reported to be under attack by an armed group of in total five sea-shifta in two skiffs on board in position 09°57S - 041°46E. A Rocket Propelled Grenade was used during the attack which occurred approximately 80 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian/Mozambique border. On the afternoon of 10 December, the merchant vessel was then confirmed pirated and in position Latitude: 10°00S Longitude: 041°51E.
The boxship was en route from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Beira (Mozambique) when the attack occurred.
This southerly attack in the Western Indian Ocean is a further example of the constantly expanding area of pirate activity, triggered by naval activities in the Gulf of Aden and close to the Somali shores and is apparently also serving an agenda of implicating more and more regional countries. One of the the previously sea-jacked fishing vessels was used in the attack.
The 26,288 dwt MSC PANAMA is a Liberian flagged container ship, operated by SHIP MANAGEMENT SERVICES INC from Coral Gables Florida, a US based company and an affiliate of Ultrapetrol, fronting for registered owner EURUS BERLIN LLC. SMS shares an office, address, and employee roster with US-listed owner Ultrapetrol's management subsidiary, Ravenscroft Ship Management. It is said to be an Eastwind container ship, whereby it was noted that Eastwind Maritime Inc., a Marshall Islands Corporation filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York on June 24th, 2009 (Case No. 09-14047 - ALG). The vessel is operated under long-term charter by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and insured with Standard P&I Club per Charles Taylor & Co.
The 1,743-teu box ship has a crew of 23 seafarers, who all are from Myanmar (Burma).
"The Somali pirates let the Burmese crewmen call their families three days ago. All said they were in good health and told their families not to worry about them," an official at the Rangoon branch of St. John's Ship Management said on condition of anonymity to Mizzima News.
Although the crewmen were not in mortal danger, they needed to keep their spirits up while being held by the pirates, Htay Aung, a central executive committee member of the junta-supported Myanmar Overseas Seafarers' Association, said.
The release of the MSC Panama and the crewmen would depend on the negotiations between the pirates and the company and such talks normally take more than two months, Thai-based Seafarers' Union of Burma official Aung Thura told Mizzima. His union had been outlawed by the Burmese ruling governance.
The vessel arrived in Somalia and is held now south of Ceel Gaan at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast off Harardheere district, close to MV ALBEDO.
Cargo owners are increasingly upset with MSC - Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. - about the slow pace of the release negotiations.
Meanwhile around six of the badly stored containers from the top have reportedly tipped over in heavier swell and crushed onto the deck. Thereby some broke open, which reportedly contained goods in bulk, like a consignment of shoes, which are now said to be sold in the central Somali town. Other observers stated that these goods came from earlier looted MV RAK AFRICANA.
The crew is reportedly still healthy , though their food stock is finished and they have no more clean drinking water.
Unfortunately the negotiations to solve the case have apparently stalled. Reports from Harardheere revealed that the last contact for release talks was made end of March 2011. Allegedly the pirate gang and the people negotiating for the owners had then not only a disagreement about the level of the ransom, but had fallen apart and no mediation came forward for a long time. Due to this bad situation also some containers have been broken into and some limited looting started, local observers stated. For a while also other hostages were held on the vessel.
A ransom agreement has not been reached between the pirates and the St.Johns Ship Mangement Company which owns the MV Panama, according to the company's Rangoon branch office, stated Htay Aung, a central executive committee member of the Seafarers Union of Burma (SUB) on 05. May 2011. The Liberian-flagged cargo ship has 23 Burmese crewmen aboard. The St.Johns Ship Mangement Company is still paying the crewmen's salary. A spokesman at the Rangoon branch office said the pirates are still in negotiations with the company and stated: 'We hope an agreement will be reached soon. The families of the crewmen are very worried."
The vessel was recently moved towards a location north of Hobyo and a release deal apparently fell through.
Reportedly for the moment any negotiations have broken down and the vessel, which reportedly also serves again as a holding cell for other hostages, as well as the crew are held off Ceel Dhanaane at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.
After five months in the hands of Somali pirates as hostages, the chances for the release of 23 sailors are still slim as negotiations between a Liberia-registered shipping line and the pirates have stalled, said sources with the Rangoon-based St. Johns Ship Management Company. 'The head office is still negotiating with the pirates. We cannot say when the hostages will be released. Negotiations are still underway', their source stated, but local informers maintain that there is apparently no way forward in the moment. After seven month still nothing tangible seems to develop and meanwhile the lifes of some cargo-owners have been made so miserable that they have to seek aid from their native countries. Piracy is cut-throat "business", but irresponsible shipping companies are by no means less "cut-throat" as the case of one family shows, whose posessisions are on the sea-jacked vessel. While the company compensated a
MSV SALIM AMADI : Seized December 15, 2010. The motorized cargo dhow of most likely Indian origin was seized at 10h00 LT (07h00 UTC) some 70nm from Bosaso on her way from Dubai to this harbour town of the regional state of Puntland in Somalia. Most likely involved also in a business dispute. Number of crew and their fate is not yet known.
FV NN IRAN (Reg: 4/2742) : Seized January 14, 2010. The Iranian fishing vessel with the Registration Number 4/2742 and her 16 crew was seized by Somali pirates together with a second Iranian fishing vessel and since then was missing and wanted.
MSV AL MUJAHEER : Seized January, 16, 2011. The Yemeni motorized dhow with none of her original crew on board, was abducted and is used by alleged Somali pirates as piracy launch. The vessel is missing and wanted.
MV ORNA : Seized December 20, 2010. The UAE-owned, Panama-flagged bulker MV ORNA (IMO 8312162) was in the morning of 20. December 2010 at 08h29LT (11h29 UTC) reported under attack by pirates in position Latitude: 01°46S Longitude: 060°32E.The bulk carrier was under way to India from Durban and is laden with 26,000 to of coal.
NATO reported that the attack was launched from 2 attack skiffs, with pirates firing small arms and rocket propelled grenades at the merchant vessel en route in the Indian Ocean, approximately 400 nautical miles North East of the island-state of the Seychelles. The vessel was stopped and boarded by at least 4 pirates.
The bulk carrier was then pirated, EU NAVFOR confirmed later and that the number o f crew on board was unknown.
The crew is co-operating and no damage is reported, the EU statement reads, which also stated that MV ORNA was not registered with the naval centres of MSCHOA or UKMTO.
The MV ORNA is a Panama flagged, UAE owned bulk cargo vessel with a dead weight of 27,915 tonnes.
The vessels safety management certificate had been withdrawn by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai already on 14. October this year and the crew is also not covered by an ITF agreement, but unlike other UAE-owned vessels it has still at least an insurance with Sveriges Angfartys Assurans Forening (Swedish Club). Ship manager SWEDISH MANAGEMENT CO SA in Dubai fronts for registered owner SIRAGO SHIPMANAGEMENT SA.There are 19 sailors on board and the crew comprises of one Sri Lankan and 18 Syrians.
The owner of Kassab Intershipping-Swedish Management, Capt Abdul Kadar, said that the cargo ship MV Orna was carrying 26,500 tonnes of coal from Durban, South Africa and was enroute to Okha, India, when it was hijacked.
The vessel is at present commandeered towards the Somali coast.
Capt Kassab said that "the ship was expected to reach the Somali waters by [that] Friday and then only we can start negotiations. Past experiences show that the pirates start negotiations only after reaching their home country's shores."
After arriving at the Somali coast the vessel was held together with the crew first off the coast north of Hobyo, before moving further south towards Ceel Gaan from where it then left the coast.
On 26. May 2011 at 09h08 UTC the pirated vessel was reported to be commandeered in position 06 09N and 050 33E with a course of 072 degrees and a speed of 7kts on another piracy mission. It is assumed that the ship is now being abused as a piracy launch with the crew serving as human shield.
On 27. May 2011 at 08h40 UTC MV ORNA was reported in position 07 09N and 053 20E with course 078 degrees and a speed of 7.5 knots.
On 01. June 2011 at 15h34 UTC the commandeered ship was reported in position 11 37N and 061 17E with course 246 degrees and a speed of 4.4 kts.
On 02. June 2011 at 12h24 UTC MV ORNA was reported in position 11 09N amd 059 57E with course 252 degrees and a speed of 5.6 kts.
On 03. June 2011 at 08h14 UTC the vessel was reported in position 10 55N and 57 48E with course 272 degrees and a speed of 6.0 kts, obviously on her way to the Somali coast.
On 05. June 2011 MV ORNA was observed still to be on that track in position 1017N and 05400E with course 258 degrees and speed 5.8 kts.
On 06 June 2011 at 14h54 UTC pirated ship MV ORNA was reported in position 08 59N and 050 52E with course 256 degrees and 6.6 kts.
On 07. June 2011 at 06h18 UTC the vessel was reported in position 07 49N and 050 04E with course 216 and a speed of 6 kts, sailing towards her former anchorage at the Somali North Eastern Indian Ocean coast.
While then being moored at her anchorage north of Harardheere a small fire of possibly electrical cause was reported to have started on 15. June 2011 allegedly at the kitchen and destroyed some staff quarters. The fire did reportedly not cause harm to any person. Conflicting reports spoke of the crew had been taken on land while others said the crew was taken to another nearby vessel, likewise under captivity. Though local residents saw a plume of smoke coming from the vessel, EU NAVFOR said they had no confirmation. The fire was later extinguished, but allegedly also caused damage to the bridge installations and electronics. Rumours that the vessel had sunk are not correct and according to local observers the vessel is still afloat.
FV SHIUH FU No. 1 : Seized December 25, 2010. At 10h30 UTC on 25. December 2010, the white hulled fishing vessel Shiuh Fu No.1 - CT7 0256 (ID58582) was reported by NATO as sea-jacked by pirates in position 12°58S - 051°52E around 120nm east of Nosy Ankao, Madagascar. A previously hijacked merchant ship was reported to be in the vicinity during the hijacking of the fishing vessel. It was then at 11h15 UTC observed to act as piracy launch in position 12°58S - 51°51E, while cruising 293° at a speed of 1 kts.
