Piracy Report June 2016 ______

Piracy Report Independent Global Incident Analysis

PIRACY REPORT JUNE 2016 ______

Piracy and Acts of Armed Robbery of Ships

For Monthly Reports Please contact Lydelle Joubert [email protected]

 The 2016 heat map indicates four areas with a high 2015 concentration of piracy and robbery incidents. Incidents These areas are the coast of Bayelsa, Nigeria; the Strait of Malacca; Kandla Port and Anchorages in India; and the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Eight incidents were reported since January 2016 at Kandla Port and Anchorages which can all be described as petty theft. No incidents were reported at Kandla in June 2016.

 In Bangladesh the more serious incidents are linked to fishing boats. In spite of the surrendering of members of the Master Bahini Group in Bangladesh in late May 2016 four separate incidents of kidnapping were reported in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh in June 2016. Several groups involved in kidnapping remain in this area.

 Incidents of piracy and robbery of vessels in 2016 Southeast Asia are lower in 2016 compared to Incidents 2014 and 2015.

 A tug towing a barge was hijacked off Mukah, Sarawak, Malaysia. 3 000 litres of crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) were transferred to another barge.

 In June 2016 seven crew members were kidnapped of a Indonesian flagged coal barge in the Sulu Sea, Philippines. Kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf (ASG) in the Sulu Sea are negatively impacting coal trade between Indonesia and the Philippines. The Philippine government placed a ban on coal exports to the Philippines until the country can ensure security in this area.

 The ASG beheaded Robert Hall on 13 June 2016.. June 2016 He is the second hostage from the Samal resort Incidents kidnapping in September 2015 to be executed. Marites Flor, the Filipino hostage from Samal was released in June 2016.

 Attacks on oil installations and boats transporting workers in the oil industry continued in Bayelsa and Rivers states, Nigeria. The Niger Delta Avengers claimed responsibility for several of these attacks.

 Marine Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) reported phishing attempts from parties claiming to be the GOG Coastguard. This malicious entity targeted vessels operating in the Gulf of Guinea and aim to gain sensitive information on vessels.

0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 16 West Africa 14

0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

9 Indian Sub-Continent 8

7 2014 6 2015 5 2016 4 Linear (2014) 3 Linear (2015) 2 Linear (2016) 1

0 JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 EAST AFRICA AND ARADIAN GULF WEST AFRICA INDIAN SUB CONT SE ASIA SOUTH AMERICA

14 40

41 6 27

Type Vessel Code 20 Barge B Bulk Carrier BC Cargo ship CS Coast Guard/ PB Patrol Boat 15 Container C Dhow D Ferry F Fishing Boat FB Fishing Trawler FV Offshore Supply OSV 10 Vessel Passenger Boat PMB Roll-on-Roll-off Cargo Ship Ro-Ro Tanker MT Tug TB 5 Yacht SY

0 Ro- B BC CS PB C D F FB FV OSV PMB MT TB SY Ro Americas 1 2 1 1 1 1 4 3 Indian Sub Continent 2 1 3 8 11 2 SE Asia 2 11 2 3 1 1 1 1 9 7 West Africa 2 1 1 2 1 3 2 1 21 2 East Africa/Arabian Gulf 2 4

2/06/2016. Ever Prosper. Tug. Ever Dignity Barge. Hijacked. CPKO stolen.

20/06/2016. Charles 001. Tug. Robby 152. Barge. Seven crew kidnapped

Incidents in Southeast Asia are lower in 2016 compared to the preceding two years. Seven incidents were reported in June 2016. Four incidents were recorded in Indonesian anchorages of which two were at Dumai Anchorage. Crew are often threatened with knives or guns during these robberies. A tug towing a barge was hijacked off Mukah, Sarawak, Malaysia. Seven crew were also kidnapped from a tug towing a barge in the Sulu Sea, Philippines.

 2 June 2016 – The Tug Ever Prosper towing the barge, Ever Dignity was hijacked off Mukah Sarawak in Malaysia at 23:00LT. The barge was carrying crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) at the time.1 A tug, Ever Master belonging to the same company, Pengangkutan Kekal SDN BHD2 spotted another tug and barge syphoning the CPKO. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) despatched two ships to the scene. 3 000litres of CPKO as well as crew’s possessions were stolen. One of the crew sustained injuries after he was punched in the eye.

