Oman Sets Up Way for Arabian Gulf Oil Exporters to Avoid Strait of Hormuz

Oman Steps Up Plan for Middle East’s Biggest Oil-Tank Farm Bloomberg reports:

Oman’s ambitious goal of building the biggest oil-storage facility in the Middle East is finally progressing, more than seven years after the Gulf sultanate announced the plan.
Oman Tank Terminal Co. has almost finished constructing eight tanks to store crude for a new refinery near the town of Duqm on the Arabian Sea. It’s now pushing ahead with others that could be used by oil companies and traders, according to two people with knowledge of the project. That would eventually increase Duqm’s capacity to at least 25 million barrels, according to OTTCO’s website.
The Ras Markaz Crude Oil Park could provide an alternative for energy traders and exporters eager to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, a choke-point at the mouth of the Persian Gulf that’s seen numerous flareups in recent years, including Iranian seizures of tankers. The Omani facility lies roughly 600 miles (966 kilometers) from the waterway. The United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah, the region’s largest hub with 14 million barrels of commercial crude-storage capacity, is less than 100 miles from Hormuz.
“Crude storage that anybody can use outside the Strait of Hormuz, that can go either east or west, is probably a good thing,” said Alan Gelder, vice president for refining, chemicals and oil markets at consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Iraq and Kuwait, a co-investor in the refinery, might see Duqm as an attractive place to park their crude outside the Gulf, he said.

Of course, Iran's fallback is to use its proxy Houit rebels in Yemen to clog up the Bab al Mandeb chokepoint and the lower end of the Red Sea to screw up shipping through the Suez Canal. OTTC info here:

Ras Markaz Crude Oil Park The first phase of the Ras Markaz Crude Oil Park will be operational in 2021, and will feature storage tanks of different sizes. The total capacity of Phase 01 will be up to 25 million barrels of crude oil of which Duqm Refinery will build and utilize approximately 6 million barrels. The tank storage terminal will feature offshore loading and unloading facilities to cater to Suezmax and VLCC tankers via Single Point Moorings. The terminal will be connected via a 70km pipeline to the Duqm Refinery and a potential of connecting to Oman's Main Oil Pipeline at Nahada 440km away.

Somali Pirates: Dhow Attacked Off Oman

Reported as Fresh attack as pirate season off coast of Somalia begins:

The first incident of the pirate season came on Monday when an Omani dhow was attacked near the port of Salalah.

Ian Millen, director of intelligence, said that despite industry optimism that the threat had diminished in the region, attacks were still likely in the area.

He said: "Somali pirates are not out of business, even if times are hard when compared to the success of earlier years.

"The pirate business has suffered a few setbacks, but the threat remains a very real one.

"The capability is intact and the motivation of those engaged is unlikely to have been diminished to the point of defeat.

"The message is clear - complacency is the greatest threat and constant vigilance, the greatest weapon in the fight against Somali pirates."

Funny how just this week there were all these news reports declaring the piracy threat ended off Somalia (see i.e.,"Party seems over for Somali pirates").

However, to be perfectly honest, the coast of Oman is not just "off the coast of Somalia" and the spokesman addressing the issue is from a security company that might have a slight interest in keeping the threat of piracy in the news.

Somali Pirates: Chinese ship hijacked near Gulf of Oman

Early report at Chinese ship hijacked by pirates near Gulf:

A Chinese freighter was hijacked by pirates near the Gulf on Friday morning, the Chinese embassy in Tehran said.

The cargo ship belonging to a Nanjing company was hijacked at about 9:30 am local time (0500 GMT) in the Sea of Oman near the Iranian port Chabahar.

More from the BBC here:

ShipSpotting.com

© Carimar

The vessel, the Xianghuamen*, belongs to the Nanjing Ocean Shipping Co Ltd based in Nanjing, eastern China. One report said the ship was sailing with a crew of 28.

NATO report:

Based on NATO plot, arrow points to hijack site

Alert 030/12 - Update: HIJACKED 06/04/2012 05:55 25.48 57.53 Pirated Alert 030/12 - ATTACK (Also Known as NSC 015/12) Alert 030/12, NSC 015/12 UPDATE: The merchant vessel that was under attack has been Hijacked. ***This vessel has been Hijacked*** Vessels are advised to keep well clear and to exercise extreme caution if in vicinity. Original Alert information follows: Location: INDIAN OCEAN - GOO 25 28 N 057 32 E Latitude: 25 28 N Longitude: 057 32 E At 0555UTC on 06 APR 12, a merchant vessel was under attack by pirates in position 25 28 N 057 32 E. ***This situation is ongoing. ***

That low, low freeboard. Vessel is Panama registered. *Apparently the ship is the former Thor Navigator. See also Marine Traffic.com.