Its original 29 sailor crew consisted of 1 Taiwanese, 14 Vietnamese and 14 Chinese. EU NAVFOR lists only 26 crew. Taiwanese sources stated that the 26 people on board the Kaohsiung-based FV Hsiuh Fu No. 1, consist of the Taiwanese skipper, 12 Chinese and 13 Vietnamese crewmen.
The Republic of China flagged, 700 to long-liner, owned by SHIUH FU FISHERY CO., LTD. of Kaohsiung in Taiwan is apparently licensed by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC NO. 900070256) to fish in these waters.
Further reports state that the vessel, which shows on it's side in large letters BI2256, was commandeered further south was observed on 26. December 2010 heading 172º with a speed of 10 knots at position 15°23'42.00"S, 52°14'45.60"E. The vessel has a powerful 1,200 HP engine and can run faster, which makes it a serious threat concerning possible pirate-attacks against merchant vessels in the area.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a press release it had launched an emergency mission and instructed Taiwan's representative office in Cape Town, South Africa to seek assistance from the government of Madagascar.
There has been no communication since Dec. 25 with the Shiuh Fu No. 1, said Samuel Chen (陳士良), director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of African Affairs.
On 28. December the vessel maintained its strange search- or forestalling-like pattern along Latitude 52 on the North-Eastern side of Madagascar.
But at 03h13 UTC on 29. December 2010, the Pirate Action Group with FV SHIUH FU NO.1 was then reported as going east in position 13 27S - 053 03E with course 102° at speed 9.1 kts.
Vice chief Dao Cong Hai of the Vietnamese Department for Management of Overseas Labor said on January 5 that the 12 Vietnamese workers were enrolled by three manpower exporting firms, named Inmasco, Servico and Van Xuan. All of them are from the central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh. Hai said that the department had instructed the three firms to get in contact with the Taiwanese employer to get information about the Vietnamese sailors and communicate with the victims' families. "This is an unexpected accident. The pirates need money. They need time to evaluate the ship to fix the ransom," Hai said.
Local observers reported on 10. January 2010 that the vessel was moored off Ceel Gaan at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast of Harardheere, but thereafter took off again.
At 10h50 UTC on 14. Jan 2011, SHIUH FU No.1 acting as mothership, was reported in position 12°21N 055°56E, but came back and was then held off Ceel Caduur north of Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast. No proper contact seems to have been maintained between the owner and the captors and the crew is neglected, sick and tired.
End of June 2011 the fishing vessel left again the coast in a mission for the pirates. RFA Fort Victoria spent four days stalking the Shiuh Fu No.1 and the five small skiffs it uses to carry out hijackings, warning merchantmen in the area to stay clear. At the same time a helicopter from the cruiser USS Gettysburg carried out surveillance flights of the pirated vessel. The RFA eventually broke off its shadowing mission and re-joined the Cougar force, led by flagship HMS Albion, while another Allied warship in the region continued to track the Shiuh Fu No.1's movements.
Hijacked vessel SHIUH FU No 1 was last reported in position 1021N 05720E, course 205 at 7 kts, on 02 July 2011. She is now tracking towards the Somali coast but is still capable of conducting mothership operations.
MSV AL SHAMSHIR (sword) (aka MSV SAMSIR) : Seized before December 28, 2010. The most likely Iranian flagged dhow was observed near Ceel Gaan at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast from mid January to at least the beginning of April 2011. Sometimes the boat was together with a larger vessel at 0435N 04805E, near where abandoned MV RAK AFRIKANA is now grounded.
On 02. May 2011 the Danish Navy with warship HDMS ESBERN SNARE under Dutch orders and NATO command again attacked an earlier pirated vessel with hostages on board.
MSV SHAMSHIR was approached and at first only warning shots were fired by the Danish navy (i.e. first shots were fired by the navy).
Then the pirates used the hostages as human shield and threatened that the hostages would be endangered. The pirates continued to commandeer the vessel towards the coast.
The skiffs and the out-board motors of the skiffs were shot up and disabled by Danish naval sniper fire.
The commandeered dhow proceeded towards the coast and the Danish navy then disengaged.
Allegedly nobody was wounded, naval reports say, but local confirmation could not yet be obtained, because the pirate group and their hostages are in hiding.
MSV AL WA'ALA : Seized on or around 01. January 2011. The Yemeni-flagged dhow was seajacked and immediately used as piracy launch. Around 10. March the vessel had a technical failure in the Arabian Sea and likewise commandeered VLCC IRENE SL went out to help. Some Somali pirates and 3 Yemeni crew were taken aboard the large oil carrier. The 3 Yemeni men were then exchanged with a navy vessel in a deal to return the body of a Somali pirate from VLCC IRENE SL, who had been seriously wounded earlier, was then handed to a naval ship, but died on the operation table. At the moment it is not known whether any pirates or crew stayed on AL WA' ALA and what her current status is.
The vessel is wanted.
MV BLIDA : Seized January 01, 2010. At 15h36 UTC (12h36 LT) of New Year's day, the bulk carrier MV BLIDA (IMO 7705635) was attacked by an armed Pirate Action Group of four men in one skiff, which had been launched from earlier pirated MV HANNIBAL II at position Latitude: 15 28N Longitude: 055 51E. The location is approximately 150 nautical miles South East of the port of Salalah, Oman. EU NAVFOR and NATO confirmed the sea-jacking.
The 20,586 tonne Bulk Carrier is Algerian flagged and owned. The vessel was on her way to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from Salalah in Oman at the time of the attack.
The bulker has a multinational crew of 27 seafarers (17 Algerian, 6 Ukrainian - incl. captain-, 2 Filipinos, 1 Indonesian and 1 Jordanian).
The official version is that the vessel is carrying a 24,000 tonnes cargo of Clinker.
MV BLIDA was registered for protection with MSC(HOA) but had not reported to UKMTO, EU NAVFOR stated, but did not explain why the vessel was not protected - especially because the vessel used as pirate-launch - MV HANNIBAL II - was reported earlier by NATO to be in the area.
Ship manager of MV BLIDA is SEKUR HOLDINGS INC of Piraeus, Greece and registered owner is INTERNATIONAL BULK CARRIER of Algeria.
The manager could for the first time on 05. January contact the Ukrainian captain who said the 27-member crew is safe, the Ukrainian foreign ministry in Kiev said. The captain of the Blida bulk carrier told the Greek manager that "no crew member had been injured" during the attack last Saturday and that the sailors were in "satisfactory" condition.
Shipping in Algeria is a government monopoly run by the Algerian state, the National Corporation for Maritime Transport and the Algerian National Navigation Company (Société Nationale de Transports Maritimes et Compagnie Nationale Algérienne de Navigation--SNTM-CNAN).
Earlier on 05. January, shipcharterer IBC said it had received no ransom demand from the unidentified pirates who seized the vessel.
"I don't know who will pay, but I repeat that we have not received such a demand," Nasseredine Mansouri, head of International Bulk Carriers (IBC), an Algerian-Saudi company specialising in maritime cargo transport, told AFP.
Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz said on 06. January his country would not pay a ransom . Belaiz said in a statement to the press that Algeria was the first country to have "called, before the UN general assembly, for the payment of ransom to criminals and kidnappers to become a criminal act". Paying ransom encourages criminals and finances terrorism, he said. "Algeria does not pay ransom," he said adding that the kidnapped crew had been able to contact their families by telephone.
The vessel had arrived in Somalia and was moored off Garacad at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia as marine observers reported, but then left for a piracy spree and was observed on 22. January 2011 in position Latitude: 09 54N Longitude: 052 56E with course 049 degrees and speed 8.6 kts conducting mother-ship operations.
The Somali pirates were urged to let the vessel go in solidarity with the people of Algeria, but still the vessel and crew are held at Ceel Caduur north of Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast, while negotiations have not really been forthcoming.
Algeria has now launched a formal appeal for the release of all hostages held in Africa, including the Algerians captured by Somali pirates early this year, according to Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci.
When asked about the 17 Algerian sailors captured aboard the MV Blida in January, Medelci said that they were in "good condition".
"The Algerian authorities are monitoring the situation and are in regular contact with them through ship owner International Bulk Carriers (IBC), who are negotiating their release," he said.
Toudji Azzedine, from the city of Dellys in Boumerdes province, was among the detained sailors. According to his family, the last communication they had with him was on May 24th. They were told that the crew were in dire conditions.
The water (being fed) is dirty, the food rancid," said Abdelkader Achour, whose brother is among the 27 captives. "We ask the Algerian authorities to intervene to speed up their release," he added.
The appeal launched by Medelci came two days after the families of the hostages assembled in front of the IBC headquarters to denounce the authorities' silence regarding the sailors' fate and to demand President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's intervention to save their lives.
The 80-year-old mother of Ismail Kehli, from Algiers, was among the participants. After hearing about her son's abduction, she suffered from paraplegia and was hospitalised.
"What does the minister want from this appeal?" she wondered. "Does he want to say that Algeria will not pay ransom to save the sailors and they will remain there for many years?"
In June 2011 sailor Moundeer Abdul-Rahmango called on Algerian authorities to do more to pave the way for the seamen's release, saying the 17 have been facing heavy-handed and unyielding practices from Somali pirates. He made his appeal during a phone call with his family back home and said he and others hope they will be rescued before the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, expected to start in August.
MSV AL MUSA : Seized January 09, 2011. The Indian merchant dhow was hijacked along with her 14 Indian crew on or about the 9th of January 2011 while under way off Oman.
The dhow was abducted along with her 14 Indian crew on or about the 9th of January 2011 while under way from Dubai to Salalah around 50nm off the coast of Oman. The vessel is carrying assorted food-stuff and was commandeered to Somalia. The vessel is missing and wanted.
CREW OF MV LEOPARD : Seized January 12, 2010. The six men crew (2 Danes and 4 Filipinos) was snatched from 1,780-dwt weapons transporter MV Leopard.
The MV LEOPARD (IMO 8902096) is owned by a small company named "SHIPCRAFT", which is specialized to haul dangerous, military and nuclear cargoes, the Maritime Bulletin says.