. The tugboat Charles 001 towing the barge Robby 152 departed from Cagayan de Oro Port heading to Samarinda, Indonesia after delivering a cargo of coal. Onboard was a crew of 13.3 The company decided to shorten the route to cut traveling time.4 At 23:30LT while in the Sulu Sea they were attacked by two boats with four to five men onboard. One of these men was armed with a rifle and spoke English. They kidnapped three of the crew. At 00:0045LT another group arrived and kidnapped a further four crew members. According to the remaining crew at least one of the men spoke Malay.

. The kidnappers contacted the wife of one of the hostages with a ransom demand of 20 million ringgit (US$4.9 million).5 The number used was connected to a fraud syndicated and tracked to a location on the Ciliwung River, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is not clear if the syndicate was part of the kidnapping or tried to use the kidnapping to defraud the families.6

. It was confirmed that the hostages are held on Jolo. Philippines They are moved between locations. The group is also split into two groups on occasion.7

. In response to the latest kidnapping the Indonesian Minister of Transport suspended all coal exports to the Philippines until such time as the Philippine government can guarantee security in the Sulu Sea.8 US$40 billion in cargo passes through this area each year. Indonesia is the worlds largest coal exporter and supplies 70% of the Philippines’ coal imports9 to the value of more than US$ 500 million a year.

 28 June 2016 – The Product Tanker, Chamtang was boarded approximately 26nm WSW of Mangkai Island, Indonesia by ten pirates. Crew members were held hostages and beaten. They stole the GPS and NAVEX equipment, cash and crew’s possessions. They also disabled the remaining satellite equipment.10

Feedback ASG Hijackings of Vessels and Kidnapping Incidents in the Philippines

 8 June 2016 - Abu Sayyaf released the four Malaysian hostages kidnapped from the Tug, Massive 6 on 1 April 2016.11

 13 June 2016 – The ASG beheaded Canadian Robert Hall, one of the hostages kidnapped from Samal on 21 September 2015.

 24 June 2016 – Marites Flor, the Filipino hostage from the Samal kidnapping was released

28/06/2016. Fishing Boat. 29/06/2016. Fishing Boat. 15 fishermen kidnapped. Seven fishermen kidnapped.

8/06/2016. Fishing Boat. 14/06/2016. Mayer Doa-1 Five fishermen robbed & Mayer Doa-2. Fishing and kidnapped. Boats. 12 fishermen kidnapped.

Five incidents on vessels were reported in Bangladesh in June 2016. A container vessel was robbed at Chittagong Anchorage, Bangladesh. Fishermen were kidnapped during four separate incidents in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh.

 8 June 2016 – Five Bangladeshi fishermen were abducted for ransom in the Garal River on the border of India and Bangladesh. The fishermen were taken into Indian territory allegedly by the Master Bahini.12 Ten members of the group, including a ringleader, Mostafa Sheikh alias Kader Master surrendered to authorities on 31 May 2016. 52 firearms and 5 000 rounds of ammunition were also surrendered.13

Copyright © 2016 L. Joubert 8  14 June 2016 – 12 fishermen were reported kidnapped from the fishing boats, FB Mayer Doa-1 and FB Mayer Doa-2 approximately 55nm south of Patharghata Upazila, Bangladesh. The kidnappers‘ trawler, FB Sahin was caught in a storm as they were heading for the Sundarbans and sank at 07:00LT. The two captains of the FB Mayer Doa-1 and FB Mayer Doa-2 allegedly escaped. The ten other crew members are still missing.14

 28 June 2016 – 15 fishermen were kidnapped for ransom from the Shibsha River in the Sunderbans allegedly by the Jahangir Bahini Group.15

 29 June 2016 – Seven fishermen were kidnapped from the Narikelbaria and Dudhmukhi canal points of the Bay of Bengal allegedly by the Zero and Shanta Bahini Groups.16