Somali Pirates: Increased Activity Off Oman

NATO notices Increased pirate danger off Oman:

There has been an increase of piracy related activity over the past two weeks in the High Risk Area (HRA), especially off the coast of Oman. At 1201Z on 03 March 12, a merchant vessel sighted a suspicious group of skiffs in the vicinity of 2127N 06237E . One of the skiffs followed the merchant vessel for approximately 2 hours despite the merchant vessel taking evasive action. (NSC Alert 10/12)

Pirate Attack Groups (PAGs) are confirmed as operating off the Omani coast. 02 March 12 a merchant vessel approximately was pirated 150NM NE of Masirah (Oman) coast at position 1634N 05948E. (Alert 18/12)

Actually, the culmination of the increased activity is a highjacking on 4 Mar 2102:

018/12 - Update 04/03/2012 09:25 16.57 59.8
Pirated Pirated
---WARNING WARNING WARNING---
Alert number 018 / 2012. At 1219 UTC / 02MAR12 / a MV is currently under attack by 1 skiff in position 21 27 N 062 37 E.

Update 2:

We have received reports confirming this vessel has been hijacked and was in position 1634N 5948E.

MarineLog reports:

A maritime security alert has been issued for the Arabian Sea after a merchant vessel, MV Royal Grace, was reportedly hijacked in position 21:27N - 062:37E approximately 150NM off Oman on March 2, reports GAC Protective Solutions.

***

According to the Equasis data base, the 6,813 dwt, Panama-flagged, Royal Grace was built in 1984 as a Chemical/Oil Products Tanker and is managed by Oyster Cargo & Shipping LLC. The owner is Snow Whyte Energy Ltd., which uses the same Dubai address as the manager.

Recent Pirate Activity (to 3 September 2011)

Recent Pirate Attack Numbers Relate to Reports Below (NATO Shipping Center)

NATO Shipping Center reports on recent pirate activity, including attack on September 3, 2011, Alert 215:

Alert number 215 / 2011	03/09/2011 11:05	2145N	06031E	Attacked	At 0949 UTC a merchant vessel is currently under attack by 2 skiffs with 5 POB and weapons have been fired in position 21 45N 060 31E
Alert 214 / 2011	23/08/2011 06:15	13 08N	049 11E	Attacked	At 230541 AUG UTC a merchant vessel was reported under attack by 1 skiff in position 1308 N 04911 E. Skiff had 5 POB. ***This vessel managed to evade hijack*** The Pirate attack group is still in the area.

Somali Pirates: This Time Oman Stops Them

Omani maritime authorities thwart piracy attempt:

Omani naval authorities have foiled an attempt by Somali pirates to hijack a Liberian flagged vessel some 34 nautical miles southwest of the country's main container transshipment hub at Salalah.

The incident was reported on Friday, and comes less than two weeks after pirates seized a chemical tanker barely two nautical miles from the same container port in one of the most audacious attacks so close to the Omani coast. (see here)

Following that successful seizure, Oman stepped up naval patrols off its southern and southeastern seaboard, which has witnessed a surge in pirate activity in recent months.

In an official statement issued to local media, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) said authorities rushed to the aid of the Liberian-flagged merchant ship on Friday when it came under attack. While the Royal Air Force of Oman scrambled a surveillance aircraft to the area, a Coast Guard vessel also sped to the site, eventually prompting the pirates to flee.

Meanwhile, in another incident also reported over the weekend, an Omani naval force regained control of a hijacked dhow that had earlier been seized off the Somali coast.

According to a security official, a patrolling warship of the Royal Navy of Oman spotted the commandeered dhow in international waters south of Salalah. Warning shots were fired, upon which the alleged pirates ditched their weapons into the sea.

Nice job, Oman.

Somali Pirates: Cargo Ship Taken Off the Coast of Oman

MSC(HOA) report from here:

Bermuda flagged cargo ship hijacked in Gulf of Aden

23/03/2010 15.53 UTC

This afternoon, Tuesday 23 March, the Bermuda flagged Virgin Islands owned cargo ship MV TALCA was reported hijacked in the Gulf of Aden.

The hijacking took place approximately 120 nautical miles off the coast of Oman and 180 miles south of Mazera. MV TALCA was heading from Sokhna in Egypt to Busheir in Iran. It had already passed through the International Recommended Transit Corridor, which is patrolled by warships and maritime patrol aircraft from EU NAVFOR, NATO, Combined Maritime Forces and other navies. Twenty-three of the crew are from Sri Lanka, one from the Philippines and one from Syria. MV TALCA has dead weight of 11 055 tonnes. EU NAVFOR will continue to monitor the situation.

UPDATE: Added map with my guesstimate of attack location. UPDATE2: Replaced original guesstimate with another.

Somali Pirates: Shift Area of Operations, Grab a Ship

Shifting their area of operations again, Somali pirates have nabbed a ship off Oman, as reported in Pirates hijack German-owned ship off Oman-NATO :

Suspected Somali pirates have seized a German-owned cargo ship off the coast of the Gulf Arab state of Oman, the first recorded attack in its territorial waters, NATO alliance staff said on Friday.

The MV Charelle was attacked 60 nautical miles south of Sur on the Omani coast, NATO Lieutenant Commander Alexandre Fernandes said aboard NATO's Portuguese warship Corte-Real, which is on anti-piracy patrol off Somalia.

"The Charelle is now heading southwest towards Somalia," Fernandes said. "This is the first case of armed robbery outside the normal operations area of the pirates."

Photo is of ship when it sailed as Sofrana Bligh by Sinisa Aljinovic from Shipspotting.com and used in accord with the rules set forth therein.