The Leopard is known to be carrying what various informed sources have described as a "sensitive" cargo which is believed to include weapons. Although ships operated by Shipcraft, the Leopard's Danish operator, routinely carry nuclear items, this vessel is not believed to have any on board. Some analysts said it could have been possible that the ship had been disabled by its crew before they hid in the citadel and the Somalis may also have felt that the high-profile nature of the cargo could also have posed a heightened risk of naval or military intervention, but sources from Somalia believe that the real danger concerning the cargo sensed by the Somalis was the reason to abandon the vessel.
It is unknown if the pirates have touched any of the cargo while the welfare of the crew is also not known. Representatives from ShipCraft have steadfastly refused to comment on the issue when contacted by TradeWinds on several occasions on Wednesday and Thursday. The company deactivated its website on Thursday morning as reports began to filter through that the ship was carrying a potentially dangerous cargo and it remains "under construction". Since unprotected, also MV FAINA - a Ukrainian weapons-carrier with battle tanks for Southern Sudan was intercepted by Somali pirates, but in this case held for 144 days with a major diplomatic row evolving concerning the final destination of the weapons, since they had no permits for Sudan.
"We do not know where the crew is and we are concentrating on locating them and bringing them home to safety," Shipcraft chief executive Claus Bech said in a statement.
He confirmed a report late Thursday that the pirates had taken the six crew members -- two Danes including the captain, and four Filipinos -- and abandoned the 1,780-dwt cargo vessel MV Leopard (built 1989).
He did not reveal if the kidnappers had demanded a ransom. Registered shipowner is LODESTAR SHIPHOLDING LTD of Horsholm, Denmark, who has as ISM manager NORDANE SHIPPING A/S.
A search onboard the boat Thursday by Turkish soldiers, who are part of an international NATO-led force in the Gulf of Aden, turned up "neither pirates nor crew members," Bech said.
The shipping company last had contact with The Leopard crew on Wednesday at 1300 GMT, when the captain sent a distress signal indicating that the cargo ship had been "attacked by pirates who were boarding from two speed boats," the statement said.
After receiving the alert, NATO sent the Turkish warship Gaziantep to the scene, a spokesman for the alliance's anti-piracy mission, Jacqui Sheriff, told the Politiken daily's website.
Shipcraft, which has not provided information on what the cargo ship had been carrying, is known as a specialist in shipping explosives and ammunition, the paper reported, adding that The Leopard was transporting weapons.
All the company's ships have traveled in the area with armed guards since pirates attempted to capture another of its cargo ships, The Puma, in mid-2009.
However, Politiken.dk reported that The Leopard had let off its armed guards at the Oman port of Salalah before sailing into a zone considered "safe" where it was attacked.
The crew of MV LEOPARD is not covered by an ITF agreement.
According to TradeWinds and in what represents a major departure from Somali pirates' usual modus operandi, the six seafarers have been snatched and moved to a seized Taiwanese fishing vessel which is operating as a mother-ship.
British sailing couple Paul and Rachel Chandler who had their yacht Lynn Rival hijacked in October 2009 before they were moved to the seized 1,550-teu container vessel Kota Wajar. From there they were taken ashore and held hostage for over a year and only freed last November.
The only other such "off-takes", apart from the Chandlers, were the kidnapping of Juergen Kantner and his partner from their sailing yacht S/Y ROCKALL on 23. June 2008, the kidnapping of Deborah Calitz and Bruno Pelizzari from S/Y CHOIZIL on 26. October 2010 and the snatching of Sri Lankan fishermen Mr. Lal Fernando and Mr. Sugath Fernando from FV LAKMALI on November 30, 2010. However, recent information reaching our marine monitors in Somalia also say that three women (one Tanzania and two Comorian) had been transferred from the vessel on which they where kidnapped - the MV ALY ZOULFECAR. They were, however, later transferred back..
The most likely explanation, why the pirates left the arms-ship, is that the crew managed to flee into the strong-room and disabled the engines. The time to then get to the crew left little time to get the engines working again before a warship would have arrived. The pirates therefore decided to leave the huge amount of ammunition, rockets and missiles, which the vessel was transporting as deliveries from three European countries to states in Asia, because this loot would not be of immediate benefit to the Somali warlords and most likely would have triggered a serious naval response to block the vessel and its goods from reaching the Somali coast. The mastermind then must have decided to order the gang to just kidnapp the crew and disappear on the waiting fishing vessel.
Allegedly the Somalis holding the 6 men crew have already offered a deal to exchange them.
The Danish shipping company said it was searching for the six crew members, while reports from Hobyo say that 4 Somalis including one dead had been delivered by a naval Helicopter to Hobyo. The Filipinos of the Leopard crew are apparently still held there. The two Danes were then held separately from the Filipinos on a vessel off Hobyo together with the two Spaniards. While the Spaniards were freed against a massive ransom from MT SAVINA CAYLYN, the Danes are reportedly still held on board of another vessel north of Hobyo.
According to the Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet, the company SHIPCRAFT had allegedly more or less given up on negotiations since around March. For that reason, the Danish Ship Officer's Union had turned the owners of the company in to the police for negligence and they were even criticized by their own organization, Rederiforeningen af 2010, an organization for smaller shipowners in Denmark. It also should be noted that besides the two Danes also four Filipino seamen are held hostage in this case, for whom not many have spoken out - especially not from their government. Meanwhile the hostages are said to be held south-west of Hobyo.
Reports from the ground in Somalia at the beginning of July 2011 indicated that an agreement seemed to have been reached and a release could have been near, but on 08. July 2011 it was then reported that a disagreement between the members of the pirate group, which hail from one sub-clan, has let to a serious setback. The two Danes are now held separately at different locations on land south of Hobyo and according to local marine observers, who spoke with elders close to the scene, appear to have become desperate and sick.
This was confirmed when two videos showing mainly the pleading of the two Danish hostages and one Filipino was was pushed onto the internet. Seriously traumatized the hostages pleaded obviously under duress with the shipowner to get them out and urged their government to oversee that the shipowner gets them free fast, because their health is seriously deteriorating and they fear to be killed.
The captain stated (had to state?) that the shipowner contacted them However, Claus Bech of Shipcraft stated that the company "has since January - and with the advice from renowned security advisers and in close consultation with all relevant parties, amongst others the appropriate authorities - been negotiating for the fastest possible release".
He acknowledged the grave situation by stating: "Our colleagues are under unbelievable pressure, mentally as well as physically," and ensured "that we are doing our very utmost to get our valued colleagues back home from the cruel captivity as soon as possible."
The Captain confirmed that they carried military equipment from Germany, Montenegro, Sweden France and England for Mumbai, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and finally Busan in South Korea.
The Chief Mate stated that especially he himself, but also others in the crew, have serious health problems and are afraid to die. He confirmed that the crew was first held hostage on another vessel but then, since about three month, were kept hidden away in the bush of the coastal hinterland.
MV EAGLE : Seized January 17, 2011. At 06h41 UTC (09h41 LT) on Monday 17. January, the bulk carrier MV EAGLE (IMO 8126408) was attacked and pirated by a single skiff in position Latitude: 13°17N Longitude: 061°42 E. The attack occurred in the Gulf of Aden, 490 nautical miles South West of Salaam, Oman. The pirates had been firing small arms and a Rocket Propelled Grenade before boarding the vessel. There has been no contact with the ship since the attack. The MV EAGLE which is Cypriot flagged and Greek owned, has a deadweight of 52,163 tonnes and a crew of 25 Filipinos (according to the shipowner and DMS of the Cyprus government - not 24 as stated by EU NAVFOR) and was on passage from Aqabar (Jordan) to Paradip (India) when it was attacked.
The Handymax bulker is owned by the Perogiannakis family, Perosea Shipping Co. S.A. of Greece. The company Perosea currently operates just this one rather old bulker , which was built in 1985.
The ITF agreement, which had been agreed as TCC and was covering the crew with the Pan-Hellenic Seamen's Federation (PNO), expired on 05. April 2009 . The crew of the vessel is therefore not covered by an ITF agreement.
There is at present no information concerning the condition of the crew, while the vessel has reached the Somali coast, where was held off Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast but then transferred to Ceel Dhanaane at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast, while Phillipine officials said they have no information if the negotiations have properly commenced. A previous report by a Norwegian-financed website, quoting local sources and stating the release of the vessel, turned out to be false.
On 10. May 2011 at 07h27 UTC MV EAGLE was reported in position 12 25 N and 060 06 E plying a course of 246 degrees with a speed of 7 knots most likely conduction piracy launch operations. MV EAGLE then went out, apparently to provide support to Taiwanese JIN TSUN C68.EAGLE, which had come under squeeze by navies. MV EAGLE was then also met by MT ZIRKU for supplies.
On 13. May 2011 pirated MV EAGLE appeared to have reversed course and was heading back to her anchorage, shaddowed by naval forces, but then changed course again - most likely to join the piracy circus in the Arabian Sea.
At 13h10 UTC on16. May 2011 the commandeered vessel was reported in position 07 17 N and 053 26 E course 260 cruising with a speed of 7 kts and most likely on a piracy mission.
MV HOANG SON SUN : Seized January 20, 2010. The vessel MV HOANG SON HUN (IMO 8323862) was seized by pirates, who came onboard shooting at 12h42 UTC in position Latitude: 15°11N Longitude: 059°38, which is approximately 520 nautical miles South East of the port of Muscat, Oman. The 22,835-tonne Bulk carrier is Mongolian flagged and Vietnamese owned, has a crew of 24 Vietnamese nationals and is carrying 21,000 tons of iron ore.
MV HOANG SON SUN was not registered with MSC(HOA) and had not reported to UKMTO.
Owner and manager of the Vietnamese vessel is HOANG SON CO LTD from Thanh Hoa City, Vietnam, who insured it with West of England Shipowners. Unfortunately for the seafarers it has no ITF agreement.
Nguyen Bien Cuong, head of the Hoang Son Co's maritime security department, said the last time his firm had heard from the Vietnamese crew of the cargo ship was Tuesday. However, according to the ship-owner (Hoang Son Company in Thanh Hoa province), the captured ship captain Dinh Tat Thang somehow managed to clandestinely send an email saying that all sailors are in safe condition and the merchant ship has been moved to a Somalia port.
