New Australian guidelines to combat piracy on the high seas
by Ernie Davitt, National Affairs Editor, ASM
In response to increasingly frequent and daring attacks against shipping by pirates, the Australian Government has developed new guidelines outlining measures shipping operators and seafarers should take to detect, deter and prevent piracy and robbery at sea.
The International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB’s) Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) has expressed serious concern about a recent upsurge in attacks, particularly off the coast of Nigeria in which heavily armed pirates, usually wielding automatic firearms and knives, have attacked and threatened crew members on international trading vessels.
Armed attacks from pirates, who abduct crew members and demand payment of ransoms, have continued in Somalian waters as well.
The Australian Government released its Counter Piracy Advisory Guidelines during the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO’s) General Assembly in London late last year.
The IMO is one of a number of international organisations which have strongly supported the development of the Australian document.
The Guidelines recommend that:
- masters should prepare anti-piracy training practices and procedures which ensure that a ship’s crew has a good working knowledge and understanding of the basic security measures and requirements for preventing or delaying unauthorised access to the ship while at sea, at anchor or alongside a port berth; and
- an emergency communication plan, which should include all essential emergency contact numbers and pre-prepared messages, should be developed. The plans should be readily at hand or permanently displayed near the communications console on the ship’s bridge for instant reference in any piracy incident or robbery at sea.
The Guidelines are primarily designed for international commercial shipping, but also provide advice to the operators of fishing vessels and pleasure yachts.
They were developed by the Inspector of Transport Security, Mick Palmer, a former commissioner of the Australian Federal Police.
“The resurgence of piracy - particularly in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia - poses a serious threat to world trade,” Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland said.
Within the southeast Asian region there were more than 50 incidents of piracy last year.
“On a positive note, coordinated action by the region’s governments has significantly reduced incidents of piracy within the Malacca Straits to just two in 2008 - down from 12 the previous year,” Mr McClelland said.
“The Australian economy is particularly reliant on the global maritime industry, with 99 per cent of our exports transported by sea. That’s why the Government is acting to make sure an appropriate framework is in place to safeguard our maritime industry and the many Australians who travel through international waters every year.”
The new Guidelines complement other anti-piracy measures the Government has taken, including:
- co-sponsoring a resolution at the United Nations to strengthen international efforts to fight piracy;
- deploying two Anzac-class frigates and an AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft as part of international efforts to deter piracy in the Gulf of Aden; and
- providing two enforcement experts to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime Counter Piracy Program in Nairobi to help Kenyan authorities process apprehended piracy suspects.
The new Guidelines are now available to Australian seafarers and can be obtained by emailing the Office of the Inspector of Transport Security: oits@infrastructure.gov.au
The International Maritime Bureau said the violent attacks on vessels off the Nigerian coast were usually aimed at robbing vessel and crew of money and stores and were notable for the attackers’ willingness to use violence against crew members.
“In all of the most recent attacks reported to the IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre, the heavily armed pirates, at the very least, threatened crew members with deadly weapons. The pirates are usually armed with knives and automatic firearms,” IMB Director Captain Pottengal Mukundan said.
“On 24 November 2009 an oil tanker anchored off the coast of Benin, by the Nigerian border, was boarded by eight or nine robbers, all armed with guns and knives.
“The hijackers managed to gain access to the bridge where they demanded ship’s cash and crew personal belongings, before beating the master and tying up several other crew members.
“Another officer was able to raise the ship’s alarm, causing the pirates to panic. As they tried to escape, the chief officer of the vessel was shot and killed. One of the hijackers was apprehended by crew and handed over to the authorities in Benin.”
Captain Mukundan said that, while Somalia was, rightly, getting a lot of media attention for its piracy problems, the IMB had noticed there was a higher level of violence in attacks off Nigeria than in any other region in the world.
“In another incident, on 30 October 2009, a product tanker was attacked off Lagos by six pirates armed with knives and guns. The crew took evasive measures and contacted Lagos Port Control,” he said.
“The pirates opened fire against the bridge windows and accommodation. Eventually gaining entry to the bridge, the pirates took hostage all crew members. The crew were threatened and several assaulted. The pirates eventually made off with ship’s cash, crew cash and personal belongings, not before they damaged communications equipment and locked all crew members in a cabin.”
Captain Mukundan said that, unlike Somalia, Nigeria had an effective central government and the strongest navy in the region.
“What is worrying is that there appears to be no political will to combat the problem of piracy off their coast, despite the country being a major oil exporter and the country’s economy being heavily reliant on imports of other goods,” he said.