The Thing about Piracy

by Sail-World Cruising on 28 Sep 2007 Piracy is happening all the time, everywhere, in almost every ocean in the world. Dozens of attacks are reported, many violent, every single month of the year. So many, in fact, that it is easier to report the places where there was NO piracy, than to report the pirate attacks.

The thing is, they are NOT attacks on sailing vessels.

Of course, a lot depends on what you classify as a 'pirate attack'. If you are staying in or near a seedy area of town, you probably lock your doors at night as a matter of prudence. If the house you are in is a little isolated, you probably lock and bar them. If you are anchored, however, in a seedy area of town, you just might not know it, and you're certainly more isolated than in a closely populated suburb. Do you call a robbery in an anchorage a 'piracy attack'?

The Civil Maritime Analysis Department of the US Office of Naval Intelligence is clear on these things, and they certainly do not. According to their most recently published report of piracy in the last 30 days around the world, there were 40 attacks highlighted, which included one attack on a yacht, and one suspicious approach to a yacht.

Attacks on container ships, tankers, general cargo ships, fishing boat, bulk carriers, chemical tankers and oil tankers occurred in every area of the watery world, EXCEPT North America, Atlantic Ocean area, Black Sea and Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and North Asia.

The greatest number of attacks were in Southeast Asia.

In neither of the pirate incidents with yachts were the vessels boarded.

78 miles to the south east of the coast of Sri Lanka, Yacht Flying Germania II was reportedly attacked on 18th August 2007, at 0750, local time while underway in position 05:22.58N-78:9.75E. In this attack, the pirates did not board the sailing boat, but several boats followed Flying Germania II on two consecutive days. When they came close, the Skipper of the yacht, Karl Hennig, fired on the 'pirates' who then tried to ram the boat. Finally the sailing boat outran and outmaneuvered the boats in bad visibility. Their detailed account appears in their blog .

On the other side of the world, yacht Dilan reported a suspicious approach on 9th September 2007, at 1145 local time in position 01:54.1N-106:31.49E, 48NM southeast of Pulau Repong. The vessel reported two speedboats carrying an unknown number of men on board and that were believed to be armed, were trailing the vessel at close proximity. Suspicious of their intention, the yacht broadcasted the incident via their VHF radio.

The master of a container ship, the (HUB TRADER) received the report on his VHF radio and relayed the incident to the Singapore Port Operations Control Centre (POCC). The POCC, upon receipt of the relay, informed the Maritime Rescue and Coordination (MRCC) Jakarta about the incident and made navigational
broadcast of the incident on the NAVTEX and SAFETYNET system (ReCAAP ISC).