Paying the price may cause piracy to rise

Following the rise in incidents involving piracy and hijacking in the Somali basin, EU Atalanta warns that ships are urged to maintain a heightened state of vigilance.

Since the end of November 2023, multiple incidents involving piracy and hijacking have taken place in the Somali basin. Recently, there has been a notable rise in reported events that could potentially escalate into piracy attacks off the Somali coast. Additionally, the conclusion of the monsoon period could further facilitate piracy activities in the region.

Although there have been no piracy-related incidents in the past seven days, the payment of ransom could create a new wave of Dhow hijackings which in their turn they will create future skiff attacks on M/V etc. Considering the occurrence of previous significant attacks on merchant vessels within 12 days after reports of dhow hijackings, and the reports of multiple skiffs, each carrying armed individuals with the intent to capture dhows. ATALANTA continues to assess the threat as Moderate (where an attack is a Realistic Possibility) off the Somali coasts.

As a result, it is strongly recommended that all vessels adhere to the Best Management Practices Version 5 (BMP5), paying special attention to the drill of security measures before sailing off Somali coasts. The typical pirate strategy involves the seizure and hijacking of a dhow, which is subsequently utilized as their mother ship.

They then blend in with usual traffic and deploy skiffs from the mother ship to attack vessels navigating as far as 600 nautical miles or more off the East Somali coast. The possibility of attacks in the Gulf of Aden (GOA) cannot be dismissed. If the targeted vessel cannot repel the attack, pirates may opt to board the ship. After a vessel is seized, it is most probably taken to the Somali coast and held there while ransom negotiations are ongoing. Incidents have taken the following forms:

• Three merchant vessels have been assaulted, one of which became under pirate control for nearly a month (M/V Abdullah IMO 9745598, captured on 12 March, released on the 14 April). Additionally, several vessels have reported suspicious approaches.
• Up to 18 dhows have been hijacked. A number of them have been released, but up to six to seven may still be in the hands of their captors (no other info on them).
• ATALANTA has identified several possible pirate camps on the Somali Coasts situated between Xaafuun and the village of Garacad, with a hot spot north of Eyl, where the M/V Ruen and the recently pirated M/V ABDULLAH had been at anchorage for several weeks.
• It is estimated that one (1) or more pirate action groups (PAGs) at least could be sailing off the Somali coast, in the area around Socotra Island.
• source :safety4sea