Private Yacht hijacked off Yemen then rescued same day as Danish family release! September 11, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: Armed escort, gulf of aden, gulf of aden security, InfoSec, maritime piracy, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, risk management, somali pirates, Somalia
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On the day that a Danish family was released after months in captivity, an unidentified sailing yacht was taken by pirates on September 08, 2011 off the coast of Yemen: Latitude 15 27 N Longitude 052 14 E.
The yacht has now been identified as the catamaran TRIBAL KAT, heading west to east and crewed by the owners, a French couple Christian and Evelyne Colombo. The pirates’ vessel was sunk by a Spanish warship the SPS GALICIA and Evelyne Colombo recovered unharmed and 7 pirates arrested, however, her husband Christian is missing and is reported to have been killed during the initial hijack.
Owners of private vessels are urged to seriously consider avoiding High Risk Waters, as we’re seeing an increase in the numbers of private vessels attacked. As is the tragic case here, pirates are becoming far more violent with killing of hostages during violent takeovers becoming routine.
Danish family held by Somali pirates since February released! September 7, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: gulf of aden, InfoSec, maritime piracy, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, risk management, somali pirates, Somalia
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Seven Danish hostages, including a family with teenage children, have been released by Somali pirates after more than six months in captivity, Denmark’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
The Danes — a couple with three children ages 12-16 and two crew members — were captured in the Indian Ocean on Feb. 24 while sailing around the world in a yacht.
“The seven Danes are doing well under the circumstances. They are expected back in Denmark in a short time,” the ministry said in a brief statement.
It gave no details of how they were released and made no mention of a ransom being paid. No one at the Foreign Ministry was immediately available for comment.
Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen told public broadcaster DR that the Danes were on their way back in a chartered airplane paid for by their insurance company. Loekke Rasmussen said their release came after “a long period of negotiations.”
Hostages are held in hot, austere conditions in Somalia — typically for many months — before a ransom is agreed on and paid, and the hijacked ships and crew are released. Last year, a British sailing couple were released after 388 days in captivity. Reports indicated
Pirates Release MV Panama after $7 Million US Ransom Paid September 6, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: Armed escort, Chris Mark, InfoSec, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, Ransom, somali pirates
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According to Reuters Africa, Somali pirates released the MV Ransom after a reported $7 million US ransom was paid. The vessel was hijacked on December 10th, 2010 while from Tanzania to Mozambique with a crew of 23 from Myanmar aboard. Based upon recent reports it appears that while the number of successful hijackings are down in 2011, the amount being paid for ransom is increasing sharply. The last two reports had an average ransom of $7.5 Million US paid to pirates. As shipping companies continue to arm their vessels some have posited that attacks will become more violent. I would suggest that not only will the hijackings become more violent but the pirates will demand a higher ransom as they have fewer lucrative targets to attack.
Detained 3 Al Qaeda members reveal plot to blow up commercial tankers! September 5, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: Armed escort, armed security, gulf of aden security, InfoSec, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, somali pirates, Somalia
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistani intelligence officers working with the CIA arrested three members of Al Qaeda including a top operative believed to have been tasked by Usama bin Laden with targeting American economic interests around the world, Pakistan’s army said Monday.
Younis al-Mauritani’s arrest — made public five days before the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks — was seen as a blow to Al Qaeda’s central leadership in Pakistan, further degrading its ability to mount terrorist attacks abroad. The terrorist organization has seen its senior ranks thinned since Usama bin Laden was killed May 2 along with Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, the group’s No.2, in a CIA missile strike last month.
The statement said al-Mauritani was mainly responsible for Al Qaeda’s international operations and was tasked by bin Laden with hitting targets of economic importance in America, Europe and Australia. It said he was planning to target U.S. economic interests including gas and oil pipelines, power generating dams and oil tankers transiting in international waters by using explosive-laden speed boats to attack them.
It named the other two detainees as Abdul-Ghaffar al-Shami and Messara al-Shami.
U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment. The U.S. has said it doesn’t know of any specific Al Qaeda plot to attack the U.S. ahead of Sept. 11.
Piracy and the Armed Detterent- Lloyds List… & dogs… September 1, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Laws and Leglslation, Piracy & Maritime Security.Tags: Chris Mark, gulf of aden security, InfoSec, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, risk management
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There is a very well written piece on the use of armed guards. Without rehashing the entire article, the author disputes those who claim that armed guards are resulting in an increasing level of violence from pirates. It is a great piece and worth the read. In contradiction to the naysayers and in support of the piece mentioned above, I would go so far as to say that it is the increasing violence of pirates that is necessitating the use of armed guards on ships. Security companies would love nothing more than to flash a big toothy grin and the international sign of friendship at pirates to make them scamper away. The unfortunate reality is that the pirates are escalating their attacks and ships are being forced to use armed guards.
Yesterday I was in the pet store buying some food for my new Rottweiler puppy Bo. Bo had never been on a leash and I was attempting to train him. A woman working at the store struck up a conversation and I was explaining that I had to put one of my dogs down recently when after 11 years she had become so unpredictable that we could not trust her around children, people or pets. The dog had already attacked and severely injured three dogs by the time the decision was made to put her down. While I was deeply saddened it was the only responsible option. It was simply her nature to be aggressive. What struck me was the woman’s response to the story and to the idea of leashes. She actually tried to convince me that leashes were the cause of dog bites and attacks and that if we would do away with leashes the incidence of dog bites would go down. She was an advocate for allowing all dogs to run free! I told her I felt it was irresponsible to allow a 130lb dog to run free among children and others. At the end of the day, no matter how well trained, a dog, is a dog, is a dog.
This is the same attitude that permeates the blogosphere where people claim that it is the shipping companies, which by arming their ships, are causing the violence. This is complete nonsense. The pirates are violent and it is their actions that result in the need for shipping companies to arm themselves. Not the other way around…
Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management 