U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report 30 October - 29 November 2017 and HORN OF AFRICA/GULF OF GUINEA/ SOUTHEAST ASIA: Piracy Analysis and Warning Weekly (PAWW) Report for 23 - 29 November 2017

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report 30 October - 29 November 2... by lawofsea on Scribd

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence HORN OF AFRICA/GULF OF GUINEA/ SOUTHEAST ASIA: Piracy Analysis and... by lawofsea on Scribd

U. S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report 10 July - 9 August 2017 and HORN OF AFRICA/GULF OF GUINEA/ SOUTHEAST ASIA: Piracy Analysis and Warning Weekly (PAWW) Report for 3 - 9 August 2017

U. S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report 10 July - 9 August 2017 by lawofsea on Scribd

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence HORN OF AFRICA/GULF OF GUINEA/ SOUTHEAST ASIA: Piracy Analysis and W... by lawofsea on Scribd

Southeast Asia Piracy: Pirates hijack Thai oil tanker, Steal Part of Cargo

Malaysia New Straits Times reports Pirates hijack Thai oil tanker, make off with 1.5mil litres of diesel:

A group of armed pirates hijacked a Thai oil tanker in waters off Kuantan and made off

with about 1.5 million litres of diesel fuel on June 23.

Asia News Network reported that the tanker, CP41, was boarded by pirates when it was en route from Singapore to the Songkhla province in southern Thailand.

The hijackers, who were equipped with guns and knives, had captured the captain and crew members during the incident before destroying communications equipment.

The men later proceeded to transfer the fuel into their ship and fled the scene.

The captain and crew members were left unharmed.

Gulf of Guinea Piracy: Product Tanker Hijacked and Cargo Stolen, but Ghana Arrests 8 Pirates

Report from Live Piracy and Armed Robbery Report 2015

Location detail: Around 63nm SW off Bayelsa, Nigeria
Type of Attack: Hijacked
Narrations:
11.01.2015: 0500 LT: Posn: 03:44N – 004:59E, Around 63nm SW of Bayelsa, Nigeria.
Ten pirates armed with AK47 rifles boarded and hijacked a product tanker and took hostage all nine crew. They transferred the fuel oil cargo to another vessel and two pirates departed with that vessel. The Ghanaian navy dispatched a naval vessel to investigate as the vessel moved into its waters. The naval boarding team arrested the remaining eight pirates. During the incident the crew were mistreated by the pirates.

Emphasis added.

GNS Blika

More from Graphic Online Ghana Navy arrest 8 Nigerian pirates, frees seized ship:

The Ghana Navy on Saturday foiled a pirate attack on a Nigerian cargo vessel, MT Mariam and captured all eight bandits.

The pirates were armed but no one, including a nine-member crew aboard MT Mariam, was injured when the Ghana Navy crew aboard GNS BLIKA effected the arrest.

According to the Public Relations Officer of the 1 Garrison of the Ghana Armed Forces, Lt Maxwell Asola, all eight pirates are Nigerians.
***Lt. Maxwell Asola told the Daily Graphic that the arrest took place at about 10:30am and that the owner of the vessel in lodging the complaint, said the pirates told him via telephone that they wanted to use the vessel to carry out an attack and banged the phone.

This prompted the owner of MV Mariam to approach the Ghana Navy for assistance.

South China Sea Piracy: Vietnamese Tanker Released by Pirates - Part of Cargo Stolen, 2 Crew Injured

The Vietnamese tanker that was reported missing here has been now released by pirates:

The Vietnam-flagged oil tanker that vanished from radar last week is heading to the southern port of Vung Tau after being freed by pirates.

Deputy Captain Pham Van Hoang told VOA’s Vietnamese Service Thursday that he believed Indonesian pirates carried out the attack on the ship called Sunrise 689 shortly after its departure from a port in Singapore.

“Masked pirates speaking the Indonesian language stormed the vessel," said Pham. "They were armed with knives and guns. They hit us and pointed their guns at the captain, then restrained and pushed us all into a room."

