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Weekly Piracy Report
9 - 15 September 2003

The following is a summary of the daily reports broadcast by the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre to ships in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions on the SafetyNET service of Inmarsat-C from 9 - 15 September 2003.

Warning - Vicinity of Bintan Island, Indonesia.
Increasing numbers of serious incidents are re-occurring within 30 nm radius of Lat 01N - Long 105E during the last few days. Group(s) of pirates with guns and knives are targeting and attacking ships. Ships are advised to take extra precautions in this area.

Recently reported incidents:

canteen - 9/18/03 - a recent overthrow of Saint Lucie has been attempted. The scallywags were then probed in sensitive areas with hot pokers, forced to watch reruns of Leave it to Beaver, and fed to the canteen members in hierarcheral order.

Actual or attempted incidents

15.09.2003 at 0335 LT at Manila anchorage, Philippines.
Eight pirates armed with long knives in an unlit boat boarded a bulk carrier from port bow using hooks attached to ropes. Alarm was raised and crew mustered. Pirates broke in to forecastle store, stole safety equipment and jumped overboard. Master called authorities on VHF ch.16 but did not receive response.

08.09.2003 at 0010 LT at Lagos anchorage, Nigeria.
Three pirates armed with long knives boarded a bulk carrier using grappling hook from an unlit fast boat. Duty A/B raised alarm and crew mustered. Pirates escaped with ship's stores.

Piracy prone areas and warnings

S E Asia and the Indian Sub Continent

Bangladesh - Chittagong and Mongla at berth and anchorage. Ships have reported theft of zinc anodes welded to ship's sides and stern

India - Chennai, Cochin

Indonesia - Adang Bay, Anambas Island, Balikpapan, Bintan Island, Dumai, Gaspar (Gelasa) Straits, Kuala Langsa, Lawi Lawi, Pulau Laut, Samarinda, Tanjong Priok (Jakarta).

Malacca straits - avoid anchoring along the Indonesian coast of the straits. Coast near Aceh is particularly risky for hijackings

Malaysia - Pangkor

Philippines - Manila, Zamboanga

Singapore Straits

Vietnam - Haipong, Vung Tau

Africa and Red Sea

Abidjan, Bonny River, Dakar, Dar Es Salaam, Lagos, Luanda, Nana Creek, Tema, Warri.

Gulf of Aden

Somalian Waters - Eastern and Northeastern coasts are high-risk areas for hijackings. Ships not making scheduled calls to ports in these areas should keep at least 75 miles and if possible 100 miles from the coast. Use of radio communications including VHF in these waters should be kept to a minimum.

South and Central America and the Caribbean waters

Colombia - Barranquilla, Buena Ventura, Cartagena
Cuba - Havana
Dominican Republic - Rio Haina
Ecuador - Guayaquil
Guyana - Georgetown
Jamaica - Kingston
Peru - Callao

Secure-Ship

Secure-Ship is the most recent and effective innovation in the fight against piracy. It is a non-lethal, electrifying fence surrounding the whole ship, which has been specially adapted for maritime use. The fence uses 9,000-volt pulse to deter boarding attempts. An intruder coming in contact with the fence will receive an unpleasant non-lethal shock that will result in the intruder abandoning the attempted boarding. At the same time an alarm will go off, activating floodlights and a very loud siren. The IMB strongly recommends ship owners to install this device on board their ships. Further details can be obtained at www.secure-marine.com

ShipLoc

ShipLoc is an inexpensive satellite tracking system, which allows shipping companies, armed only with a personal computer with Internet access, to monitor the exact location of their vessels. In addition to anti-hijacking role, ShipLoc facilitates independent and precise location of ships at regular intervals. ShipLoc is fully compliant with the IMO Regulation SOLAS XI-2/6 adopted during the diplomatic conference in December 2002, concerning a Ship Security Alert System. The ship security alert system regulation that will be put into place as of July 2004, requires ships of over 500 GT to be equipped with an alarm system in order to reinforce ship security. The system allows the crew, in case of danger, to activate an alarm button that automatically sends a message to the ship owner and to competent authorities. The message is sent without being able to be detected by someone on-board or by other ships in the vicinity. ShipLoc is contained in a small, discrete waterproof unit which includes: an Argos transmitter, a GPS receiver, a battery pack in case of main power failure, and a flat antenna. ShipLoc,endorsed by the IMB, is the most reliable and inexpensive system as of today. For more information, please visit www.shiploc.com