Fall 2011 Piracy Season Arrives Off Somalia

As monsoon season abates off eastern Somalia, are new tactics emerging in fall pirate campaign? This NATO press release (PDF) crossed the wires yesterday.

Earlier today, NATO’s counter piracy flag ship, Italian Ship (ITS) Andrea Doria, rescued the crew of M/V Pacific Express, 180 nautical miles off the coast of Kenya. M/V Pacific Express had reported being under pirate attack on September 20, 2011.

ITS Andrea Doria responded to the distress call and closed in on M/V Pacific Express during the night of September 20. After evaluating the situation, the NATO warship assessed that pirates were no longer on board. As heavy smoke was coming out of the M/V, ITS Andrea Doria decided to send a boarding team to evacuate the crew and rescued all 26 crewmembers (25 Filipinos and 1 Ukrainian) who had locked themselves inside the safety zone of the merchant ship. According to the crew, the fire was the result of the pirates’ attempts to force them out of their confinement. They also reported hearing gun shots and possibly a RPG being fired during their time in the safety zone. They suffered no injuries and are now being transferred to Mombasa.

ITS Andrea Doria has been engaged in Operation "Ocean Shield" to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia under the command of Rear Admiral Gualtiero Mattesi since June 14, 2011.

The IMB report at this link suggests a slightly different story, that the pirates set fire to the ship when they became frustrated by not being able to get into the citadel. This Maritime Executive report on the incident is based on the IMB report.

This is a troubling development and it is important to watch for a pattern. We have seen the pirates off Somalia adapt tactically very well in the past to countermeasures put into place by both the coalition naval forces and the industry. Is setting a ship on fire an emerging tactical response by pirates to a crew seeking shelter in a citadel? Hopefully this is an isolated incident, because a pattern where pirates set fire to ships that cannot be captured would represent a significant escalation and potentially significantly change the perception of piracy by several governments.

Finally, it is important to note the SW monsoon is abating, and the fall pirate season off the east coast of Somalia has arrived. Here are the three incidents off eastern Somalia reported by IMB in the last 72 hours as the monsoon abates:

22.09.2011: 0850 UTC: POSN : 12:16.1S - 043:19.5E: Around 20nm south of Grande Comore, Comoros Island. (Off Somalia) A bulk carrier underway noticed two blue coloured skiffs at a distance of one nm. Master raised alarm, and alerted the armed security team. the skiffs approached at a speed of 20 knots. The persons in the skiff were observed to have RPGs. As the skiffs closed to 300 meters and saw the armed team they slowed down and circled the vessel for a few minutes and then moved away. No shots were fired.

21.09.2011: 0643 UTC: Posn: 12:46.6S - 046:18.5E: Around 60nm east of Mayotte Island, Madagascar (Off Somalia) A container ship underway noticed two skifss with three to four persons in each at a distance of 1.5nm. The skiffs increased speed to 18 knots and approached and chased the vessel from different sides. The vessel made evasive manoeuvres, increased speed and enforced anti piracy measures. The skiffs aborted the attempet after chasing the vessels for 25 minutes.

20.09.2011: 0734 UTC : 04:47S - 044: 35E: Around 300nm east of Mombasa, Keny (Off Somalia). While underway, pirates in two skiffs armed with guns and RPG chased a general cargo ship with intend to hijack her. Ship took avoiding action however the pirates managed to board the vessel. All crew retreated into the citadel and requested for assistance. Prior to leaving the ship the pirates set fire to the vessel. A coalition warship arrived at location and rescued the crew.

It's going to be a busy fall.