He said pirates took about 2,000 tons of oil products, nearly a third of what the ship was carrying, before releasing the ship. Two of the vessel's 18 crew were injured.

Nguyen Vu Diep, official from the company which owns the vessel, told VOA’s Vietnamese Service that he was told of the hijacking.

“Two crew members were injured but are not in serious conditions," said Nguyen. "The pirates destroyed all the communications and navigation machines, so the sailors did not know where they were when they were released."

Sounds like the ship's Automatic Identification System might have been turned off, thus concealing its identity on radar, but I'm pretty sure it still returned an radar echo until it was over the radar horizon or shielded by an island. However, in the crowded waters off Singapore, it would be easy to lose a ship of that size without AIS operating. More on AIS here. That Coast Guard image is of the lower reaches of Galveston Bay.

The ICC Live Piracy Report on the incident (not the variation on crew injury):

Something like the 12th hijacking in that region this year.

South China Sea Pirates: Another Tanker Robbed of Cargo Fuel

Ai Maru with Malaysian MMEA vessel alongside

Reported in the New Sabah Times:

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has confirmed that pirates seized about 700,000 litres of diesel worth RM1.4 million from an oil tanker, ‘MT Ai Maru’ on Saturday night, about 31 nautical miles off Timur Tanjung Sedili, Johor.

MMEA deputy director general (Operations), Datuk Mohd Puzi Ab Kahar said the agency was investigating whether it was an “inside job” ....
***
Mohd Puzi said the tanker was located at 3.20 am yesterday and an inspection found that the crew and captain were unharmed.

“According to the crew, the pirates pumped out the fuel in three hours into another ship which they could not identify.

“The captain claimed the crew were confined in a room while he was ordered by the pirates who were armed with machetes and pistols to steer the ship. He could not ascertain the nationality of the culprits who later fled towards the nearby islands such as Pulau Andalas in Indonesia or Pulau Aur,” he said.

These pirates are good. Too good to be anything other than a well-organized gang.

Circled area is vicinity of hijacking

Must be good money in it.

Malacca Strait and South China Sea Piracy: Cargo Theft from Tankers

Incident 1: 17 Apr 14

:
A couple of reports of similar activities involving product theft.

A week ago, this interesting tale of armed robbery and product theft from the ICC's Live Piracy and Armed Robbery Report

Location detail: 26NM SSW of Pulau Aur
Type of Attack: Hijacked
Narrations:
17.04.2014: 2010 LT: Posn: 01:59.8N – 104:25.4E, 26NM SSW of Pulau Aur, Malaysia.
A product tanker was boarded and hijacked by around 16 heavily armed pirates who then transferred and stole part of the fuel cargo into smaller unknown tankers. Crew and ship properties were stolen and ship communication equipment damaged. Master and crew managed to repair the damage and proceed to a safe port.

Yesterday, there is this Al Jazeera report:

Armed pirates stole $2.5 million worth of diesel fuel from an oil tanker off the coast of Malaysia and took the captain and two other crew members with them, underscoring increasing threats to shipping in one of the world's busiest waterways, Malaysian maritime officials said Wednesday.
***
Eight Indonesian pirates in a fishing vessel boarded the Naniwa Maru No. 1 at about 1 a.m. local time on Tuesday off the coast of western Malaysia, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said.

The pirates pumped about 800,000 gallons of the 1.18 million gallons of diesel carried by the tanker into two waiting vessels and made off with three Indonesian crew members, including the captain and chief engineer, the agency said.
***
Malaysian shipping authorities believe some of the crew could have been part of the plot to steal the diesel.

"There is a possibility that the abducted crew was involved in the hijack based on new leads and that their personal documents, clothes and belongings were taken along with them," the MMEA said in a news release.

A Reuters report:

"We are very concerned," said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's Malaysia-based Piracy Reporting Centre, who added the ship was hijacked while sailing near the Malaysia town of Port Klang.

