Midrats on Sunday: It's Pirate Time Again

As noted in an earlier post, the weather in the upper Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden is beginning to shift from monsoon back to that more favorable to the operations of pirates in the small open attack boats. After several weeks of slowed pirate activity, the pirates have managed to snag a new victim and her crew of 21.

Arrayed against the pirates are warships from the EU, NATO, China, India, Japan, Singapore, Iran, Russia and armed guard teams embarked on many merchant ships and fishing boats.

Naturally, it's a good time to talk pirates. So, on Sunday, February 12 at 5 pm (Eastern U.S.), that's what we are going to do.

Episode 110 The 21st Century Pirate Threat 02/12 by Midrats on Blog Talk Radio:

The problem with piracy is not going anywhere. Each year in places like Somalia it is becoming part of the local economy. In areas near poorlly governed areas, it threatens the free flow of goods at market prices through the world's sea lines of communication.

Is it an economic problem, a global security problem, a political problem, or a mixture of that and more?

What is the impact of international aid, military action, and the paying of ransom? What are the best solutions, and what is working and what is not working to slow the impact of piracy?

Join Sal from "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne (that's me!) from "Eagle Speak" for the full hour to discuss these issues and more with their guest, Rear Admiral Terry McKnight, USN (Ret.), former Commander of the anti-piracy CTF-151 off the horn of Africa.

Here's the link to listen live. If you miss the show you can download it later from here or from iTunes (podcasts under "Midrats").

Somali Piracy: Interrupted

CTF-151, the Combined Maritime Anti-Piracy Force, reports a case of "piratus interruptus" in CTF-151 SHIP TCG GEDIZ DISRUPTS SUSPECTED PIRATE MOTHER SHIP AND SKIFF:

Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) warship TCG GEDIZ of the Republic of Turkey, assigned to CMF’s counter-piracy mission, Combined Task Force 151 disrupted a suspected pirate mother ship and a pirate skiff in the southern Somali Basin.

The task force received a report of an attack on the merchant vessel MV JEANNE as it transited international waters off the coast of the Somalia/Kenya border. CTF 151 Commander, Rear Admiral Kaleem Shaukat, Pakistan Navy tasked GEDIZ, patrolling in the area, to search for the skiff that had participated in the attack.

GEDIZ located a suspected mother ship for the pirate action group operating in this area, a group which included the skiff responsible for the earlier attack on MV JEANNE, Nov 21. This vessel was also suspected of involvement in two other recent attacks in this operating area. GEDIZ’s boarding team conducted a search of the vessel, and destroyed all equipment associated with piracy, including multiple grappling hooks and a boarding ladder.

GEDIZ identified the suspected pirate skiff and witnessed the crew toss multiple items overboard, including grappling hooks and what appeared to be weapons. When GEDIZ was in close enough proximity for a more thorough examination of the skiff, they assessed that it presented no further threat and that all materiel involved in possible acts of piracy had been discarded.

Somali Pirates: Plain Words from Admiral Fox

Reported as Navy admiral urges diligence in fight against pirates, but the points the Admiral makes are more than about diligence:

The U.S. Navy admiral responsible for countering the pirates operating from Somalia said Wednesday that the expanding threat should be addressed with the same rigor applied to counterterrorism.

That's particularly true when it comes to tracing the millions of dollars being paid to ransom captured sailors.

Vice Adm. Mark Fox said he had no "explicit intelligence" that the al-Qaida-connected al Shaba terrorists, who control most of Somalia, are benefiting from the ransom money, but noted that, "I'm loath to hope that there's not" a link.

Fox, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and Fifth Fleet, said the United States and most of the nations cooperating in fighting piracy have used what he termed "the Western approach" to dealing with the ship hijacking, by primarily focusing on the safety of the crew members.

Because of that, with only a few exceptions, force was not used to recover pirated ships. U.S. Navy SEALs killed three pirates who were holding the captain of the Maersk Alabama hostage in 2009, and last year Marines raided the Magellan Star to capture the pirates and rescue the crew. Last week, South Korean commandos recovered a pirated ship, killing most of the pirates.

Fox said he cannot "take off the table" the use of force to resolve a hostage situation.

The admiral said the pirates' increasing use of larger hijacked vessels as "mother ships" to carry the small boats used to raid ships "is a potential game-changer" in the piracy problem.

The Somali pirates initially used skiffs that could not operate in bad weather or go very far offshore. Most of the early pirate attacks were in the nearby Gulf of Aden, the busy shipping route from the Suez Canal and Red Sea into the Indian Ocean. International naval patrols concentrating on that route have virtually eliminated hijackings in the Gulf, he said.

