U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report 13 February - 15 March 2017

Of special interest this week -
1. the first ship hijacking off Somalia since 2012 (but note that last week there were reports of small boats with armed men in the vicinity of Somalia);
2. A Yemeni coast guard vessel apparently hit a sea mine and sank with a loss of 8 crew;
3. An attack on a ship off the coast of Nigeria

Much more in

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) Report 13 February - 15 March 20... by lawofsea on Scribd

And, as a by the way, an interesting report from Channel NewsAsia that there's a demand from Somali "secuirty forces," Somali security forces that freed pirated ship say NATO must do more:

Somali officials whose forces freed a hijacked oil tanker and its eight Sri Lankan crew said on Sunday that NATO ships must do more to prevent the illegal fishing that locals say sparked the latest attack.

Monday's hijacking was the first time that Somali pirates had successfully hijacked a commercial ship since 2012. Unlike previous hijackings, the ship was freed swiftly and with no ransom paid after the Puntland Maritime Police Force intervened.

The intervention reassured shipping companies concerned that resurgent pirates could once again threaten one of the world's most important shipping lanes.

Officials from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland blamed local anger over illegal fishing by foreign vessels for the attack. They warned that more hijackings might happen unless the problem was tackled.

"We requested NATO warships to tackle the illegal fishing, but they replied it was not their mandate," Abdihakim Abdullahi Omar, the vice president of Puntland, told reporters at Bosasso port.

Perhaps those "security forces" should be patrolling their own waters . . . or working to get someone in whose "mandate" it is.

Somali Pirates: Kill Hostage to Demand Faster Ransom Payment

Reported as a deadly temper tantrum from a thug in Somalia as in "Pirate boss: Somali pirates kill Syrian hostage and wound another over delayed ransom payment""

Somali pirates who have been holding a hijacked ship for nearly two years killed a Syrian hostage crew member and wounded another to protest delayed ransom payment, a pirate leader said.

This is believed to be the first time Somali pirates have killed a hostage because of a delay in ransom.

Hassan Abdi, a pirate commander in Haradhere town, a key pirate centre, said Friday that the killing on Wednesday was a message to the owners of the ship MV Orna that was hijacked off Seychelles in 2010.

"The killing was a message to the owners of the ship who paid no heed to our ransom demands," Abdi said by telephone.

"More killings will follow if they continue to lie to us — we have lost patience with them. Two years is enough," he said angrily.

The MV Orna is a Panama-flagged, bulk cargo vessel owned by a company in the United Arab Emirates.

Report on 2010 capture of MV Orna here.

Somali Criminals: SEALing their fate

Reported as U.S. Forces Rescue Kidnapped American, Danish Humanitarian Workers in Somalia:

By the order of the President of the United States and under the direction of U.S. Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM), early Wednesday morning, January 25, 2012, U.S. Special Operations Forces rescued an American citizen and a Danish citizen from captivity in Somalia.

Mrs. Jessica Buchanan of the United States and Mr. Poul Thisted of Denmark, who both worked for the Danish Demining Group, a non-profit humanitarian organization, were kidnapped at gunpoint on October 25, 2011, near Galcayo, Somalia, and were being held for ransom.

The Department of Justice requested assistance from the Department of Defense, which, in turn, directed U.S. AFRICOM to plan and conduct the rescue operation.

Receiving actionable intelligence, U.S. Special Operations Forces conducted a coordinated operation in the vicinity of Gadaado, Somalia. During the course of the operation, the rescue force patrolled to the location and confirmed the presence of Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted guarded by nine captors. All nine captors were killed during the assault. After securing the location, U.S. Special Operations Forces found Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted unharmed in the outdoor encampment.

"Last night's mission, boldly conducted by some of our nation's most courageous, competent, and committed special operations forces, exemplifies United States Africa Command's mission to protect Americans and American interests in Africa," said General Carter F. Ham, commanding general, U.S. Africa Command. "I am extraordinarily proud of the joint-service team that planned, rehearsed and successfully concluded this operation. Thanks to them, a fellow American and her Danish co-worker are safe and will soon be home with their families. We should remember that Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted were working to protect the people of Somalia when they were violently kidnapped. It is my hope that all those who work in Somalia for the betterment of the Somali people can be free from the dangers of violent criminals."

At the time of their abduction, Ms. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted had finished conducting a demining training course for local Somali citizens.

If I was a pirate, I wouldn't be so sure that I was safe at home. Emphasis added.

Somali Gunmen Attack British Tourists at Resort in Kenya

NY Times report Somali Gunmen Attack British Tourists at Kiwayu Resort in Kenya:

A boatload of Somali gunmen attacked an exclusive beach resort in Kenya on Sunday, killing a British tourist and kidnapping his wife before racing back into Somalia, Western diplomats said.

American officials were initially concerned that the strike might have been connected to the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and that the gunmen were Islamist militants looking for Americans. But Western diplomats were leaning away from that theory on Sunday night, though they said they were still uncertain about the motive for the attack.

The resort, Kiwayu Safari Village, is just south of the Somali border and is one of the most expensive destinations in Kenya, where guests stay in $1,300-a-night bungalows at the water’s edge and are summoned to feasts at night by the trumpeting of a conch shell. Prince William and Mick Jagger are said to have vacationed there.

The gunmen attacked under the cover of darkness, zooming up to the beach in a skiff shortly after midnight, the Western diplomats said.

It was not clear how the British tourist was killed, but officials said the gunmen sped away with the dead man’s wife, heading toward Ras Kamboni, Somalia, a well-known hide-out for Islamist militants.

Another report on the same incident from the BBC here:

A British man has been killed and his wife kidnapped from a Kenyan resort, Kenyan police say.

The married couple were staying at the luxury Kiwayu Safari Village, north of Lamu Island, when armed men attacked.

Kenyan officials said a police officer saw six men taking away a woman in a speed boat.

Tourist resorts have not been targeted before but the site is near Somalia and Somali pirates could be involved, a BBC reporter says.

Pirates? Looking for a new means of making money? The long term prospects for this approach seems pretty slim.