Apart from that, Hoang Son Company has not received any other information, Vietnamese media reported.
Bui Viet Tung, son of chief mechanic Bui Thai Hung, one of hostages, is angry that the company has not made any contact with the pirates.
"If Hoang Son Company is not committed to the case, our family will go to Hai Phong northern city to seek more information on my father's situation".
On the same day, Hoang Son – deputy director of Hoang Son – told Tuoi Tre the company is working with a UK-based firm specialized in negotiating all things related to hostage and pirates to rescue the victims.
"The ransom is estimated to hit US$5 million," Hoang Son added and stated that the vessel itself is insured against hijackers by the Vietnam Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development, but that the staff and goods on the ship have no insurance. "If pirates ask for a huge ransom, there's no way the company can afford it," Son said and added: "We need the support of the state and our insurer."
Based on this analysts believe that the case will take at least three month, because the British companies are known to take their time, because they are paid for it.
Crew and vessel were first held off Hobyo and then the vessel was moored off Ceel Dhanaane at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast. Negotiations seem to have become difficult, which is why the captors decided mid July to take the vessel out to sea again. NATO, however, does at present not assess the vessel to be used as piracy launch.
MT SAVINA CAYLYN: Seized February 08, 2010. At 04h27 UTC (07h27 local time) Somali pirates sea-jacked the huge Italian crude oil tanker MT SAVINA CAYLYN (IMO 9489285) with 22 crew members in the Indian Ocean en route from the Bashayer oil terminal in Sudan to the port of Pasir Gudang in Malaysia. The attack took place in position Latitude: 12°10N Longitude: 066°00E on the Indian Ocean, which is 673 nm straight east from Socotra Island at the tip of the Horn of Africa and around 360 nm west of the Indian Lakshadweep Islands. The ship is carrying a load of crude oil for ARCADIA, a commodities trading company.
Though Italian newspapers first published the tanker had escaped, European Union Naval Force Somalia spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy confirmed later the Italian flagged and owned MT SAVINA CAYLYN was hijacked. "The vessel was boarded after a sustained attack by one skiff with five suspected pirates firing small arms and four rocket propelled grenades," O'Kennedy said and added: "There is presently no communication with the vessel and no information regarding the condition of the crew of 22 - 5 Italians and 17 Indians."
The 104,255 dwt MT SAVINA CAYLYN had registered with the Maritime Security Centre - Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) and was reporting to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The Aframax of Chinese make was built in 2008 at the Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding shipyard and is insured through Standard P&I Club per Charles Taylor & Co., but so far no information concerning an ITF agreement for the crew was found.
Registered owner is DOLPHIN TANKER SRL for managers FRATELLI D'AMATO SPA , Naples NA, Italy. Fratelli D'Amato Spa is fully owned by Luigi D'Amato, who is also the sole administrator.
Dolphin Tanker s.r.l. is a 50% joint venture between Scerni Group and Fratelli D'Amato S.p.a., and a joint venture between Luigi D'Amato, president of Fratelli D'Amato International Group, and Paolo Scerni, president of Scerni Group - which presently owns 6 tankers. The joint venture might come to an end by mutual consent and banks which granted credit lines for their ships in the past years – i.e., Milan-based Centrobanca, Genoa-based Banca Carige, and Deutsche Bank AG – have been informed of the ongoing restructuring, necessary in order to preserve the earnings from a pool of ships which made last year a 4 million Euros profit.
So far Il Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labor) Luigi D'Amato serves as the President.
Italian Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro of the Italian coast guard said the coast guard was alerted by a satellite alarm system about the attack. All Italian ships that register with the coast guard's operations center in Rome have such an alarm system. "There was an exchange of fire between the pirates and crew," Nicastro said and it was observed that the 266 metre long ship slowed down almost to a standstill before it then sped up again and resumed its course, leading the coast guard to think the pirates had climbed on board and are now in command.
Where the pirates instructed to wait for this vessel, like it was the case in other sea-jackings - for instance the weapons-transporting Ro-Ro FAINA or now admittedly the MV SAMHO JEWELRY case?
Initial reports then said no-one was hurt in the attack and Commander Pio Schiano, from the Fratelli D'Amato shipping company in Naples, told a local television channel that he had been in communication with the tanker, stating that the crew were well but no ransom demands had been made.
Italy's foreign ministry released a statement following the attack to announce that a task force had been set up to monitor the situation along with the ministry of defence.
The vessel was then commandeered towards Somalia, while the Italian Navy frigate ZEFFORO, which was some 500 miles away, was heading to the area too.
The 266-m long and 46-m wide vessel was expected in Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean Coast, when satellite imagery showed it early morning on 10. February still about 330 km off the Somalia coast.
Vessel and crew have meanwhile arrived on 12. February off Hobyo at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast and negotiations are reportedly under way. However the vessel and crew had then been transferred further south to the Harardheere district coast, where the vessel was held off Ceel Gaan and now has been moved to Hobyo.
Two Spaniards, hijacked earlier from VEGA 5 were at the end of their ordeal held hostage on this vessel until their release against a multi-million dollar ransom. The vessel is still moored off Hobyo, while the crew is awaiting progress and conclusion in the negotiations for their own release.
MV SININ (Ex: MV Laurinda): Seized February 12, 2010. At 15h31 UTC (19h30 local time) on 12. February 2011, the Malta-flagged, Iran-owned Handymax MV SININ (IMO 9274941) was attacked by presumed Somali pirates in position 19 26N and 063 29E, which is around 350 nautical miles East of Masirah Island (Oman) in the Arabian Sea. The bulk carrier then was reported hijacked at 15h48 UTC on 12 February in position 201409N and 0641917E, approximately 286NM east of Masirah Island, Oman. The differences in the naval reporting about the location has so far not been clarified. The bulker was en route from Fujarah (UAE) to Singapore and has a crew of 23, of which13 are Iranian and 10 Indian nationals.
EU NAVFOR reported a day later and stated that they too believed the 52,466 dwt vessel was pirated. In a statement the Eurapean naval forces said: "The vessel sent out a distress signal, saying she was under attack, late afternoon on Saturday to which an aircraft from the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) immediately responded. The aircraft photographed 2 suspected pirate skiffs on board the vessel. There has been no communication with the ship since the distress signal was sent and the MV SININ has now changed course towards the Somali coast. There is no information on the condition of the crew."
Reportedly the 190m-long vessel with four toering cranes was not registered with MSC(HOA) and was not reporting to UKMTO.
State-owner company IRISL has named ISIM SININ LTD as registered owner and owner/managers are IRANOHIND SHIPPING CO LTD all of Tehran, Iran.
Subsidiary of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL - see separate entity record); listed in Annex III of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929 of June 9, 2010, requiring states to freeze its assets within their territories and to prevent assets from being made available to it (with some exceptions); on September 10, 2008, added to the Specially Designated National (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freezing its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems; according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRISL and affiliates provide logistical services to Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL - see separate entity record); owns six oceangoing vessels transporting crude oil and bulk and general cargo; subsidiaries include ISI Maritime Limited and Jaladhi Shipping Services (India) Private Limited; other subsidiaries reportedly include BIIS Maritime, Imir Ltd., and Isim Atr Ltd.; established as a joint venture between IRISL (51 percent) and Shipping Corporation of India-SCI (49 percent); reportedly established in 1975; commercial director is Ardasheer Yousefi.
In 2002 the Shipping Corporation of India decided to continue to be a partner with the Iranian government in the Irano Hind Shipping Co after disinvestment. According to senior officials, New Delhi has conveyed to Teheran that it stands committed to the joint venture even after its privatisation which is expected to take place by next month. SCI has a 49 per cent equity holding in the joint venture company which has a majority holding by the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. Sources said the reassurance to the Iranian government has been informally conveyed since the joint venture was conceived as a government-to-government partnership way back in 1974. The government has decided to offload 51 per cent equity in SCI in favour of a strategic partner while at the same time passing off 3.12 per cent shares to the employees. The government currently holds 80.12 per cent stake in the public sector shipping giant.
Iran o Hind Shipping Company is also Known As: Keshtirani Iran Ve Hend Sahami Khass; Irano Hind Shipping Company; Iranohind Shipping Company (PJS); IHSC; Iran and India Shipping Company; Iran Hind Shipping Company; Irano Hind; Irano Hind Shiping Co. (P.J.S); Irano-hind Shipping Company; Irano-hind; Irano-hind Shipping Co; Iran and India Shipping Co.; Iranohind Shipping Co.; Keshtirani Iran Ve Hend Sahami Khass; Iran O Hand Shipping Co.; IranoHind Shipping Co. Ltd.
However, the ambitious and oldest joint venture of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) is now caught in a diplomatic whirlpool over Iran, forcing the company to consider severing its ties with Tehran's national maritime carrier. As the issue is ridden with political sensitivity, the SCI has sought the ministry of external affairs' opinion as international sanctions can make the profit-making unit incur huge losses.
The 2006-built Handymax bulker was then commandeered to the Somali coast, while communication was apparently lost.
Indian foreign minister Krishna, allaying concerns raised by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar about the safety of the people from the state, stated that seaman Kumar Prashant from Bihar and 23 others on the ship belonging to Irano-Hind Shipping Company were safe. "As per information conveyed by our mission in Tehran, the owners of the ship last spoke to the pirate negotiator on March 2, 2011 and he confirmed that all the crew were safe," Krishna said in his letter dated March 18. Negotiations with the pirates were being handled by a committee headed by the managing director of the Iran-based shipping company. Nitish Kumar in his letter to Krishna on February 22 had requested the Centre to take all steps for the early release of Prashant and other hostages.
Vessel and crew are held now off Ceel Caduur north of Hobyo and negotiations have commenced.
New EU sanctions and the restrictions already imposed by the U.S.A. on Iran have also targeted now over 30 IRISL holding companies based in Germany, Malta, Hong Kong and the Isle of Man in the UK and all in all hinder and endanger also the release negotiations for MV SININ.
FV AL-FARDOUS (aka FV ALFARDOUS) : Seized February, 12. 2011. The vessel was captured near the disputed islands of Socotra, which are located on the continental shelf of Somalia at the very tip of the Horn of Africa, but were handed to Yemen located across the Gulf of Aden. The crew is consists of eight sailors.