But by using the larger ships, the pirates now are capturing merchant ships more than 1,000 miles away, Fox said. "They are going where we're not," he said.

Because of that far-reaching activity, the number of seamen held hostage by the pirates has jumped from about 350 to 750 since he took command in the summer.

More on use of pirate mother ships here:

"The pirates are changing their modus operandi, taking ships which have been hijacked and sailing them back out into the Somali basin," said EU Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR) spokesman Wing Commander Paddy O'Kennedy. "Their previous way of doing things was very dependent on the weather. Now they are using larger ships, the weather is having much less effect on their operations and they can travel further."

When EU aircraft overflew the vessels, officers at EU NAVFOR's headquarters at a British military base outside London say the pirates swiftly threatened by radio to kill the hostages or lined up prisoners on the deck with guns to their heads.

And a rather excited report on the threat potentially posed by the increasing level of Somali piracy here:

***
The piracy also threatens supplies of food and fuel destined for the UK. About 29,000 boats sail through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden each year and a third of the world’s oil travels along the shipping lanes.
***
Once haphazard, piracy is now well-organised, with claims of dollar ransoms being paid into Dubai bank accounts. The cash is used to buy weapons and villas for the organisers. In Somalia, where there is no proper government or law enforcement, piracy is the main industry.

“There’s no doubt the threat is increasing,” says Cyrus Mody, of the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors attacks and helps to co-ordinate rescues. “The change in tactics, using hijacked vessels, gives the pirates a stable platform and a greater range. By using captured crews to sail ships they also have human shields. More than 30 hijacked vessels are in the hands of pirates. The area now under threat is simply too great for the world’s naval forces to patrol.”

There’s also evidence that the pirates are fitting more powerful engines to small skiffs, making them capable of speeds of up to 25 knots. And whereas in the past monsoon seasons and the accompanying rough seas brought respite, the use of mother ships allows pirates to operate in choppy conditions or sail to calmer waters. It is believed that at least eight captured ships are being used as floating bases.

And here are some docs from the EU MSC(HOAO:
Pirated Vessels
Weekly-Piracy-Summary-from-10th-January-onwards-2011

Somalia Pirates: Getting too big to avoid land action by anti-pirate forces?

Call for action against the pirates reported by Strategy Page in Somalia: Calls For Sending Commandoes Ashore:

So far it's all talk, but specific talk about going after the ability of the pirate gangs to function. The continued payment of large (average now about $5 million per ship) ransoms for insured ships, is attracting more warlords, who are forming more pirate gangs and sending more mother ships out than the anti-piracy patrol can handle. Thus the increased talk of commando raids.

How big is the problem? well, USA Today's Jim Michaels reports:

Two years after international forces dispatched a flotilla of warships to counter piracy around the Horn of Africa, attacks on merchant ships are rising again.

Last year, pirates captured 53 ships in the region, up from 51 in 2009, according to the Combined Maritime Forces, which oversees the operations. There were 160 attempted attacks in 2010, up from 145 the year before.

Pirates have shifted tactics so they can prey on merchant ships farther out at sea and evade an international flotilla that was dispatched to the Horn of Africa region to protect heavily used shipping lanes, according to the Combined Maritime Forces based in Bahrain.
***
Aldred said the naval force, with the help of merchant shipping companies, has been successful in reducing piracy from 2008 levels when a spike in attacks led to the creation of the international force.

He also said naval forces are disrupting more attacks. Last year 169 attempts were disrupted, up from 62 the year prior.

The shift in tactics has showed the resiliency of pirates, who have made millions of dollars from ransoms.

Pirates are now using "mother ships," which are able to travel thousands of miles before finding a target and then launching smaller skiffs that pirates use to board merchant ships, said Eric Thompson, an analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses. "That magnifies the challenge of covering that territory," he said.

Yep, when you put the squeeze on one part of a bag of goo, the goo in the bag oozes to another part of the bag. In this case, the pirates, squeezed in the Gulf of Aden, move to the northern Arabian Sea, Madagascar Strait or off the west coast of India.

The shift causes them to need larger, more sea-worthy ships, which they procure by pirating them, giving them a low-overhead system of ship acquisition. When such a ship is used up (out of fuel and food), it is anchored off Somalia to await ransoming by its owners. Another ship is taken to replace it. The pirates have low maintenance costs, too. It's a clever business model.

Anti-piracy forces are reluctant to force their way onto these captive pirate vessels for fear of causing injury to the captive crews of innocent merchant sailors.

So far the problem is tiny in comparison to the volume of shipping involved but, as we have seen, it is expanding and the current methods of squeezing the pirate "bag" is just moving the pirate area of operations away from the convoys and other military efforts.

