Download - First Hijacking of a Merchant Vessel by Somali …oceansbeyondpiracy.org/sites/default/files/OBP Press...First Hijacking of a Merchant Vessel by Somali Pirates in Five Years This attack

FirstHijackingofaMerchantVesselbySomaliPiratesinFiveYears

ThisattackreinforcestheneedforvesselstofollowBestManagementPractices(BMP)withintheHighRiskArea.

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MARCH14,2017—Nairobi,Kenya-On13March2017SomalipirateshijackedtheMTARIS13,atankervesselenroutetoMogadishufromDjibouti.Theshipwasseizedapproximately18kmoffthenortherntipofSomalia.

ThisincidentmarksthefirsthijackingofamerchantvesselsincetheheightofSomalipiracyin2012.

DetailsoftheMTARIS13:• CrewconsistsofeightSriLankans• OwnedbyPanama-basedcompany,Comorosflagged,andUnitedArabEmiratesmanaged

vessel• Carryingacargoofgasandfuel• NotregisteredwiththeMaritimeSecurityCenterfortheHornofAfrica,anorganizationthat

registersandtrackscommercialtrafficinregion

TheMTARIS13reportedthatithadbeenapproachedbytwoskiffs,withweaponssightedononeoftheboats.ThevesselsoondroppedcommunicationandwasreportedbyEUNAVFORtohavebeenhijackedbypirates.ItwasthentakentothecoastaltownofCaluulainSomalia’sPuntlandstate.

AreawheretheMTARISwashijackedoffthecoastofSomalia.MapofSomaliaonLeftbyOceansBeyondPiracy/OneEarthFuture.VesseltrackingmaponRightcourtesyofExactEarth.

TheMTARIS13waspreparingtocutthroughtheSocotraGapbetweenthetipofSomaliaandtheislandofSocotra.Thisrouteisfrequentlyusedasacost-andtime-savingmeasureforvesselstravelingdowntheeastcoastofAfricadespitethethreatofpiracy.AdditionallytheARIS13hasalowfreeboardofonlythreemetersandwasmovingataslowspeedoffiveknots.Thesefactorsmadethevesselaneasiertargetforpirates,whotypicallyboardshipswithladdersfromfastmovingskiffs.ThisattackreinforcestheneedforvesselstofollowshippingindustryBestManagementPractices(BMP)withintheBMPspecifiedHighRiskArea.

Thegroupclaimingresponsibilityforthevessel’scapturebelongstotheMajerteen/Siwaaqroonsub-clan,ledbythepirateJacfarSaciidCabdulaahi.

ThenumberofpirateincidentsoccurringoffthecoastofSomaliafrom2005to2012.Graphics:OceansBeyondPiracy/OneEarthFuture

Whilethisincidentmarksthefirstmajorhijackingsince2012,itdoesnotyetindicatealarge-scalereturnofSomalipiracy.However,Somalipirateshavestillbeenquiteactiveinrecentmonths.OceansBeyondPiracy’sanalysisindicatesthefollowing:

• Thenumberofreportedfailedattacksandsuspiciousincidentsrosein2016.• Armedsecurityteamsdeterred11attacksin2016.• TheMuhammadi,attackedon22November2015roughly250nmoffEyl,isthelastknown

hijackingincidentintheregion.• OnOctober22,theCPOKorea,aUK-flaggedchemicaltanker,wasapproachedbyaskiffof

armedmenwhoexchangedfirewiththesecurityteam.• InadditiontotheeightSriLankansontheMTARIS13,Somalipiratesarestillholdingeight

seafarersfromthefishingvessel,theSiraj,whowerecapturedon26March,2015.

Piracyhasdiminishedsince2012,largelyduetomitigatingeffortsatseabyinternationalnavalforces,adherencetoindustryBestManagementPractices,andtheuseofprivatesecurity.HoweverthesituationinSomaliathatoriginallypermittedpiracytoflourishhasnotchanged.Thishasleftthedooropenforotherformsofmaritimecrime,suchassmugglingandtrafficking.Thereisaneedforcontinuedvigilanceagainstpiracyandotherformsofmaritimecrimeintheregion.

AlargereductioninthespendingtowardsthemitigationofSomalipiracyintheyearssince2010.The2016analysisoftheeconomiccostofSomalipiracywillbeavailablefromOceansBeyondPiracyinMay.Credit:TheStateofMaritimePiracy2015,OceansBeyondPiracy.

ThegraphshowsthenumberofseafarerscapturedthroughouttheyearsofSomalipiracy.Sincetheyear2000,almost5,000seafarersweretakenhostagebySomalipirates.AttheheightofSomalipiracyin2010,therewereover1,000seafarersbeingheldhostageatthesametimeinSomalia.Credit:OceansBeyondPiracy.

FormoreinformationontheattackpleasecontactJohnSteed,OceansBeyondPiracy’sHornofAfricaRegionalManager,at+254722322364/[email protected],OceansBeyondPiracy’sProjectManagerfortheHornofAfricaat+17202748236/[email protected].

mailto:[email protected]


FormoreinformationaboutOneEarthFutureanditsprogramingpleasecontactDebraHavinsat1-303-533-1712ordhavins@oneearthfuture.org.

AboutOneEarthFutureFoundationandOceansBeyondPiracy:OEFisaself-funded,privateoperatingfoundationseekingtocreateamorepeacefulworldthroughcollaborative,data-driveninitiatives.Wefocusonprogramsthatenhancemaritimecooperation,createsustainablejobsinfragileeconomiesandourresearchactivelycontributestothoughtleadershiponglobalissues.Asanoperatingfoundation,OneEarthFutureprovidesstrategic,financialandadministrativesupportallowingourprogramstofocusdeeplyoncomplexproblemsandtocreateconstructivealternativestoviolentconflict.OBPwaslaunchedin2010asOEF’sfirstimplementationprogramtoencourageandsupportthedevelopmentofalong-term,sustainableandpeacefulsolutiontomaritimepiracythroughengagingallrelevantmaritimestakeholders.

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