Fishing rights in this fish-rich zone off the coast of Somalia have been leading to disputes since many decades.
European Union's naval mission Atalanta of EU NAVFOR confirmed the capture now in a welcomed move to not only focus their attention on abducted large merchant ships. The vessel is missing and wanted.
SY ING : Seized February 24, 2011. "A Danish yacht was captured by pirates, the Danish foreign ministry confirmed and stated this publicly only on 28. February 2010. The confirmation actually came 4 days after the actual attack and seajacking on 24. February 2011 of the Denmark-flagged sailing boat SY ING, which is why we could release the alert only that day, since it always has also to be ensured that the next of kin are informed first.
According to our information the attack happened in position 14N and 58E, which is around 210 nm from Socotra Island (Yemen), 300 nm from Salalah (Oman) and around 480 nm off the nearest Somali coast at the very tip of the Horn of Africa. (1nm = 1.852 kilometres) The yacht sent a distress signal just before the boat was boarded and two days after the murder 4 Americans on the SY QUEST. The signal was received, but the authorities decided to not let the attack be widely known, a fact, which was later criticized by many cruising sailors, who demand the full information from the naval control centres and other authorities in order to avoid specific danger spots. Denmark's Intelligence agency PET had asked all relatives of the hostages to keep the incident secret, while it is now believed that the information was only confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign affairs at a moment when the hostages were already taken on land.
The 43-foot yacht S/Y ING and her crew of 7 was captured in the Southern Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean en route from the Makunudhoo atoll in the Maldives, from where they had left on 11. February 2011, via Uligan on the 19. February en route to the Red Sea.
S/Y ING and the crew had reported their cruise earlier to UKMTO, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations based in the UAE, which listed itself as primary report and emergency contact. UKMTO had received every day a report with heading and status of the yacht, which at one point even was overflown by a surveillance aircraft.
The sailing yacht S/Y ING with her little over 13m length and 7 tonnes, is a small sloop which features one mast and two sails, a normal mainsail and a jib. The model of this sloop is a Dynamic 43, designed in Norway, and has an not too powerful diesel inboard motor. But it is a fast and well sailing boat, perfect for 2 or 3 couples or a family of up to seven members.
Four adults and three children aged 12, 15 and 17 were a happy crew together, but are now kept hostage. The parents, Skipper Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, Birgit Marie Johansen, their sons, Rune (17) and Hjalte (15), and daughter Naja (13), as well as their two crew employees are all of Danish nationality. The family hails from Kalundborg, west of Copenhagen, Denmark. Also the families of the deckhands have been informed.
A duty officer at the Danish marine command headquarters, SOK, told AFP: "SOK received an SOS from the sailboat and began searching for the whereabouts of the ship and determine what has happened to the crew."
Why the Danish government and the navies failed for four days to alert other cruising sailors in the area about the incident is not known. The naval forces deployed to the area have so far not agreed to escort cruising sailors in convoys through the dangerous Gulf of Aden passage or while having to pass the Arabian Sea, where several incidences happened during the last month, including the pirating of SY QUEST with four American hostages, who were all killed in botched negotiations and despite a failed rescue attempt..
The yacht was then commandeered towards Somalia, where still also two other Danes from weapons-ship MV LEOPARD are held hostage by a Somali pirate gang.
Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen said: "It is almost unbearable to think that there are children involved and I can only sharply denounce the pirates' actions" and added: "Government officials will do everything in our power to help the Danes."
While the Danish government said the Danish warship 'Esbern Snare' was dispatched for the area, the navies this time did not make the same mistakes as in the cases of SY TANIT and SY QUEST.
Observers from Puntland first reported that the sailing boat was expected at the North-Eastern Puntland coast near Ceel Dhanaane on the Indian Ocean, which would have been around 660 nm (1,220km) from the point where it was attacked - at the same location where SY QUEST was supposed to make landfall before she was pushed by four U.S. naval vessels further into the Gulf of Aden, where the four American sailors and four Somali hostage takers found their tragic end.
But the sailing yacht, which was driven apparently by only three hostage takers on board full throttle towards the Somali coast, ran out of fuel.
MV EMS RIVER a likewise sea-jacked merchant vessel, just before she was released since the ransom already had been delivered, had already been dispatched by the pirates' gang leader to provide cover services against a possible naval attack and then did provide the necessary fuel and towing to reach at least a spot around 38nm north of Bandar Beyla at the North-Eastern Somali Indian Ocean coast, which is called by the locals Hull (Xull), a tiny seasonal fishing camp.
From there local observers reported the group of hostages were taken around 20 km inland to a location called Hul Anod (Xuul Canood).
"On behalf of the Puntland state of Somalia, I want to say that we are very sad about the situation," said Ahmed. "In order to save these people, let us wait. Any action, including military action and we have seen what happened to the American couple a couple of days ago, we don't want that to happen again. ... Let us wait, let us wait, please," Gen. Abdirizak Ahmed, who heads the anti-piracy program in Puntland, Somalia's semiautonomous northern region, where most pirates are based, told the media. He just had returned from attending a two-day workshop in Denmark this week on the legal aspects of prosecuting pirates.
Later Wednesday, the Danish government said it had established contact with the pirates and their hostages.
"They are doing well under the circumstances," the Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement, which only stated further that a professional security firm was handling negotiations with the pirates, which hopefully will also bring to an end the many false stories peddled by Somali brokers, who in each of these cases offer their services.
The four adults and three children are now kept hostage on land, which was also confirmed by several of those Puntland elders, who are outraged about the case and want to try to achieve a release without conditions. The family hails from Kalundborg, west of Copenhagen, Denmark, where already popular outrage about the heinous crime as well as great support for the families of the hostages was expressed.
A military attempt to encircle Xuul Canood (Hul Anod) village was staged by Puntland forces on 10. March 2011. The militia which had come out of training - implemented by disputed mercenary company Saracen International and meanwhile banned from operating in Somalia - created havoc and senseless killing as predicted earlier. Ten Puntland soldiers, three alleged pirates, who had received reinforcement of about 200 men, and one civilian - a herder - were reportedly killed in the skirmish, while it is not even sure that the hostages had been at the village at that time. While it is sure that the operation was ordered by Puntland president Farole, using none of the men of his sub-clan, who are said to also be among the pirates, it was not yet confirmed that the Danish government paid for the ill-advised operation. Though a Danish newspaper stated that the seven Danes had been taken back onto their yacht, local observers stated that the family and the two deckhands had been split at the time of the attack into four groups held at different locations.
On 13. March the security minister of Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland Yousuf Ahmed Keyr blamed the international anti piracy forces operating in the Somali coastal waters for not helping to free the Danish family who are still in the hands of the pirates. He refused that ransom money would be paid to free the Danish captives.
"The government will not accept any ransom to be given. Now our forces are sourrounding the area", Yousuf said in his speech, acknowledging that six Puntland soldiers had been killed and five wounded in a recent, botched attempt to free the hostages.
Ahmed Ugas, a Somali parliamentarian, who lived for many years in Demark urged all sides to excercise restraint and warned of a disaster like in the case of SY QUEST, if a rescue by force would be staged again.
Observers believed already back then that some of the Danes were after the attack brought on board of sea-jacked MV DOVER, which was floating off Bandar Beyla.
A group of Danish negotiators has held discussions with the local authorities in Puntland to secure the release of the secure Danish hostages.
Local elders, who demand the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages - among them three children - have so far made only slow progress and their efforts were interrupted by the interference of Puntland forces.
"It is our responsibility to show the international community that we are not happy with what our young boys are doing in holding innocent children and their elderly parents hostages on our soil," the mayor of Bendar Beyla, Said Adan Ali, stated to the media.
Sources close to the elders of the gang holding the Danish hostages from the sailing yacht SY ING reported that the present negotiations between a Danish delegation in Bosasso and the hostage takers are bound to fail.
According to three separate sources the fact that the Danish delegation operates from Bosaaso in close co-operation with the Puntland government, while the armed forces of that administration had already once attacked the gang unsuccessfully and despite the botched attempt and international as well as local warnings again threatened to attack the hostage takers and their supporters in the near future with armed forces, makes it impossible for the hostage takers to trust the Danish negotiation team.
The Danish team had apparently contact with the hostage takers and according to the Danish Foreign Ministry also spoke to some hostages, but could so far not achieve their release.
A famous Somali Nabadon (peacemaker) who had started to negotiate the unconditional release of the hostages continues with his efforts, though many false rumours about the alleged wealth or the whereabouts of the hostages as well as an imminent attack by governmental forces drive all sides crazy.
All the hostages were then held on sea-jacked MV DOVER, while SY ING is kept at the coast near Hurdiyo.
Analysts fear that the arrest by security forces from Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region of four men allegedly belonging to the group holding the seven Danes hostage will complicate matters.
Shocking news, though they were locally not confirmed, were spread in a BBC Radio 4 report by Tom Mangold, broadcast mid April 2011, in which the veteran reporter repeated the story that the thugs had offered to release the family if their 13-year-old daughter was allowed to marry a pirate chief.
Reports from local elders revealed that the situation is tense, because the Danish navy had attacked several pirated vessels over the last four weeks and created havoc along the coasts, though it brought little success.
It is obvious that the health situation of the captives has deteriorated seriously and analyst see the present negotiations - said to be conducted by an inexperienced security company - as rather sluggish.
Medical conditions - physical as well as mental - in hostage crews held off Somalia deteriorate at around month three seriously and prosecutors should begin to file cases of torture and attempted homicide in addition to piracy and kidnapping charges in all cases lasting longer.
Recent statements by website reporting about Somalia turned out to be false altogether and the 7 Danes are still kept hostage on MV DOVER. Local observers, however, reported that the pirates groups hold the Danes and the merchant vessel have been pressured again by local elders to end the hostage crisis. This time the pirates appear to listen.
MV DOVER : Seized February 28, 2011. At 06h06 UTC (09h06 LT) on 28 February, the Bulk Cargo Carrier MV DOVER (IMO 7433634) was pirated in position Latitude: 18°48N Longitude: 058°52E - approximately 260 nautical miles North East of Salalah in the Northern Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. NATO and EU NAVFOR confirmed the seajacking.
