[ad_1]
Negotiations are under way with the owner of the Togolese Greek-interest supply tanker “Stelios K”. In the general picture there is a special negotiator, who acts as a “bridge” between the company and pirates, to reach a final agreement and determine the amount of the ransom, in order to free the sailors.
The relatives of the kidnapped are in constant contact with the company, whose representatives assure them that they will pay the ransom and their family will return home.
The result was in its waters Nigeria, at the beginning of the week, while the ship had route to Lagos. The crew is made up of a total of five Greek sailors. The engineer and a sailor remained on board. He was in the Gulf of Guinea when he was attacked.
Pirate attacks have increased in the waters of the Gulf. In three days, three successful results were obtained. The other two involved the kidnapping of five sailors aboard the Ghanaian-flagged freighter AM Delta and another 14 from the Liberian-flagged oil tanker off São Tomé. Pirate attacks are increasing in Guinea and are a headache for international shipping. In 2020, there have been 24 attacks in the region and a total of 128 sailors have been taken hostage so far.
The hostages are imprisoned in a specially designed camp in the jungle. Due to their low altitude and limited speed, product tankers – that is, tankers carrying petroleum products – are more easily accessible, while liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers are also included in the equation.
High-risk areas and interests
The areas that have been identified as extremely dangerous for a hacking incident are:
Southeast Asia: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Strait of Malacca, Malaysia, South China, Singapore, Vietnam, with the Strait of Malacca topping the list of maritime areas. In these areas pirate attacks take place to obtain the ship or its cargo.
· Central and South America: Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Caribbean. In these maritime zones, piracy takes the form of robbery with a low degree of use of force.
West African Coast (Gulf of New Guinea): Nigeria and Angola. In these maritime areas, piracy is characterized by the use of savage violence.
East Coast of Africa (Horn of Africa): Somalia borders the Gulf of Aden to the north and northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the east and southeast.
In recent years, pirate attacks have intensified in West Africa and, more specifically, in the Gulf of Guinea. There is a practice of kidnapping rescue teams or stealing millions of dollars in cargo. The pirates occupy the ships, mainly oil tankers, and bring along other smaller ones in which part or all of the cargo is transshipped. When the sailors are kidnapped, they go to the jungle until the ransom is paid. The attacks are now taking place not only near the shores and docked ships, but also 100 miles away.
Modern piracy is spreading as an aggressive form of cancer in the body of the global shipping industry. All eyes may be on West Africa and Southeast Asia, but the attacks have reached as far as the Gulf of Mexico.
The United States government has issued a warning about the danger of piracy on ships and oil rigs in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
In particular, the US State Department said that “armed criminal groups are known to attack and steal merchant ships, oil rigs and supply ships on the high seas in the Gulf of Campeche in the southern Gulf of Mexico.”
According to the US MARAD, the first three weeks of April 2020 saw a large number of attacks observed on offshore support vessels in the southern tip of the Gulf of Mexico.
The report of the Transnational Regional Cooperation Agreement to Combat Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) for the first quarter of 2020 states that incidents have tripled compared to the corresponding quarter of 2019 in Asia.
An increase in incidents has been observed in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and the Singapore Strait.
The authors of the report highlight that the increase in incidents on board ships, especially in the Straits of Singapore, is very worrying. Out of nine attacks during the 5 months in 2019, they have reached 15.
All the incidents reported in Indonesia and the Philippines occurred on docked ships.
In addition, the ReCAAP ISC is focusing on the alarming phenomenon of crew abduction in the seas of Sulu-Celebes in the Philippines and in the waters east of Sabah in North Borneo, Malaysia.
Statistics are also available for the 5 months from January to May 2020. There were a total of 48 armed attacks and one attempt on ships sailing in Asia. The incidents in this period have doubled compared to the 5 months of 2019, which were 25 of which 22 attacks and three attempts.
In this context, the ReCAAP ISC emphasizes the need for the authorities in each state to intensify surveillance, increase patrols and respond promptly to the call for assistance from the attacked ships to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.
Basic tips and best practices
In light of rising tensions and attacks in the Singapore Strait, the Singapore Information Center (IFC) advises shipowners and crews to be constantly vigilant, adhere to standard operating procedures for ships and report to authorities. premises in a timely manner.
They also recommend the use of security cameras and scanning headlights. Finally, it is important to secure all doors, especially those that block access to housing and machinery.
