Pirates in the News! September 2008

In July, 15-22 Filipino sailors (depending on the article) were captured and held hostage by pirates in Somalia with the cargo ship, the Stella Maris, they were crewing. The crew was ransomed and released.

Later in the summer,
Nigerian authorities arrested 15 Filipinos suspected of stealing crude oil. The Filipinos denied the charges but were arraigned Tuesday.

They were arrested while aboard MT Lina Panama, which is laden with stolen crude at Brass. Rev Chavez, the ship’s captain, was quoted as arguing that they don’t know about the stolen crude, and they were just victims of an attack orchestrated by suspected pirates in Nigeria.

The independent newspaper The Nation, which showed a picture of the Filipinos in its Friday edition, quoted Chavez as saying they were on their way to Angola from Cotonou, the capital of Benin, when they were attacked.

The ship captain added that they were locked in a cabin for several hours before they were rescued by Nigerian security troops.

Theft of crude oil from the Niger Delta by armed gangs and pirates and their foreign collaborators costs Lagos millions of dollars in lost revenue every year.Nigeria is one of the world’s top oil producers and trouble there impacts on global prices of oil.

In 2006 and 2007, a rise in illegal activities was observed in Africa, with frequent attacks on foreign oil concerns and a rash of abductions of expatriate staff.

A few days ago in Nigeria, it was reported that MEND had destroyed an important oil pipeline.

"Fighters from MEND using high explosives have destroyed a major pipeline belonging to Shell Development Company at the Elem-Kalabari Cawthorne Channel axis in Rivers state," the group said in an email to the media.

The group said the attack took place around 6:30 pm (1730 GMT), but gave few other details except to say that its men bumped into an army patrol that begged for mercy.

There was no immediate confirmation from Shell.

"We are checking. We've also heard the report. It requires us going to that area to check," spokesman Precious Okolobo told AFP.

Attacks like these highlight the unrest in the region that has led to the upswing in piracy in recent years.

Similarly, 29 were killed in Mogadishu, Somalia.

More directly piratically;

It's been a big month for France in the efforts against piracy on the world stage. President Sarkosy urged more action to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden in the wake of French Forces saving a French Couple from pirates holding them hostage. One pirate was killed and six captured during the raid. Sarkosy has been piracy's most vocal opponent since the capture of La Ponant in March.

In Asia, the Philipene Government has commented on how upset they are about the recent spate of pirate attacks, including the Greek ship hijacked last week. Filipinos as at risk because of the high numbers of Filipino seafarers that man the vulnerable ships in the waters around Somalia.

The Danish warship Absalon also captured 2 suspected pirate vessels off the Horn of Africa, pirate motherships? Pawns in an international game of one upmanship trying to out-capture the French? Baseless conjecture on my part? only time will tell...

Pirates in the News! February 29, 2008

Ahrrrr, News.

Since I am writing to all of you from America, in the grand tradition of American news outlets I'll lead with the Oscars.

Best Actor Winner, Daniel Day Lewis sets new Pirate Earring Trend.

Ok, now to harder news,

Nigeria, how pirate your news is, The Nigerian Navy has been assuring the world that they have their pirate problem under control, and in recent weeks, there have been many reports of pirates killed and captured in raids. Despite these reports, the Lagos newspaper, Vanguard, is suggesting that all these assurances are simply politicking to comfort the business sector. Some of the pirate attacks in Nigeria's Bonny Channel have been attributed to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

According to a statement from the official address of MEND, signed by Gbomo Jomo, MEND's "freelance fighters" carried out the attack.In another response to THIS DAY inquiries, MEND said it was true that it has acquired sophisticated weapons with which it hopes to battle the Nigerian State to a standstill and promised to hit only military targets.

A Russian-British Tugboat, the Switser-Korsakov is being held by pirates in Mogadishu with its entire crew. Many are worried about the state of the crew:

The situation is even more complicated as the age of the tugboat’s captain is 70 years, chief engineer – 67 that may negatively affects their health in case of long captivity.

Many questions surround the ship's capture, including, what will the Russian Federation do to help?

Meteorologists are concerned about pirates stealing high-tech and highly important Tsunami Warning Buoys near Indonesia. They have been working with the Indonesian Government to increase patrols in the area. If the buoys are stolen then millions are at risk, early warning being humans' only defense against Tsunamis.

The Cougar Ace, a deep sea cargo transport capsized off Alaska and was the subject of rescue attempts documented in Wired. The story is great, and so are the images.