The Panama-flagged, Greek owned bulker was en rout from Port Quasim (Pakistan) to Saleef (Yemen).
The 38,097 dwt MV DOVER has a crew of 23 (1 Russian, 3 Romanian and 19 Filipinos).
The MV DOVER was registered with MSC(HOA), and was reporting to UKMTO.
WORLDWIDE SHIPMANAGEMENT SA serves as shipmanager for registered owner DOVER NAVIGATION SA, sporting WORLDWIDE SHIPMANAGEMENT SA as ISM manager - all of Piraeus, Greece. The vessel has a valid safety certification, issued by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, but crew is not covered by an ITF agreement.
The Pirate action group with their launch vessel is still in the attack area, while the bulker is now commandeered towards Somalia and expected at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia.
Initially there was no communication with the vessel.The condition of the crew is said to be unharmed and so far all right, given the circumstances. However, it is was reported that also the Danish yacht-sailing hostages are held on this vessel, which makes negotiations for the MV DOVER in the moment obsolete.
The vessel is now held, partly drifting (or intentionally changing positions), off the area between Bandar Beyla and Bargaal. At present MV DOVER is close to Hurdiyo, where also the sailing yacht SY ING is held.
Allegedly the specific group of hostage takers, which kidnapped the Danes, has paid out the original captors of MV DOVER and is now in charge of both cases. However, the guards assigned to the two different targets sometimes even have shoot-outs among themselves. The vessel is from time to time moved between Hurdiyo and Ras Binna.
Negotiations are ongoing and ransom demands have been lowered. Allegedly another attempt to free the vessel by delivering a ransom was made on 25. June 2011 according to a website reporting on Somalia, but unfortunately also that second report was false and also the Danish hostages are still on board of that vessel and a new round of negotiations has some prospect.
MSV ABU AL FADL (aka JELBUT 33): Seized on or around March 10, 2010. The dhow was captured by presumed Somali pirates and abused in a failed attack on a merchant vessel. The boat was then trailed by the Australian navy, which in the course also encountered another pirated dhow MSV AL SHAHAR 75, which they subsequently liberated and let sail free. The present status of MSV ABU AL FADL is not clear and further reports are awaited. The navies call this dhow JELBUT 33 and had two attack skiffs on board. Last known position at 08h43 UTC on 08. May 2011 in position 12 06N and 059 28E with course 035 at 8 knots.
The vessel and crew ar now held at anchor off Ceel Dhanaane.
MSV QUBAIS : Seized March 17, 2011. The vessel was captured in position 080555N and 05111E (off Eyl). The vessel is missing and wanted.
MSV AL KHALIL (aka AL-KHALEEL) : Seized March 24, 2011. The Iran-flagged motorized dhow was captured 500Nm E of Minicoy islands. The pirates were operating from sea-jacked Iranian FV MORTEZA, which itself had been pirated earlier on 28. January 2011 off Mauritius and was then sunk on 27. March 2011 by the Indian Navy. Further details concerning the number of crew etc. are awaited. The vessel was commandeered towards Somalia, is missing and wanted.
FV NN IRAN : REGISTRATION NO.: 4/4039 : Seized April 06, 2011. The Iranian owned and Iran-flagged fishing vessel with a crew of 13 is assumed to have been pirated. Vessel and crew are missing and wanted.
MV ROSALIA D'AMATO : Seized April 21, 2011. At 02h05 UTC on 21. April 2011 the Italy-flagged Bulk Carrier MV ROSALIA D'AMATO (IMO 9225201) was boarded in position 13 17N and 05906E, which is approximately 350 nm South East of Salalah, Oman, in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean, by presumed Somali pirates who had attacked the vessel - according to NATO, who confirmed the sea-jacking, with one dhow and two skiffs.
However, it was found that the pirated fishing vessel FV JIH CHUN TSAI 68 (certainly not a dhow) was involved.
The 74,500 tonne Italian flagged and owned vessel was en route from Paranagua (Brazil) to Bandar Imam Khomeini (Iran) when it was attacked at first only by a single skiff, but then seconded by the others.
According to EU NAVFOR,coalition warships had communications with the vessel and were told: 'pirates onboard stay away'.
EU Naval Force Somalia spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy confirmed that the MV Rosalia D'Amato was registered with the Maritime Security Centre-Horn of Africa MSC (HOA) and was reporting to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The MV ROSALIA D'AMATO has a crew of 21 (6 Italians, 15 Filipinos). The 6 Italians, two are from Sicily, including the commander Orazio Lanza, two from Ischia, one from Vico Equense, and the first officer is native from Meta di Sorrento but lives in Belgium.
Owner and manager of the vessel is listed as PERSEVERANZA SHIPPING SRL of Naples, Italy.The bulk carrier is part-owned by Sen. Angelo D'Amato, owner of "Perseverance Navigation" and the nephew of the owner of "Brothers D'Amato. The company Perseveranza SpA is a Company owned by Giuseppe D'Amato and he is now the leader of a family of shipowners that since four generations is known in the world shipping community. Giuseppe D'Amato is unanimously recognized as one of the most prestigious entrepreneurs in the Italian shipowners community. He has been Vice President of Confitarma, the Italian Shipowners Association, for six years; he has been Board Member of the Banca di Credito Popolare di Torre del Greco, the biggest independent regional bank in Southern Italy; he has been Board Member of UMS Generali Marine SpA, the biggest Italian Insurance Company specialised in Maritime Hull and Machinery Risks, that today is a branch of Assicurazioni Generali for transportation; he has just been awarded an honorary degree in Shipping Business at the "Università Parthenope" in Naples.
Operated in a tough commercial sector, all the owned vessels of the shipping company are time chartered for long periods to important Italian and International Groups like Cosco , Armada Group , Cargill , North China Shipping, and others primary operators. The ISM manager for the MV ROSALIA D'AMATO is SHIPS SURVEYS & SERVICES SRL - likewise of Naples.
The bulker has a valid safety management certificate and is insured by Standard P&I Club per Charles Taylor & Co., but if the crew is covered by a valid ITF agreement could not be established.
According to media wires, the pirates fired on the 225-metre (738-foot) Panamax-type vessel during the assault but no one was injured and the captain and crew "are in good condition", said Carlo Miccio from the Naples-based company Perseveranza.
"The captain told me everything is okay, relatively speaking," he said. "He was trying to give me more information but the pirates understood what he was doing and they cut the line," he added. Miccio said that tracking equipment showed the ship, which was sailing from Brazil with a cargo of soy-beans, was "almost stationary".
However, other Italian sources stated that two small boats had approached with the pirates and the boarding was done without firing and with no bad consequences for the crew.
While the vessel was commandeered towards Somalia, with pirate-launch FV JIH CHUN TSAI 68 tethered to it, which in turn pulled two small skiffs, the U.S.American navy with the U.S.American warship, the USS Stephen W. Groveson, attacked the convoy, but could only destroy the two skiffs in the ill-advised and botched operation, which endangered all the hostages seriously. Luckily no casualties were reported in this incident. But in a second encounter between the same warship and the Taiwanese fishing vessel the Taiwanese captain was killed and two Chinese seamen wounded and the FV CHUN TSAI 68 was sunk. Several Somalis also were killed in this incident and the rest of the gang later set free at the Somali shores. Since they were part of the wider group holding MV Rosalia D'Amato this intervention certain had also no positive impact on a quick solution for the release of the merchant ship.
Vessel and crew are now still held off Ceel Dhanaane at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia and it is understood that negotiations have not yet been really forthcoming.
MT GEMINI : Seized April 30, 2011. The Singapore-flagged chemical tanker MT GEMINI (IMO 8412352) was reported to have been boarded by pirates on 30. April 2011 at 04h03 UTC (07h03 local time) in position Latitude 07 01S Longitude 041 22E, off the Tanzanian coast - 115 nm ESE of Zanzibar Island, Tanzania.
NATO stated that they received their report only at 07h33 UTC on 01. May 2011, but confirmed the sea-jacking, stating that two skiffs were seen on board the vessel on her way to Somalia at position Latitude 02 47S and Longitude 043 03E. Just a day before the new sea-jacking NATO had released a map warning of pirate activity in that area. EU NAVFOR has not yet reported.
A press statement from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore last night said the vessel had sent out a distress signal at 11.50am Singapore time on Saturday.
The vessel has as registered owner GOLDEN SPRING LINE but is owner-managed by GLORY SHIP MANAGEMENT PTE LTD. - all of Singapore. The vessel is, however, in the moment on a spot charter for a Singapore charterer. The ship is insured by the North of England P&I Association, but the crew is not covered by an ITF agreement.
The company said the MT Gemini, an ABS class medium-range 29,871 deadweight tonne vessel, is believed to have been hijacked at about 12.30pm Singapore time on Saturday.
The vessel was carrying over 28,000 metric tonnes of crude palm oil from Kuala Tanjung in Indonesia to Mombasa in Kenya. It had left Kuala Tanjung, Sumatra, on April 16.
Glory Ship Management confirmed that four of the 25 men crew, including the captain, are from South Korea, 13 are from Indonesia, three are from Myanmar and five are from China.
Its Singapore office last made satellite phone contact with the ship captain in the early afternoon (Singapore time) on April 30 before contact was cut off.
"Our highest concerns are for the safety and well-being of the crew members. Since learning of the incident, Glory's management and its manning agents are exhausting all efforts to contact the family members of the crew in the respective countries," Glory said in a statement on Sunday. "We will make every effort to secure their release. The company is keeping the appropriate Singapore and international authorities fully informed of the situation. As our absolute priority is the safety and well-being of the crew, we are not at liberty to release any further details of the situation," it added.
The China Maritime Search and Rescue Center and the Chinese Embassy in Singapore separately confirmed that they have received report on the incident. The crew members include five Chinese nationals, China Maritime Search and Rescue Center said.
All four South Koreans on board, including the 56-year-old captain known by his family name Park, are in their 50s, and official from the Korean Foreign Ministry stated.