Some of the better options to fight the pirate expansion are coming off the board as the pirates aggressively use hostages to protect themselves from the counter-piracy forces.

The treatment of this as a purely "law enforcement" problem has proven to be something of a problem - and not very effective. "Catch and release" of captured pirates doesn't deter very much and the costly trials result in more of a hassle for the countries holding them then the deterrent value of facing criminal charges.

Someone is going to have to break some eggs to solve this problem and those eggs that matter are all land-based.

Then there is this problem:

LONG ago, the mice had a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the case. “You will all agree,” said he, “that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the neck of the Cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the neighbourhood.”

This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said: “That is all very well, but who is to bell the Cat?” The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke.

The moral?  "It is one thing to propose, another to execute."
Attributed to Aesop.

Assessing the Containment of Somali Pirates

As the year 2010 draws to a close, it is a good time to review various efforts to see if focus needs to be shifted in the coming year. This is an effort to look at the success level of the various forces (NATO, EU, CTF-151, and independent but cooperating naval units) in containing the spread of Somali piracy.

A week or so ago, I posted the following video:

You might note a couple of things from the video:

1. Before 2009, the "Somali pirate problem" was generally limited to the proximate off-shore waters off Somalia, including the Gulf of Aden;
2. After 2009, the "Piracy Problem" has spread itself across the Indian Ocean, into the Red Sea and down the East African coast.

Since 2007, the number of warships assigned to perform convoy duties and escort shipping through the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean has increased to the point that there might be 25 or more warships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean during peak piracy (non-monsoon) seasons.

While it is certain that the presence of these warships has prevented some pirate attacks, it is also clear that the pirates have responded to their presence by expanding their own pirate patrol areas through extensive use of long-range "mother ships" into areas less frequented by warships.  This includes moving into the much traveled sea lanes in and out of the Arabian Sea, including along India's western islands.

NATO's Shipping Center prepares warning area maps highlighting areas of known "pirate action group" (PAG) activity, with the red warning area correlating to incident reported on their warning messages (alert numbers are shown in related warning circles):

NATO SC 6 Dec 10 Warning Map (click to enlarge)

December 05 2010

WARNING Somali Basin

Latitude: 04°07'24"N Longitude: 049°23'04"E

Alert number 529/ 2010.

At 1507 UTC / 05Dec / a Pirate Action Group possible mother ship operations was reported in position 04°07'24"N 049°23'04"E.

---------------------------

December 05 2010

---ALERT UPDATE--- Indian Ocean

Latitude: 08°12N Longitude: 071°55E

Alert number 528 / 2010.

Reference previous Alert number 527 / 2010.

At 0942 UTC 05DEC a merchant vessel was reported under attack by pirates/1 skiffs in position 08°11N 071°43E.

***This vessel has been hijacked***

--------------------------

December 05 2010

WARNING Indian Ocean

Latitude: 08°10N Longitude: 071°43E

Alert number 527 / 2010.

At 0942 UTC / 05 NOV/ a merchant vessel was under attack by pirates/1 skiffs in position 08°10N 071°43E.

-------------------------

December 04 2010

WARNING Somali Basin

Latitude: 09°00 N Longitude: 067°10 E

Alert number 526 / 2010.

At 0230 UTC / 04 NOV 10 / a Pirate Action Group consisting of A Pirated Fishing Vessel was reported in position 09°00N 067°10E course 250° speed 10 knots.

---------------------------

December 01 2010

WARNING SOMALI BASIN

Latitude: 09°19N    Longitude: 069°30E

Alert number 525/ 2010.

Reference previous Alert number 524/ 2010.

At 1341 UTC / 30 NOV 10 / a merchant vessel was reported under attack by pirates in position 09 19 N 069 30 E.

ONE SKIFF, WEAPONS WERE USED, 5POB.

***This vessel managed to evade hijack***

The Pirate action group is still in the area.

-------------------------------

 

November 30 2010

WARNING SOMALI BASIN

Latitude: 09°19N    Longitude: 069°30E

Alert number 524/ 2010.

At 1341 UTC / 30 NOV 10/ a merchant vessel is currently under attack by pirates in position 09 19 N 069 30 E.

One skiff, weapons used.

-------------------------------

 

November 29 2010

WARNING RED SEA

Latitude: 13°35N    Longitude: 042°56E

Alert number 523/ 2010.

At 1749UTC / 29NOV / a merchant vessel was possibly under attack by pirates/3 skiffs in position 13°35N 042°56E.

