Box ship outruns pirates

The International Chamber of Commerce and the International Marine Bureau provide an interactive map showing all the piracy and armed robbery incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Center during 2008. The live version of the map is available here .

 

Ongoing AmericanShipper.com Gulf of Aden coverage

•   Analysis: Experts predict increased Somali pirate attacks (12/4)

•   CMA CGM crews to get bonus for Gulf of Aden trips (12/3)

•   Security firm Blackwater reportedly meeting with ship owners (12/2)

Guards, overwhelmed by Somali pirates, abandon ship (12/1)

•   TMT opts for Good Hope route (11/25)

INTERTANKO, BIMCO propose Somali blockade (11/24)

•   U.N. passes financial sanctions on Somali pirates (11/21)

More carriers vow to avoid area around Somalia (11/21)

•   Pentagon asks ocean carriers to do more to tackle piracy (11/20)

Hong Kong ship owners call for action on piracy (11/20)

•   Saudi mega-tanker still under pirates?control (11/18)

Parcel tanker operator will avoid Gulf of Aden (11/17)

•   Security firm warns against arming crew to fight piracy (10/16)

Call for more action on Somalia pirates (10/10)

•   British naval officer advocates mercenaries to fight piracy (10/9)

UN passes new Somali piracy resolution with little bite (10/8)

•   Ship owners livid with naval response to Gulf of Aden piracy (10/30)

Naval coalition cannot guarantee safety in Gulf of Aden (9/23)

•   Piracy crisis spiraling out of control (9/19)

Kidnapping insurer sees upsurge in interest by shipping companies (9/12)

•   Hong Kong ship owners blast lack of piracy protection in Gulf of Aden(9/12)

 

A Dutch operated containership took fire but escaped a band of pirates off the coast of Tanzania by increasing its speed, CNN reported on its Web site.

   The pirates attacked the ship 450 nautical miles out to sea with rocket-propelled grenades, starting a fire on board. The crew was able to put out the fire and increased speed to escape, an International Maritime Bureau official told the news organization.

   The attack is further evidence that pirates are expanding their zone of operation beyond the Gulf of Aden, first off the East Coast of Somalia, then south to Kenya and Tanzania. Somali pirates captured a Saudi supertanker loaded with oil about 450 miles off of Kenya three weeks ago.

   Media outlets also reported that a Danish warship rescued seven suspected pirates adrift with a broken motor on their speedboat. The Danish crew provided provisions, confiscated rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assault rifles and sank the speedboat after picking up the Somali pirates 90 miles off the coast of Yemen, but did not arrest them.

   The Danish vessel is part of a loose multinational flotilla patrolling the Gulf of Aden to prevent pirate attacks.

   The Danish Navy said it followed international obligations to help ships in distress but did not make any arrests because the men were not caught in an act of piracy. The Somali men instead were handed over to the Yemen coast guard. 

Source: American Shipper