In April a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) maritime patrol plane was deployed to beef up patrols against piracy in Gulf of Aden. The Fokker 50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and 38 servicemen are supposed to scan the waters off Somalia and protect merchant ships in the area for three months. The team will be based in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti and will operate under the multinational Combined Task Force 151, which is now being led by Singaporeans. Rear-Admiral Harris Chan and 24 other Singapore Armed Forces servicemen have been leading the flotilla's four ships since April 1. They will coordinate counter-piracy operations with naval forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and other navies till June.
The MV GEMINI was registered with MSC(HOA) and was reporting to UKMTO, is at present commandeered further north and already inside Somali waters.
The vessel's operator, Glory Ship Management, said they will lead negotiations with the pirates for a prompt release of all those on board the tanker.
After a brief halt off Mogadishu, the pirated MT GEMINI arrived at the pirate lair off Ceel Gaan (Harardheere District) at the Central Somali Indian Ocean coast on 04. May 2011.
Analysts fear that after the Indonesian Navy at the end of an otherwise excellent release operation for MV SINAR KUDUS spoiled the Indonesian success by killing the last four Somali pirates leaving the vessel the Somali sea-gangs will want to retain a final safety until they are on land and most likely will take in future now hostages with them as human shield. Especially hard treatment of the Indonesian hostages on MT GEMINI could also be a result.
"We are cooperating with the Singaporean government so our sailors will be treated well, given protection and freed soon," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters.
"The captain of the vessel contacted the shipping line in Singapore earlier in the day via satellite phone and confirmed all crew members were unharmed," an official source said on 05. May 2011. He said South Korea's embassy in the Southeast Asian country has reported the contact to Seoul. The official, however, said the phone connection was bad and was broken very quickly so the shipping line is waiting to hear more information. At present, the hijackers have yet to make demands or ask the company to pay ransom for the crew and ship.
Htay Aung, a central executive committee member of the Seafarers Union of Burma (SUB), said that the pirates will demand money, but the crew is probably not in mortal danger.
The vessel was moored off Ceel Gaan but left towards Hobyo. Negotiations for the release of vessel and crew have reportedly commenced.
The Somali pirates holding among the other hostages also four South Koreans on MT GEMINI demanded on15 July through different media and phoney websites that the South Korean government must specifically release those pirate prisoners in South Korean jail and pay compensation for several of their relatives killed by a commando raid earlier this year.
"First, we want the South Korean government to change its foolish treatment of us and come with a better approach toward us," he said in a statement read to the AP. "Second, we want compensation from them because they killed our brothers and they also have to release others in their jails. After that we may reconsider holding their nationals in our hands," he said.
Captain Pak Hyeon of the South Korean-managed, Singapore-flag hijacked Gemini contacted VOA by phone on July 16, saying the pirates want Seoul to pay compensation for eight dead comrades and release another five held prisoner. He said the pirates have not named a price.
He also said he and three other crew members are being kept separate from the other hostages. Pak said that the pirates are treating him and his fellow 24 crew members well and that they do not believe they are in any immediate danger. But he said they are fed only twice a day, kept inside aboard their ship and are homesick.
MT JUBBA XX : Seized July 16, 2011. The UAE and partly Somali-owned and UAE flagged, petroleum products tanker MT JUBBA XX (IMO 7916260) was captured at 07h42UTC (09h42 local time) on 16 July 2011 approximately 220nm northwest of Socotra Island at the very tip of the Horn of Africa, NATO reported. The relatively small, 4833 dwt tanker is reportedly fully laden.
EU NAVFOR Cmdr. Harrie Harrison told AP the vessel was en route from the United Arab Emirates to the port of Berbera in Somaliland, the breakaway Northwestern Somali state and self-declared republic. Later EU NAVFOR stated that the vessel's owner actually had reported her abduction in time, though only on 17. July at NATO released the alert officially. The vessel was not registered with MSCHOA at the time of the pirating.
Officials in Berbera stated that a vessel managed and owned by Jubba General Trading Company from Sharjah, named MT JUBBA, was expected. The vessel is apparently operated in the moment by Red Sea Shipping company, but managed by Emirates Shipping Company in Umm al Qaiwain. Local observers in that Gulf of Aden harbour, who are familiar with the regular trader operating under a flag from the United Arab Emirates, said that the crew usually consists of seamen from Asian Nations, but also additional Somali seafarers were said to be part of this crew.
This was then confirmed by different sources and it was then established by the vessel owner that the crew comprises of 17 seafarers. Under the captain from Sri Lanka serve 5 Indians, 4 Somalis, 3 Bangladeshi as well as 1 Ethiopian, 1 Sudanese, 1 Kenyan and 1 Burmese from Myanmar.
Little information is available at present about the condition of the crew. Reportedly 9 suspected Somali pirates commandeer the MV JUBBA XX and hold the crew hostage.
Officials from the owner as well as the managers have not been able to make contact with the ship since it was hijacked, reported The National on 19. July. "We called all day and got no response," Omar Alkheir, the general manager of Emirates Shipping, told the UAE newspaper. The MV Jubba XX is the first Jubba General Trading ship to be hijacked, the company's managing director Abdi Ali Farah said. The firm has nine employees and owns two oil tankers and three cargo vessels (i.a. AL SEINEYA XX and FAL XX), which usually travel to the Somali ports of Mogadishu, Bossaso and Berbera.
The vessel was captured by the group of sea-shifta just four hours after they had staged an unsuccessful attack on a larger merchant vessel, which was successfully repulsed by the guards on the ship, while the crew hid in the strong-room.
Why the navies didn't draw closer to that location after the first attack, was not explained. Reportedly the earlier sea-jacked MV AL-NASR (AKA Al-NASIR, AL-NISAR or ALISHAM) loaded with livestock and captured after leaving Bossaso harbour was used in the attack. The Indian owned but UAE flagged vessel was then released by the pirates and said to proceed to
While most sources counted 16 crew, Omar al-Khair, general manager of the Emirates International Shipping, the vessel's manager, told The Associated Press there were 17 crew on board the United Arab Emirates-flagged MV Jubba XX. Besides the Sri Lankan captain, he said crew members were from India, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Sudan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
"I'm expecting it to get released easy ... because there are Somalis" on board, he said. There have been no demands for ransom yet, he said.
At 08h13 UTC (11h13 local time) on 17 July 2011 the MT JUBBA was observed by naval patrol aircraft around 100nm off Socotra Island at position 13 48 N and 051 25 E.
The tanker was carrying between 3,500 to 4,000 tons of refined fuel when it was hijacked, Ali Alawi, operations coordinator at Jubba General Trading Co., told AP.
The relatively old Bunker tanker, built 1979, has only a single hull and therefore poses an immanent and grave environmental danger while in pirate hands stated ECOTERRA Intl.This was then confirmed by different sources and it was then established by the vessel owner that the crew comprises of 17 seafarers. Under the captain from Sri Lanka serve 5 Indians, 4 Somalis, 3 Bangladeshi as well as 1 Ethiopian, 1 Sudanese, 1 Kenyan and 1 Burmese from Myanmar.
Little information is available at present about the condition of the crew. Reportedly 9 suspected Somali pirates commandeer the MV JUBBA XX and hold the crew hostage.
Officials from the owner as well as the managers have not been able to make contact with the ship since it was hijacked, reported The National on 19. July. "We called all day and got no response," Omar Alkheir, the general manager of Emirates Shipping, told the UAE newspaper. The MV Jubba XX is the first Jubba General Trading ship to be hijacked, the company's managing director Abdi Ali Farah said. The firm has nine employees and owns two oil tankers and three cargo vessels (i.a. AL SEINEYA XX and FAL XX), which usually travel to the Somali ports of Mogadishu, Bossaso and Berbera.
The vessel was captured by the group of sea-shifta just four hours after they had staged an unsuccessful attack on a larger merchant vessel, which was successfully repulsed by the guards on the ship, while the crew hid in the strong-room.
Why the navies didn't draw closer to that location after the first attack, was not explained. Reportedly the earlier sea-jacked MV AL-NASR (AKA Al-NASIR, AL-NISAR or ALISHAM) loaded with livestock and captured after leaving Bossaso harbour was used in the attack. The Indian owned but UAE flagged vessel was then released by the pirates and said to proceed to
While most sources counted 16 crew, Omar al-Khair, general manager of the Emirates International Shipping, the vessel's manager, told The Associated Press there were 17 crew on board the United Arab Emirates-flagged MV Jubba XX. Besides the Sri Lankan captain, he said crew members were from India, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Sudan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
"I'm expecting it to get released easy ... because there are Somalis" on board, he said. There have been no demands for ransom yet, he said.
At 08h13 UTC (11h13 local time) on 17 July 2011 the MT JUBBA was observed by naval patrol aircraft around 100nm off Socotra Island at position 13 48 N and 051 25 E.
The tanker was carrying between 3,500 to 4,000 tons of refined fuel when it was hijacked, Ali Alawi, operations coordinator at Jubba General Trading Co., told AP.
MV SHIHAAN (name not yet officially confirmed) : Seized 18 July 2011. Local marine observers reported on 18. July 2011 that three smaller cargo vessel were attacked by a large group of sea-shifta just off Bossaso, the harbour town of the Somali regional state of Puntland.
In the ensuing getaway bid the Somali pirates, who had taken a total of 67 seafarers from mainly Asian nations hostage caused damage to the engines in two of the boats, while struggling against the heavy swell.
The two limping vessels were then abandoned and the gang escaped in MV SHIHAAN, taking with them 19 crew from India and Pakistan as hostages and human shield.
The sea-shifta with this vessel didn't bother to come to the coast but took the vessel out to the sea in order to get larger prey.
FVs NN IRAN : Four more Iranian fishing vessels are missing and wanted. The dates when they were allegedly seajacked by Somali pirates are not known exactly, but we have at least one vessel name: FV HASSAM, a boat which was captured 70 nautical miles off the port of Eyl at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia, and three of their official registration numbers: 4/2922, 4/2985, and 4/3718. Iranian FV AL FAYAD (aka AL FAJAD aka AL AFINIYA) (Reg: 4/3672) was attacked on 20. April 2011 by the Danish navy, killing six - including possibly one crew member and wounding 5 (including one Iranian crew member), off Hobyo and then was attacked again by the same navy operating under NATO and sunk on 21. April 2011. While the 4 Pakistani crew members could already be flown out a humanitarian problem remains in this case to now also repatriate the remaining 10 Iranian crew members.