-------------------------------

 

November 29 2010 

WARNING Somali Basin

Latitude: 16°57N Longitude: 067°15E

Alert number 522/ 2010

At 0254 UTC 29 NOV 10 a merchant vessel was reported under attack by pirates in position 16°57N  067°15E.

A Pirate Action Group consiting of one mother ship and one skiff 4-5 POB, weapons and ladders were used.

***This vessel managed to evade hijack***

The Pirate action group is still in the area.

-------------------------------

November 28 2010 

WARNING Somali Basin

Latitude: 14°51N Longitude: 068°13E

Alert number 521/ 2010.

At 0700 UTC / 28 NOV 10 / a merchant vessel was reported under attack by pirates in position 14°51N 068°13E.

A Pirate Action Group consiting of one mother ship and one skiff 4POB, weapons and ladders.

***This vessel managed to evade hijack***

The Pirate action group is still in the area.

 -------------------------------

November 28 2010 

WARNING Somali Basin
Latitude: 13°34N Longitude: 057°06E

Alert number 520/ 2010.

Reference previous Alert number 517 / 2010.

At 0901 UTC / 27 NOV 10 / a merchant vessel was reported under attack by pirates in position 13°34N 057°06E.

One Dhow acted as mother ship and two skiffs, weapons were used, approx 10POB.

***This vessel managed to evade hijack***

The Pirate action group is still in the area.

It should be clear that, as has been stated many times, there is too much ocean being "patrolled" by too few ships to prevent all piracy attacks. Merchant shipping that regularly transits the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean have been encouraged to adopt "best management practices" (available here) as "self-help" in thwarting pirate attacks.

However, it is also clear that, despite these measures, the range of Somali piracy has expanded.

There has been some discussion as to whether the level of actual interference with international shipping by this piracy is of great or little moment. See Steven M. Carmel's "The Big Myth of Somali Pirates" in the U.S. Naval Insitute's December issue of Proceedings Magazine (December 2010 Vol. 136/12/1,294):

But the overall system of international commerce has not been impaired. It is the overall stability and efficiency of the system that matters—not individual companies—and the system is what should be protected. The international military community cannot be in the business of protecting the financial health of individual businesses. That is the responsibility of the businesses. Nor does the international community need to be concerned with overall system stability; Somali pirates have not been able to upset that.

You can also listen to a discussion with Mr. Carmel on Midrats here- Episode 44.

Perhaps Mr. Carmel is right. The current level of "leakage" in the containment of Somali pirates may be low enough that is not worth expending more naval and other assets to tighten the noose, particularly in light of the conventional wisdom that the only real fix for Somali piracy is to fix the chaotic situation in Somalia.

On the other hand, just looking at the maps makes it clear that the current effort has not halted Somali piracy, just shifted to new, previously unguarded areas. Perhaps it is time for a new "business model" in the fight against Somali pirates. The old one seems to have reached its limits.

Not that there haven't been other efforts to contain the pirates - see Somali Pirates: The Netherlands Trying New Tactic Against Pirates, Somali Pirates: Hmmm . . . is a pirate port blockade coming?, Somali Pirates: The UN offers Seven Options, ;Somali Pirates: EU naval force blockades pirate group, Somali Pirates: EU Spanish LPD Takes Out Some Pirate Boats, Somali Pirates: Action by the Royal Navy and Marines

Somali Pirates Capture Small Tanker Off Kenya

Pirates seize LPG tanker off Kenya:

On the morning of 24 October, the MV YORK, a Singapore-flagged tanker, was confirmed pirated in the Somali Basin.

The MV YORK had recently left Mombasa on route to the Seychelles. The vessel was attacked on 23 October by two skiffs, approximately 50 nautical miles East from Mombasa.

The Turkish warship GAZIANTEP, operating under the Combined Maritime Forces (Task Force 151) launched her helicopter to investigate. The helicopter was able to observe pirates with weapons on board the vessel.

Initially the MV YORK was drifting but then began moving at 10 knots this morning. In a separate but seemingly linked incident the fishing vessel GOLDEN WAVE, pirated on 9 October 2010, was seen in the vicinity of the MV YORK.

The MV YORK, deadweight 5,076 tons, has a crew of 17, of which one is German (Master), two are Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos.

Including the MV YORK, Somali pirates are currently holding 19 vessels with 428 hostages.

Somali Pirates: Board and Search

GULF OF ADEN (May 31, 2010) Members of U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Detachment 406 and the visit, board, search and seizure team embarked aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56) search a skiff suspected of participating in recent pirate activity. San Jacinto is part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, a multinational task force established to conduct counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ja'lon A. Rhinehart/Released)

Gee, I don't know exactly what may have made the San Jacinto team suspicious -- though that pair of brand new Yamaha motors on the stern of the "fishing" boat would have made me curious . . .

