After a lull of few months, Somalia’s pirates are once again terrorising oil tankers and cargo ships far out in the sea. This time they have taken 28 Indians hostage on the Panama-owned MV Al Khaliq, a bulk carrier off Seychelles, and MV Kota Wajar. Their new hunting range shows how difficult it will be for the international community to stop the gang.
Last year, the pirates focussed on the busy Gulf of Aden, just off Somalia’s northern coast, launching 111 attackers, almost three times that in 2007. An alarmed international community deployed warships to protect the vessels.
While the warship’s presence significantly reduced the attacks off Gulf of Aden, there is a growing concern among ship owners and the International Maritime Bureau that the Somali pirates are now turning to the Indian Ocean where they have received success in a total 50 hijacking incidents.
The spate of successful Indian Ocean hijackings showed that the pirates were focussing on the unpatrolled waters of Africa’s east coast. The third quarter report of IMB’s anti-piracy cell showed that Somali pirates had extended their reach, threatening not only the Gulf of Aden and East Coast of Somalia but also the southern region of the Red Sea, the Babel Mandab Straits and the East Coast of Oman.
This area still ranks as the number one piracy hotspot, with a total of 168 incidents reported in the first three quarters of 2009, accounting for more than half of the overall number of reported attacks.
Capt SC Behl, managing director of SNP Ship Management Company, who operates MV Al Khaliq, says he is worried. “We took anti-piracy steps and we just did not expect the pirates to strike 1,000 miles from the Somalia sea. What can the crew do when attacked by pirates carrying rocket launchers and machine guns? They are sea farers, not trained in arms,” said Behl.
Incidentally, Al Khaliq was hijacked soon after another boarding attempt on an Italian ship MV Jolly Rosso was foiled. The pirates aboard two small skiffs opened fire and attacked with rocket-propelled guns, while the Italian ship managed to evade the attack as naval forces patrolling the area closed in.
“All we know currently that the vessel is on its way to Somalia. While we are confident that our crew is safe, the international community including India should seriously take steps to stop the piracy attacks. They should block any boats coming out of Somalia coast,” said Behl.
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