"It's the first time this has happened so far north in the Malacca Strait, and the first time they have kidnapped the crew. It's not an area where we have seen the modus operandi of ships hijacked for their cargo," he told Reuters.

Incident 2: 22 Apr 14

And the ICC Live Piracy and Armed Robbery Report:

Location detail: 3NM WNW OF ONE FATHOM BANK, OFF PORT KLANG,
Type of Attack: Hijacked
Narrations:
22.04.2014: 0055 LT: Posn: 02:59N – 100:54E, 3NM WNW of One Fathom Bank, off Port Klang, Malacca Strait.
A tanker was boarded and hijacked by around 10 heavily armed pirates who then transferred and stole part of the fuel cargo into smaller unknown tankers. Crew and ship properties were stolen and ship communication equipment damaged. The pirates kidnapped three crew members and escaped. The vessel and remaining crew safely arrived at a port.

So, does two make a pattern?

An interesting amount of logistics involved in getting the smaller tankers to the right place at the right time, I would think. You might think of it as organized crime. I wonder if they took lessons from folks in Nigeria?

Pirates of the highways

More common than you probably knew, from Canada: Cargo thefts shift into high gear:

Cargo thieves will take anything -- a load of bubblegum, chicken beaks and feet, wedding dresses. Last weekend, someone stole a tractor trailer full of eggs from a Mississauga yard. The empty truck was recovered in Scarborough yesterday.

In 2008, thieves stole $22-million worth of goods in Peel Region. With its vast industrial yards, its circuit of highways and its proximity to Pearson International Airport, Peel is considered by some in the industry to be the cargo theft capital of North America.

Across the GTA, thieves are becoming more organized, and striking more often.

"It's no longer isolated incidents. It's become rampant," said Uwe Petroschke, the president of Brampton-based Totalline Transport Inc.

"The police don't have enough manpower to deal with the situation any longer. They need help. We're dealing with organized crime.
***
"After stealing a tractor trailer full of merchandise, if they get caught, if they are found guilty, the charge is theft over $5,000. That's it. They can steal at will and the reward is greater than the punishment.''

In 2006, the FBI estimated the cost of U.S. highway cargo theft to be in the rather large range of $15 - 30 billion dollars:

Cargo theft is estimated to cost the U.S. $15-30 billion a year, though the true measure may be even higher, since some businesses are reluctant to report thefts out of concern for their reputations or their insurance premiums. Thieves' methods vary, but the outcome is generally the same—a load of merchandise leaves Point-A and never arrives at Point-B.

"Cargo theft is our number-one priority in Major Theft," says Unit Chief Eric B. Ives, who heads the Major Theft Unit in the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division. "There's never been a time when there's not enough work."

The issue is much broader than a criminal stealing a TV off a truck. In the past few years, investigations have revealed more and more sophisticated operations with well-organized hierarchies. The typical "criminal enterprise," as Ives describes it, has a leader who runs a regional or national operation. Beneath him are cells of thieves and brokers, or fences, who unload the stolen goods on the black market. "Lumpers" physically move the goods, along with drivers. And there's usually a specialist who is expert at foiling the anti-theft locks on truck trailers.

Cargo thieves heist whole truck loads of merchandise—the average freight on a trailer is valued between $12,000 and $3 million. The hotspots are where you might expect—truck yards, hubs for commercial freight carriers, and port cities.

The U.S. penalties are a little steeper thanks to the Patriot Act:

In fact, private industry played a pivotal role in placing a long-sought provision in the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act, signed into law in March. The provision requires the Department of Justice to add cargo theft to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) System by year's end. Cargo-related crimes that were once filed in the UCR as burglary, larceny, and robbery will have their own category. Once established, the data will paint a clearer picture of the extent of cargo theft—and help law enforcement agencies allocate their resources. The measure also increased prison terms for cargo theft convictions: three years for cargo valued under $1,000 and 15 years for cargo valued over $1,000.