Somali Pirates: Captive Sailors Retake Ship, Pirates Grab Another, More Attacks Thwarted

Crew of the hijacked MV RIM retake control from Pirates, Spanish frigate provides support:

Today at 1010 local time, the hijacked Libyan owned merchant vessel RIM reported that the crew had successfully retaken control of the ship. One of the crew members was seriously injured during the incident.

The incident took place south east of Garacad, off Somalia’s northern coastline. The closest EU NAVFOR warship, the SPS VICTORIA, was immediately tasked by the Force Commander Jan Thörnqvist, to meet up with MV RIM in order give medical assistance. SPS VICTORIA launched her helicopter immediately.
***
There were however, pirates in the vicinity who were attempting to impede the EU NAVFOR operation by utilising another hijacked vessel the MV VOC DAISY. When SPS VICTORIA’s helicopter approached the MV VOC DAISY she changed her course – no warning shots were fired.

It is believed that some of the pirates were killed during the incident; the ship is now under the control of the crew.

In other parts of the "pirate area" Hijacking of MV QSM Dubai in the Gulf of Aden:

In the early hours of 2 June it was reported by the owner of the MV QSM Dubai that a group of armed pirates had boarded the ship and taken control. USS COLE from CTF 508 (NATO) first reported that they had seen a person with an RPG on board. A coalition Maritime Patrol Aircraft was tasked to investigate the situation and reported that the ship was hijacked.

The MV QSM Dubai, a Panama flagged general cargo ship with dead weight of 15,220 tonnes and a crew of 24 comprising Egyptian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Ghanaian nationals, was in bound from Brazil when hijacked in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor.

According to this:

Security forces from Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region stormed a hijacked cargo vessel early Thursday and outgunned the pirates holding it after they fatally shot the ship's Pakistani captain, authorities said.

Authorities decided to try and free the Panama-flagged ship by force after pirates refused pleas to surrender and instead killed the captain, said Said Mohamed Raage, who is the minister of marine transport and ports in the region.

"We can't afford letting pirates capture Somali-charted ships. If we don't act so decisively they will continue hijacking all Somali-bound cargo ships," Raage told The Associated Press.

I think there is some irony in this last report somewhere.

Meanwhile, USS San Jacinto (CG-56)has been out thwarting pirates, as set out here:

The Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser, USS San Jacinto (CG 56) rescued five Yemeni mariners from suspected pirates May 26, while conducting routine counter narcotics operations, 68 miles southeast of Ras Fartak, Yemen.

San Jacinto dispatched a boarding team, in two rigid hull inflatable boats, to perform an approach and assist visit on the Yemeni dhow, Al Jawat, and conduct a routine inspection.

When all of the personnel were mustered on the bow of the dhow, the team discovered one person hiding under a blanket and a hidden cache of four AK-47 assault rifles and four rocket-propelled grenades during a search of the ship.

Upon conversation with the master of the vessel, the team learned 13 suspected pirates were on board, attempting to blend in as part of the crew. The master identified the suspected pirates and the team detained them on the dhow without conflict. The crew and suspected pirates remained on the dhow as Yemeni authorities were contacted.

The Yemeni Navy dispatched a patrol boat from Al Mukalla, Yemen, to take custody of the suspected pirates and spoke with the crew members to investigate the incident. The master stated his dhow had been under pirate control for one day only.

San Jacinto then got the double:

USS San Jacinto (CG 56) disrupted nine Somali pirates from attacking a Maltese-flagged motor vessel May 31, bringing the cruiser's weekly total to 22 pirates interdicted.

San Jacinto responded to a distress call from the M/V Avenue Beauty, which was transiting 90 miles north of Somalia when she reported that she was under attack by pirates. Upon hearing gun shots, the vessels master sounded the general alarm and directed the crew to execute counter-piracy measures which caused the pirate skiff to call off their attack and speed away.

San Jacinto quickly responded to the attack and followed the pirate skiff with her helicopter, Proud Warrior 433. Aboard the aircraft, Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class Casey Halliwell tracked the pirate skiff on radar as it headed south toward the Somali coast at a high rate of speed. The skiff, with nine pirates aboard, failed to comply with Proud Warrior's order to stop. Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class Corey Whittle fired warning shots across the bow and stern of the skiff, compelling the pirates to stop their vessel.

In the early morning of June 1, San Jacinto sent a boarding team with U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and San Jacinto Sailors to the pirate skiff. The boarding team quickly took control of the vessel and searched the skiff and pirates, who had previously thrown their weapons, ammunition, and pirate paraphernalia overboard. The pirates were released in the skiff after the boarding team confiscated one engine and several gallons of fuel, ensuring they could reach shore while limiting their ability to continue piracy attempts.

