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US Navy says Red Sea could be new pirate hunting ground
Manama (AFP) June 9, 2009 The US Navy warned on Tuesday that the southern Red Sea was a potential new target area for attack by Somalia-based pirates threatening shipping in one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes. The Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet also said in an advisory aimed at helping ships tackle the threat that the May-September monsoon season was likely to disrupt pirate strikes, and that commercial shipping could exploit this. "A new area of potential risk following a confirmed pirate attack (in late May) is in the southern Red Sea," US Navy said. "Mariners are encouraged to take advantage of areas of heightened sea state but should continue to remain at a high state of alert." The advisory, which outlines recent changes in pirate tactics, contains detailed recommendations for the crews of merchant ships transiting high-risk areas to ward off Somalia-based pirates, it said. Pirates have recently increased night attacks and extended the range at which they operate to beyond the Seychelles with the help of "mother ships" that allow them to strike farther from the coast, according to the advisory. Early April this year saw an unprecedented flurry of hijackings, but less favourable weather recently has led to a relative lull in pirate attacks. Somali pirates on Saturday freed a Nigerian tugboat captured around 10 months ago, ending the longest such hijacking off the coast of Somalia. More than 30,000 vessels transit the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden annually, heading to and from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. So far this year there have been 114 attempted attacks on merchant vessels in the region, 29 of them successful, according to the US Navy. Pirates currently hold 14 ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, along with more than 200 seamen. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links 21st Century Pirates
Libyan oil tanker thwarts piratesTripoli (AFP) June 8, 2009 Security forces aboard a Libyan oil tanker heading to China beat off an attack by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, an oil company official told AFP on Monday. "Pirates approached the vessel and began firing warning shots," said Tarek Youssef of the Libyan National Maritime Transport Company which leased the ship. "The captain refused to stop his ship and security members on board riposted ... read more |
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