Somali pirates strike again

Risk managers have been warned to increase their vigilance around the threat of a piracy attack in Somali waters after the first merchant vessel incident in five years. On 13 March 2017 Somali pirates hijacked the MT ARIS 13, a tanker vessel en route to Mogadishu from Djibouti. The ship was seized approximately 18 km off the northern tip of Somalia. This incident marks the first hijacking of a merchant vessel since the height of Somali piracy in 2012. The MT ARIS 13 has a crew of eight Sri Lankans and is owned by a Panama-based company, is Comoros flagged and is a United Arab Emirates-managed vessel. It was carrying a cargo of gas and fuel and sailed without registering with the Maritime Security Center for the Horn of Africa, an organisation that registers and tracks commercial traffic in region. The MT ARIS 13 reported that it had been approached by two skiffs, with weapons sighted on one of the boats. The vessel soon dropped communication and was reported by EUNAVFOR to have been hijacked by pirates. It was then taken to the coastal town of Caluula in Somalia’s Puntland state. The MT ARIS 13 was preparing to cut through the Socotra Gap between the tip of Somalia and the island of Socotra. This route is frequently used as a cost- and time-saving measure for vessels traveling down the east coast of Africa despite the threat of piracy. Additionally, the MT ARIS 13 has a low freeboard of only three metres and was moving at a slow speed of five knots. These factors made the vessel an easier target for pirates, who typically board ships with ladders from fast-moving skiffs. This attack reinforces the need for vessels to follow shipping industry Best Management Practices (BMP) within the BMP specified High Risk Area. Oceans Beyond Piracy said: “While this incident marks the first major hijacking since 2012, it does not yet indicate a large-scale return of Somali piracy. However, Somali pirates have still been quite active in recent months.” The group’s State of Maritime Piracy Report indicates:  The number of reported failed attacks and suspicious incidents rose in 2016.  Armed security teams deterred 11 attacks in 2016.  The Muhammadi, attacked on 22 November 2015 roughly 250 nautical miles off Eyl, is the last known hijacking incident in the region.  On 22 October, the CPO Korea, a UK-flagged chemical tanker, was approached by a skiff of armed men who exchanged fire with the security team.  In addition to the eight Sri Lankans on the MT ARIS 13, Somali pirates are still holding eight seafarers from the fishing vessel, the Siraj, who were captured on 26 March 2015. The report warned: “The situation in Somalia that originally permitted piracy to flourish has not changed. This has left the door open for other forms of maritime crime, such as smuggling and trafficking. There is a need for continued vigilance against piracy and other forms of maritime crime in the region.”

Somali pirates strike again

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