An alert reader took note that the description of the location of Garacad in the article about the retaking of a ship by its crew was not exactly right so I fixed it.

Somali Pirates: U.S. Navy- CTF 151 Disarms More Pirates

Reported as Combined Maritime Forces Flagship Intercepts Somali Pirates:

By Commander, Combined Maritime Forces Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- The Flagship of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, USS Farragut (DDG 99), intercepted suspected pirates in the Somali Basin yesterday.

The Sierra Leone-flagged tanker MV Evita came under attack 500 km north-west of the Seychelles by three suspected pirate skiffs. During the attack, the pirates fired rifles and aimed rocket propelled grenades at the vessel in an attempt to force it to stop. The MV Evita was able to evade attack by adopting industry recommended 'best management practices'; increasing its speed and firing flares at the pirates to warn them off.

The Master of MV Evita informed the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) based in Kuala Lumpur and the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office in Dubai. Upon receiving the piracy report, UKMTO contacted coalition forces operating in the area.

A Swedish Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPRA), from EUNAVFOR, contacted the MV Evita and subsequently located the suspected pirate skiffs. A SH-60B Seahawk helicopter, from Farragut, was immediately dispatched to monitor the pirates while the suspected pirate skiffs were boarded.

Eleven suspected pirates were aboard the skiffs, along with fuel drums and grappling hooks. The MPRA had previously witnessed the suspected pirates throwing ladders and equipment overboard.

After ensuring that the suspected pirates had no means to conduct any more attacks, all 11 were released on the two small skiffs, while the mother skiff was destroyed and sunk.

Commander, CTF 151, Rear Adm. Bernard Miranda, Republic of Singapore Navy, applauded the response to the incident, and said: "Today's successful disruption operation was the result of close cooperation and swift responses from many parties, including the merchant ship MV Evita, the maritime organizations IMB and UKMTO, USS Farragut and the EU NAVFOR Swedish MPRA. The pirates have become bolder and are attacking ships further away from the Somali shores. This makes it even more important for all stakeholders to play their role and work closely together to deal with the piracy problem. What we witnessed today is a good example of how this can be achieved."

The Master of MV Evita, CAPT Norberto Grubat from the Philippines, expressed his gratitude for the assistance rendered by the coalition forces and the maritime organizations, saying: "In future emergencies, I would definitely give you a call for assistance. Thank you very much for your help."

CTF 151 is a multi-national task force established in January 2009 to conduct counter- piracy operations under a mission based mandate to actively deter, disrupt and suppress piracy in order to protect global maritime security and secure freedom of navigation for the benefit of all nations. CTF 151 is part of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) which patrols more than 2.5 million square miles of international waters working to defeat terrorism, prevent piracy, reduce illegal trafficking of people and drugs, and promote the maritime environment as a safe place for mariners with legitimate business.

Upper photo caption:

INDIAN OCEAN (Mar. 31, 2010) The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) passes by the smoke from a suspected pirate skiff it had just disabled. USS Farragut is part of Combined Task Force 151, a multinational task force established to conduct anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Cassandra Thompson/Released)

 Lower Photo:

INDIAN OCEAN (March 31, 2010) Members of the U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and Combined Task Force 151's visit board search and seizure team, on board the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) prepare to board a suspicious dhow. USS Farragut is part of Combined Task Force 151, a multinational task force established to conduct anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Cassandra Thompson/Released)

Somali Pirates: CTF 151 Stops Attack, Apprehends 8 "Suspects"

Reported by NavCent here:

Singapore Led Flagship Apprehends Pirates
By Commander Combined Maritime Forces

MANAMA, Bahrain – Coalition warships from Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 have apprehended suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden. The Tanzanian-flagged MV Barakaale 1 came under attack whilst transiting through the region and the timely response by the Master in alerting vessels in the region by bridge-to-bridge radio communication enabled ships from CTF 151 to come to its aid.

A SH-60B Seahawk helicopter, from USS Farragut, was immediately dispatched to the MV Barakaale and subsequently gave chase to the skiff which withdrew its attack.

During the pirate attack on the MV Barakaale 1, the crew adopted defensive maneuvers which resulted in a suspected pirate falling overboard whilst attempting to board the vessel. The skiff rescued their accomplice and attempted to board MV Barakaale a second time, but they were again unsuccessful.

