Seafarers and families affected by Piracy

13/12/2016

On Thursday, Malaysian police forces shot and killed three kidnappers in waters near Tawi Tawi, an area known for attacks by members of the Abu

06/12/2016

MANAMA, Bahrain – This week, Bahrain was the stage for the 39th Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) conference. A forum to discuss counter-piracy in the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean and the importance of cooperation between naval units in the region, industry and other concerned organ...

29/11/2016

http://www.marinelink.com/news/pirates-patrol-somali418785

The European Union's naval mission will keep patrolling for pirates off the coast of Somalia for another two years, to guard against any resurgence of attacks…

28/11/2016

Two Indonesians involved in the hijack of Malaysian tanker MT Orkim Harmony have been sentenced to 18 years jail each by the Sessions Court, while another six Indonesian men were sentenced to 15 years and five strokes each when they pleaded guilty to armed robbery here, today.
Judge Salawati Djambari passed the 18-year jail sentence to Ruslan, 63 and the leader of the gang, and Kurniawa, 52. Both were spared the cane due to their age. Hendry Andaria, 40, Randy Aditya, 21, Anjas, 28, Jhon Danyel Despol, 37, Abner Loit, 29, and Fauji Adha, 28, were sentenced to 15 years jail and will be whipped for the offence. All of them pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 395 of the Penal Code read together with Section 397 of the Penal Code for armed and gang robbery with attempt to cause hurt or death, respectively.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Abazafree Mohd Abbas prosecuted while the eight accused were unrepresented. The offence was committed at 9pm on June 11 last year after the MT Orkim Harmony had left Sungai Udang jetty in Malacca at 9am to head to Tanjung Gelang Port in Kuantan, Pahang.

25/11/2016

Thanks Oceanuslive.org for passing this on -

The outstanding Iranian Sunni scholar has asked the Iranian foreign minister and Somalian president asking them to make their efforts to release the Iranian Baloch sailors captured by some pirates of Somalia.
The official website of Shaikh Abdol-Hamid, Khateeb and Friday Imam of Sunnis in Zahedan city reported that he had written two different letters to Mohammad Jawad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister and Hassan Shaikh Mahmoud, the president of Somalia.
The rector of Darululoom Zahedan has expressed his deep sorrow on the demise of 8 captured fishermen due to bad condition of health and feeding. He asked the addressees to do what they can for saving the lives of the rest of 8 hostages.
In a part of the letter to the president of Somali has been stated, “More than 20 months have been passed from the captivity of these hostages; their families and relatives have been in a state of anxiety and unrest. They have no any bread-winner but those who have been captured for ransom.”
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid addressed the president of Somalia, “I’d like to request you to issue an order for following up this case seriously in order to save the lives of the rest of hostages.”
In his letter to the Iranian foreign minister, the eminent Islamic scholar said, “As safekeeping of citizens is one the important responsibilities of foreign ministry in any country, we ask the foreign minister strongly to struggle for the release of the captive sailors.”
Alluding to broken diplomatic relations of Iran and Somalia, Mawlana Abdol-Hamid said, “In view of the fact that Iran and Somalia have no diplomatic relations, follow up of this case through any third country can resolve the trouble.”
21 sailors and fishermen from the Iranian Baloch Sunni community left their hometown, Konarak in Sistan-Baluchistan province about two years ago for fishing in the international waters.
They belong to poor families and earn their livings by fishing. But while returning home they were captured in March 2015 by some pirates who have the nationality of Somalia.
According to the confirmed reports, the hostages have been in a very pitiable condition as 8 of them have lost their lives due to bad health condition and lack of feed. 5 could flee and 8 others are still in the hands of the pirates.
Source: sunnionline.us & abdolhamid.net

24/11/2016

On Monday, the piracy reporting center ReCAAP ISC warned that Abu Sayyaf militants are increasingly targeting larger merchant vessels in the Sulu Sea.
Over the course of this year, Abu Sayyaf has abducted nearly four dozen seafarers. Many of the crew have already been returned to their families, and Philippine media reports suggest that Abu Sayyaf has earned millions in ransom payments for their release – an important source of income for the long-running terrorist organization.
As of November 22, Abu Sayyaf is believed to be holding 22 individuals captive, including two Westerners.
The majority of the kidnapping attacks have targeted slow-moving tugs and trawlers, which are vulnerable due to their slow speed and low freeboard.
However, Abu Sayyaf militants (or attackers suspected of belonging to the group) have recently targeted merchant vessels for the first time, with four boardings or attempted boardings of large ships since the start of October.
Two crewmembers, one Korean and one Philippine national, were abducted from the heavy lift ship D**g Bang Giant 2 off Tawi Tawi on October 20. Six Vietnamese crew members (most of them officers) were taken from the freighter Royal 16 off Basilan on November 11. The chemical tanker Southern Falcon and the bulker Kumiai Shagang both repulsed attackers before they could board; the attempted hijacking of the Shagangoccured on November 20, and had not been previously reported.
ReCAAP advises slow moving ships to re-route around the Sulu-Celebes Sea region altogether, and suggests that all other traffic should maintain vigilance and report suspicious vessels to authorities.
Attacks on smaller vessels continue. The captain and chief mate were kidnapped from a Malaysian trawler off Sabah on Saturday, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Indonesian authorities suggested that they had been taken to the Abu Sayyaf stronghold of Sulu.

24/11/2016

NATO leaving Indian Ocean

NATO has ended its Indian Ocean counter-piracy mission after a sharp fall in attacks, the alliance said on Wednesday, as it shifts resources to

23/11/2016

On Monday, the piracy reporting center ReCAAP ISC warned that Abu Sayyaf militants are increasingly targeting larger merchant vessels in the Sulu

15/11/2016

The Armed Forces of the Philippines say that they have not yet confirmed whether the kidnapping of six Vietnamese mariners was perpetrated by the Abu

14/11/2016

another terrible situation

Gunmen abducted six Vietnamese sailors and shot another on Friday when a bulk carrier was intercepted in Philippine waters off a southern island

27/10/2016

Naham 3 hostages

Twenty-six sailors held hostage by Somali pirates have been released four-and-a-half years after their fishing vessel was hijacked near the Seychelles. Repor...

26/10/2016

Twenty-six Asian sailors are safe in Kenya after they were released by pirates in neighbouring Somalia. They were freed on Saturday after being held hostage for nearly five years. Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi reports from Nairobi.