Weekly Piracy Review: Crossfire near Somalia, Hostages Released

Pirate vessel ignites during firefight with HNLMS Rotterdam, NATO’s counter-piracy flagship

While patrolling the waters off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday the HNLMS Rotterdam, NATO’s counter-piracy flagship, destroyed a pirate fishing boat. The Rotterdam had deployed a boarding team to check out the boat, and upon confronting those aboard the ship the team began to take fire from fighters on the boat and on land. The fishing boat aroused suspicion as it was the type generally employed to transport pirates in their efforts to hijack larger merchant ships. The attack on the boarding team prompted the Rotterdam to return fire, which resulted in the fishing boat catching fire. Those on board were forced to flee into the sea, and despite continuing to draw fire from those onshore the Rotterdam proceeded to rescue at least 25 people from the water. One person was found dead, and it is unknown whether they were a pirate or being held hostage. It is also unclear how that person died. The Rotterdam suffered only minor damage and no one from the Dutch warship was injured.

In December of 2010 the MV Orna, a UAE-owned cargo vessel, was hijacked by a group of Somali pirates about 400 nautical miles North East of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Since then the ship has been held hostage, along with the crew members who were taken with it. After growing impatient following nearly two years of attempting to collect a ransom for the return of the Orna and its’ crew, it has been reported that one of the hostages was killed in late August of this year. This killing was allegedly  carried out in an effort to prompt a ransom payment, though the truth of the story has recently been disputed by a technical advisor to the ship’s management company. If true, this act is believed to have been the first killing of a hostage by Somali pirates, as generally hostages are held unharmed until ransom is paid.

MV Orna

Last Saturday the vessel and 13 of the 19 crew believed to have been aboard were finally released following a ransom payment reported to be between $400,000 and $600,000. The ship’s captain, the chief engineer, and four other crew members were not released, and are still being held hostage. It is believed that their captors are divided into two separate groups, who disagree over the amount of money they require in order to release these remaining six hostages. The remaining hostages are being held by piracy investors, who support piracy by providing food and security for hostages during negotiations in return for a portion of the ransom. Negotiations are continuing between these piracy investors and the UAE company that owns the Orna.

The UAE’s National Transport Authority (NTA) announced a new anti-piracy security system it will be implementing. As part of the security measures being taken, tracking devices are being installed on commercial ships bearing UAE flags and carrying over 300 tons of cargo. This will allow these ships to be monitored around the clock from offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. According to the NTA, 150 ships have already been outfitted with the system, which will soon be installed on about 800 more. In addition, the system implemented by the NTA will provide on-board security protection for these vessels to further discourage piracy attacks.

The International Maritime Bureau reported this week that the number of reported attacks by Somali pirates has dropped to its’ lowest point since 2009. This is largely a reflection of increased efforts on the part of the international community to police the waters of the Arabian Sea around Somalia, focusing on patrolling the Gulf of Aiden. Along with this drop in pirate activity around Somalia there has been an increase in the number of attacks in other areas, including the Gulf of Guinea, Indonesia, and other parts of South Asia.