Unfortunately no exact crew lists for the Iranian vessels are usually provided, but it is estimated that at least 45 more Iranian fishermen are held on these boats.
One of the sea-jacked Iranian fishing vessels with the registration number 4/3739 was set free on 01. April 2011 by the Danish navy wounding three Somalis while operating under NATO. At the same time the Dutch "liberated" another vessel, MSV HORMUZ (aka URMUZ), which had been seized January 21, 2011 with killing two Somalis and wounding five. In both cases - after repairs - the vessels could sail off, while the two dead Somalis were dumped by the Dutch into the ocean, which caused widespread uproar in Somalia and internationally.
Latest reports stated that two earlier abducted Iranian fishing vessels with the registration numbers 4/3785 and 4/4050 reached on 8. February 2011 and one fishing vessel with the registration 4/3810 and 18 crew reached on 19 Feb 2011 their home ports in Iran safely, though some of the crew were injured. The six Somalis on pirated MSV AL SAADI gave themselves up to the U.S.American navy and the dhow was set free with 15/16 Pakistanis - where the Iranian members of the originally 22 men crew remain is not clear, while one seafarer died.
We try to establish the fate of the others.
On 02. June 2011 at 09h55UTC one of these dhows nicknamed "JELBUT 31" was observed as being under pirate control and conducting piracy or smuggling operations in the vicinity of position 02 19N and 050 00E. Her two empty attack skiffs in tow were then destroyed by a German frigate.
On 10. June 2011 at 12h05UTC the position of the vessel was reported from 05 55S-041 and 34E. The vessel is still under pirate control, but not longer considered a threat.
Please send any report concerning these vessels to office[AT]ecoterra-international.org
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OTHER CASES NOT COMPLETELY CLOSED:
- please see: Status of not yet resolved Maritime Incidences off Somalia
~ * ~
THIS INFORMATION IS ALSO A WARNING TO VESSELS TRAVERSING THE SOMALI BASIN TO BE AWARE OF LARGER VESSELS BEING USED AS LAUNCHING PAD AND DECOY FOR PIRACY ATTACKS .
All vessels navigating in the Indian Ocean are advised to consider keeping East of 60E when routing North/South and to consider routing East of 60E and South of 10S when proceeding to and from ports in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.
The Indian Government has issued a NOTICE on 30th March 2010: All Indian-flagged motorized sailing vessels are - with immediate effect - no longer permitted to ply the waters south and west of a line joining Salalah (Oman) and Malé (Maldives).
NOTIFICATION BY THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT
- Issued by The Directorate General of Shipping, Mumbai.
DIRECTIONS 31. March 2010
The Directorate has issued directions prohibiting the trading of mechanized sailing vessels south and west of the line joining Salalah and Male, with immediate effect.
Likewise the Government of Sri Lanka has issued a decree instructing especially their fishing vessels not to venture further west than the latitude 70 degrees East.
NON-MARITIME HOSTAGE CASES IN SOMALIA:
Missing:
Briton Murray Watson and Kenyan Patrick Amukhuma are missing since 01. April 2008. They were working on a U.N.-funded project in the Juba valley, were seized by gunmen near Bua'le and taken to Jilib, 280 km (175 miles) south of Mogadishu. Media reports until November 2010 maintained they are still being held and close sources reveal that the case is one of a so far Unsuccessful Resolution with no independent proof of live since a long time. While, based on reports from the ground, it could be assumed that Patrick Amukhuma had died, the meanwhile penniless Kenyan-Somali spouse with 3 children of Mr. Watson appealed as recently as October 2010 again for the return of the British researcher. Last observations from Salagle in the Jubba Valley revealed certain activities, which indicate that the case might no longer be a real hostage case.
Political hostage:
French officer Denis Allex. Somali gunmen kidnapped two French security advisers working for the Somali TFG government from the Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu on July 14 2009. Police said one escaped on Aug. 26 after killing three of his captors, but Marc Aubriere denied killing anyone and said he slipped away while his guards slept. A video released by Al Shabab was showing the second officer still being held and political demands for his release were made by Al Shabab. On June 9, 2010 the video appeared on a website often used by Islamist militant groups, which said the hostage, named as Denis Allex, had issued a "message to the French people". The video showed the captive in an orange outfit with armed men standing behind him.
France has received "proof of life" of one of its secret agents held hostage in Somalia since July 2009, the French foreign intelligence service DGSE said on Tuesday, 27. December 2010.
A DGSE source said the service had received "a reply to a personal question" to which Denis Allex, a French secret agent kidnapped by an Islamist group on July 14, 2009, was able to respond, proving he was alive.
"No detail was given by his captors on the state of his health nor on his location or the conditions in which he is being held," the source added. Several, but not very serious attempts from both sides have been made recently to solve the case. Denis Allex is still held somewhere in the Bay-Bakol area.
"No detail was given by his captors on the state of his health nor on his location or the conditions in which he is being held," the source added. Several, but not very serious attempts from both sides have been made recently to solve the case. Denis Allex is still held somewhere in the Bay-Bakol area.
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For 2010 the recorded account around the Horn of Africa stood at 243 incidences with 202 direct attacks by Somali sea-shifta resulting in 74 sea-jackings on the one side and on the other the sinking of one merchant vessel (MV AL-ABI ) by machine-gun fire from the Seychelles's coastguard boat TOPAZ (11 Somalis now jailed for 10 years in the Seychelles) as well as the wrongful attack by the Indian navy on an innocent Yemeni fishing vessel and the sinking of FV SIRICHAI NAVA 11 with many injured sailors and at least five people from the vessel and 8 attackers dead. Sea-jacked MV AL-ASSA - without its original Yemeni crew - was used as pirate vessel and likewise sunk while the Somali captors allegedly were released on land. In addition four Somali fishermen were killed by naval helicopter, which the navies cowardly never identified, at Labad north of Hobyo and one fisherman has killed by AMISOM forces near Mogadishu harbour.
For 2011 the recorded account stands at 145 incidences with 115 direct attacks and at least 34 ships sea-jacked.
The naval alliances had since August 2008 and until May 2010 apprehended 1090 suspected pirates, detained and kept or transferred for prosecution 480, killed at least 64 and wounded over 24 Somalis. (Independent update on the killings of Somalis see: EXCLUSIV - whereby it must be stated that while trying to keep up with the killings and arrests, the deportations of Somalis or cases where they were set out again without supplies to face sure death on the ocean - like the Russians did in at least one case - it is due to the in-transparency of the navies extremely difficult and hard to keep track and the journalist who maintained these statistics gave up to count and started a new blog on the foreign military adventures of the EU). It must, be noted that most navies have become since the beginning of 2010 extremely secretive and do neither report properly to the Somali government, which is compulsory according to the UN security council resolutions nor to the UN itself or through their media outlets on the real number of casualties and injuries they inflict.
ECOTERRA Intl. calls many of the death-cases which occur in the piracy- as well as in the anti-piracy-circus EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS - if not outright murder - and has requested already several times that thorough investigations have to follow each incident and the findings to be made public. The UN must be held fully accountable for upholding the believes in the navies that they would act legally and must account for each and every act committed under their banner. All acts committed by Somalis as well as all acts committed by the navies must be scrutinized with the same impartial zeal to let justice prevail.
Without a declaration of war by any nation of the UN and or by any of the states sending those navies, who are hiding behind illegal UN resolution constructs, these nations are waging war against the majority of innocent Somali people and are committing murder with impunity, while neither the sates nor the UN or the Somali governance are following up. Only in rare cases the real culprits of piracy and crimes committed on the High Seas or in the territorial waters of Somalia are brought to to book. The UN and all the navies are betting on the fact that the Somalis - a majority being illiterate - do not have the knowledge and means to legally follow up on cases of outright murder and illegitimate warfare, and know that the present Somali governance is not in a position to defend the Somali people against any aggressor or injustices brought against them by foreign hands. The UN and the navies have lost their moral standing by not investigating these acts.
Reports of not well documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (although not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail or like the S/Y Serenity and MV Indian Ocean Explorer were sunk to cover their drug-smuggling activities. Present multi-factorial risk assessment code: RS: ORANGE / GoA: ORANGE / AS: YELLOW / NIO: BLUE / SIO: BLUE (Red = Very much likely, high season; Orange = Reduced risk, but very likely, Yellow = significantly reduced risk, but still likely, Blue = risk low but still possible, Green = unlikely). Piracy incidents usually degrade during the monsoon season and rise gradually by the end of the monsoon. Starting from mid February until early April as well as around October every year an increase in piracy cases can be expected. With the onset of the monsoon winds and rough seas piracy cases decline.
If you have any additional information concerning the cases, please send to office[at]ecoterra-international.org - if required we guarantee 100% confidentiality.
For further details and regional information request the Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor (SMCM) and see the situation map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA (2011). See the archive at www.australia.to and news on www.international.to
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ECOTERRA Intl. is an international nature protection and human rights organization, whose Africa offices in Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania also monitor the marine and maritime situation along the East African Indian Ocean coasts as well as the Gulf of Aden. ECOTERRA is working in Somalia since 1986 and does focus in its work against piracy mainly on coastal development, marine protection and pacification. ECOP-marine (www.ecop.info) is an ECOTERRA group committed to fight against all forms of crime on the waters. Both stand firm against illegal fishing as well as against marine overexploitation and pollution.
N.B.: This status report is mainly for the next of kin of seafarers held hostage, who often do not get any information from the ship-owners or their governments, and shall serve as well as clearing-house for the media. Unless otherwise stated it is for educational purposes only. Request for further details can be e-mailed to: somalia[at]ecoterra.net (you have to verify your mail). Our reporting without fear or favour is based on integrity and independence.
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© 2011, ECOTERRA SOMALIA, Mogadishu. This compilation or parts of it may be reprinted and republished as long as the content remains unaltered, and ECOTERRA Intl. is cited as source. 914
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