The helicopter intervened and the skiff attempted to speed away. After repeated warnings to the skiff, warning shots were fired by the helicopter across the bow of the skiff, which resulted in its coming to a stop. A boarding team from USS Farragut boarded the vessel and the eight suspected pirates were taken aboard the Farragut. The quick action by CTF 151 and the crew of the Barakaale prevented a successful pirate attack from occurring.

Commander, CTF 151, Rear Adm. Bernard Miranda, Republic of Singapore Navy, applauded the effort by all parties in coordinating the response to the incident. “The merchant community has clearly demonstrated that they can defend themselves by being the first line of defence against piracy by adopting the recommended ‘best management practices’. A helicopter from USS Farragut was able to be dispatched and go to the aid of the MV Barakaale and subsequently gave chase of the skiff. The Master of the Barakaale did the right thing by not stopping his vessel and adopting non-kinetic measures like evasive maneuvers, to deter the pirates from getting on board,” Miranda said.

Piracy Round Up (23 September 2009)

Australian Navy breaks up a Somali pirate ship hunt, as set out here:

Australian sailors from the warship HMAS Toowoomba have thwarted a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden, boarding a suspect vessel and seizing a cache of military weapons.
***
The incident occurred late on Sunday night after Toowoomba, an Anzac class frigate, received an emergency call from the freighter MV BBC Portugal, reporting a boat carrying an armed group was approaching at high speed.
***
As Toowoomba sailed at top speed towards BBC Portugal, coalition P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft and a naval helicopter from another coalition warship spotted the suspect vessel.

They confirmed sighting weapons on the vessel and also that the crew had disposed of a number of items overboard, including a ladder.

On reaching the scene, Toowoomba launched her boarding team to investigate.

A search of the vessel revealed a rocket-propelled grenade launcher (RPG), six AK-47 assault rifles, a G-3 assault rifle and a large quantity of ammunition.

UPDATE: There's more to the story than is reported above. Gulf of Aden Group Transits reports that there was a Yemeni Navy team on BBC Portugal and sends along this:

Late afternoon of Sunday 20th of September, a Bulk Carrier reported an approach of a skiff while in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden. On board of the Bulk Carrier a unit of the Yemeni Navy was embarked. On sighting of these military personnel the skiff abandoned the approach and tried to flee as reported by the merchant vessel to the UK Maritime Trade Organization in Bahrain. UKMTO alerted other merchant vessels and the Counter Piracy Forces on MERCURY, the EU introduced common counter piracy communication system.

Thereupon a Japanese P3 reconnaissance aircraft, already on site, reported position information to other Counter Piracy forces. The Australian warship Toowoomba of CTF 151, closest to the skiff, was assisted by the helicopter of the German EU NAVFOR warship FGS Bremen in stopping the fleeing skiff. On sighting of the helicopter unknown items and a ladder were thrown over the bow of the skiff and all eight persons on the skiff raised their arms awaiting the boarding team of HMAS Toowoomba. During the boarding all piracy related paraphernalia were seized and destroyed. The helicopter of FGS Bremen continued to secure the area from the air.

This is just one example of the excellent coordination and cooperation between the Counter Piracy Task Forces active in the Gulf of Aden. The use of the common communication system MERCURY proved its utility again.

FGS Bremen takes part in the EU NAVFOR mission Operation ATALANTA. The main tasks of Operation ATALANTA are to escort merchant vessels carrying food of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP), the protection of vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.

GOAGT adds:

We had placed an armed Yemen Navy team on the vessel and it is they who fired warning shots to the pirates to ward them off whilst we called for coalition assets to assist to which a multinational scenario played out involving the German, Australian and Japanese Navy who all supplied assets to the cause.

However the underlying fact is that the embarked Yemen Navy team thwarted the attack – NOT the Australians.....

(end Update) M/V BBC Portugal Photo Copyright by Ashley Hunn, from Shipspotting.com and is used in accordance with terms set forth therein.

South Korean Navy stops Somali pirates, as set out in Destroyer Rescues 3 Vessels From Pirates Off Somalia:

A Korean naval unit has rescued three foreign vessels from being hijacked by pirates operating off the coast of Yemen as part of a U.S.-led anti-piracy campaign, Yonhap News reported Sunday.

The Dae Jo Yeong, a destroyer with the South Korean naval unit Cheonghae, Sunday rescued three ships registered under Cyprus, the Marshal Islands and the Bahamas from pirates near waters off Yemen at 3:13 p.m. on Saturday, military officials here said.
***
The unit, which rescued five Yemeni sailors captured by the pirates the previous day, has so far successfully intervened in nine separate pirate raids.

Naval officials said they released the pirates, who had used a boat registered to Yemen as their mode of transportation, due to the difficulties involved in processing and bringing legal charges against them.

