Real Pirates! Weekly Piracy Report!

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[imgleft]http://lh4.ggpht.com/_cQOyQjTP3GY/SzdzfGWk3nI/AAAAAAAAAIg/CePEMJs6IBk/real-pirates.gif[/imgleft]It's been a slow week for piracy, but there have been a couple of interesting things going on. The Greek oil tanker that Somali pirates captured back in November was released after a record ransom payment of $5.5 million, quite a haul! At least some rivals in the area where the ship was being held sure thought so, as they tried to intercept the ransom drop and got into a gun fight with pirates ashore in the area. You can read more about it in my Pirate News thread HERE!

Also, over at Maritime Global Net, David Hughes has a pretty good write up about some very recent comments made by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)Chairman, Spyros M Polemi. Rightfully, Mr Polemi is a bit frustrated at the way things are being handled in the Indian ocean region :

ICS complains: “All too often, small boats or skiffs that have conducted aborted attacks are allowed to proceed back to Somalia without military intervention. This gives the message that the military will not see hot pursuit operations through to their natural conclusion. Similarly, intercepted pirates are often released only to return to Somalia without being arrested and prosecuted. A more consistent and robust approach to enforcement is required.”

“In cases where attacks occur hundreds of miles off the Somali coast then the skiffs must have been deployed from mother ships,” ICS says. “The skiffs simply do not have the endurance for operations deep into the Indian Ocean. Why are the ‘mother ships’ not being intercepted and detained?”

You can read the full story HERE!

The ICC's piracy report so far this week is rather small, only one incident :

19.12.2009: 2345 LT: Posn: 22:10.5N – 091:43.8E, Chittagong anchorage, Bangladesh.

Three pirates armed with long knives and in small unlit fishing boats boarded a container ship approaching the anchorage. Pirates stole ship’s stores and escaped when ship raised alarm and mustered crew. Port control informed.

As always, you can find the ICC's Live Piracy Report and maps HERE!