How the international warships off Somalia talk even if they aren't good friends, explained here by StrategyPage:

So the British took the initiative of establishing a "neutral" communications channel for all the warships on anti-piracy patrol. This is a secure Internet based communication system called Mercury. All the ships engaged in counter-piracy operations have access to Mercury. This makes it possible for ships to request information, or cooperation, from other ships, despite whatever currently icy diplomatic conditions may exist between the two nations involved. Thus the Iranian warships can discretely work together with U.S. warships.

Ship attacks rise to 5 year high in South China Sea:

Increased naval patrols in the Straits of Malacca have forced pirates in Asia to move their operations to the South China Sea, where the number of attacks on ships is at a five-year high, an official said Tuesday.

At least 10 ships were attacked in the South China Sea so far this year, the latest on Saturday when six pirates boarded a Singapore-registered liquefied petroleum gas tanker, said Amy Fang of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, or ReCAAP.

The attackers assaulted the duty officer and robbed the ship's crew, Fang said.

She said it was "worrying" that 10 attacks have taken place with more than three months still to go this year, compared to nine attacks in 2005 in South China Sea.

"The pirates seem to have more heavy weapons" than before, and are attacking ships rather than just threaten the crew, Fang told The Associated Press from the Singapore base of ReCAAP, an information-sharing group sponsored by 17 countries in the region to fight piracy.

One such attack, reported by ReCAAP (arrow points to general area of attack):

Somali Pirates: Update on latest Hijack

More info on pirate capture of Turkish bulk ship Horizon I here:

Omer Ozgur, from Horizon Shipping, said the Horizon I was continuing on its course despite the hijack.

The pirates have not yet issued any demands or contacted the firm.

Andrew Mwangura, of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, which works to free ships, said the attack came as a surprise.

"In this season it is hard to take ships because monsoon winds make the seas rough. No-one expected attacks at this time," he told Reuters news agency.

Earlier, Nato spokesman Commander Chris Davies told the BBC's Network Africa programme that pirates in the Gulf of Aden were having less success this year compared with last year.

This report says the pirates paid a price:

Reports from Puntland indicate that two of the five captors on the sea-jacked Turkish bulker MV HORIZON 1 are injured - one of them seriously. Communications indicate that allegedly forces from an Indian naval vessel had taking the boarding sea-shifta under fire - injuring two. If Indian naval forces were involved could so far not be confirmed by officials from the Indian navy. Sure is that two Turkish frigates raced to the area of the attack. Istanbul-based Horizon Shipping had said earlier that only three attackers managed to board the vessel, according to media reports, while NATO spokesman Cmdr. Chris Davies said the Turkish warship Gediz had seen at least four pirates on the deck of the ship, but others may have been out of sight.

The ship was taken in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor, "which is not good news because that's where the ships are meant to be safer," Cmdr. Davies said to AP. Warships patrol the corridor, where ships are encouraged to travel in groups to help prevent attack. Attacks in the corridor are rare, and a Turkish warship on escort duty was diverted to the scene shortly after the Horizon-1 sounded the alarm. A report from a local Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit correspondent suggests that at the onset of the attack, the master requested urgent assistance by radio. But most navies will not intervene after pirates are on board a ship for fear of harming the hostages.

Several pirate attacks still occur off Somalia's lawless coast each week despite poor weather and the presence of international warships in the Gulf of Aden. Andrew Mwangura, of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme which works to free ships, confirmed the seizure. "In this season it is hard to take ships because monsoon winds make the seas rough. No one expected attacks at this time," he told Reuters news agency.

Turkey's Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed that Somali pirates boarded the ship, rendered the crew ineffective and took control of the cargo ship. Yildirim told a press conference in Istanbul that the Turkish "TCG Gediz" frigate went to the scene of the attack, however did not intervene in order not to risk the lives of the crew members. Turkish warships have been in the area since last year as part of an
international naval force to crack down on pirates and Somali arms traffickers. The minister said that now two Turkish warships - the frigates "Gediz" and the "Gaziantep" - were closely following the cargo ship, which was en route of Somalia's port of Eyl. The pirates have not yet issued any demands, or contacted the shipping firm. Yildirim said necessary steps would be taken when conditions occurred.

Ömer Özgür of Istanbul-based Horizon Shipping. "According to the information we received, there are three unarmed pirates onboard the ship," Özgür was quoted by Anatolia news agency as saying. "They are holding a meeting with the ship's captain," he added. "There is nothing to worry about. There is no reason to fear for the crew." This statement, however, is controversial.

Horizon I photo from Shipspotting.com by Andreas Schlatterer. Used in accord with Shipspotting rules.