West Africa

 The Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre – Gulf of Guinea (MTISC-GoG) Pilot Project located in Accra, Ghana ended on 20 June 2016. It was replaced by the Marine Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) operated by the French and UK Navies from Brest, France and Portsmouth, England. MDAT-GoG Contact Email: [email protected]. Telephone: +33(0)2 98 22 88 88.17

 MDAT-GoG reported phishing attempts from parties to a large number of potential targets claiming to be the GOG Coastguard in the Gulf of Guinea. They requested sensitive information on vessels. In some of these messages a hyperlink connected to a fake website.18

 Attacks against oil companies continued in Nigeria in June 2016. Six people were killed when militants attacked a boat belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Warri area.20 Militants also attacked a boat transporting personnel to the Obama flow station in Bayelsa State.21

 A member of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Deiepreye Peters was killed when the boat he was travelling in was attacked in the Brass waterways, Bayelsa on 2 June 2016.22

Americas

A Product Tanker was boarded on 25 June 2016 at Mamonal Tanker Anchorage, Colombia and ship’s property was stolen.23

Untraceable vessels and owners of vessels, frequent name changes of vessels, invalid IMO numbers, frequent changes of flags and owner companies, and the use of flags of Convenience are all symptomatic of pirate ships. Often pirate vessels are phantom ships with no AIS signature.

Although most vessel owners who register vessels under Flags of Convenience registries do so for economic reason, maritime crime syndicates do so for the anonymity it provides. Several flags of convenience countries are small countries which lack the ability to impose international regulations on their vessels.

On 17 January 2015 the Product Tanker, MT Mariam was hijacked off Bayelsa, Nigeria in international waters. The cargo was transferred to MT Invictus. This Palau flagged tanker is managed by Starwind Management in Greece. In 2012 another vessel of the same company, Takoradi was held in connection with illegal bunkering.

MT Kharisma 9

The Product Tanker, MT Joaquim was hijacked on 8 August 2015 approximately 13.4nm ENE of Pulau Rupat, Indonesia. The vessel was located on 9 August 2015. 2 900 tonnes of light crude oil (LCO) were stolen. One of the crew of the MT Joaquim noticed the name of the pirate vessel and identified the MT Kharisma 9.

11 Copyright © 2016 L. Joubert In December 2015 the Captain, First Officer and another crew member of the MT Kharisma 9 were arrested. The owner of the Kharisma 9, Eva Nobensia, was implicated by the suspects arrested as the kingpin behind the hijacking. They also indicated that 1100MT LCO were syphoned to MT Patria Jaya 1 and 1 100 MT to MT Hartadika. MT Sun Sea provided logistical support to MT Kharisma 9.

The Kharisma 9 has been renamed twice to MT Antela and MT Union Star shortly after the hijacking. On 15 December 2015 the MT Kharsma 9 was found by the Western Fleet Quick Response Team (WFQR), anchored off Bojonegara, Banten, Indonesia. The ship was named MT Union Star at this time. The ship was also repainted gray with a black base color. The engine was turned off and no one was onboard. 700 MT LCO were still onboard. Lifejackets onboard were marked with the name Antela. Documents found onboard were marked Kharisma 9.

On 11 February 2016 pirates hijacked the tanker, MT Maximus 76 NM South off Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The vessel was carrying 4 700 tons of diesel fuel. The vessel was tracked to Sao Tome and Principe. The Sao Tome Government contacted the Nigerian government for assistance. After an eight hour standoff between the Nigerian Navy and the pirates, the Navy decided to board the vessel. One pirate was killed during the assault and six were captured.

The pirate tanker MT Dejikun was used in the hijacking. The investigation into the hijacking revealed an incoming telephone call to MT Maximus on 17 February 2016 at 22:00LT while the vessel was still under pirate control. The phone number was traced to Charles Ekpemefumor. The pirates arrested also implicated Ekpemefumor as the mastermind behind the hijacking. He leased the pirate ship, MT Dejikun from Mustapha (Musty) Kenny Gani through a third party Steve Paul. Gani is the chairman of KG’s Marine LTD in Lagos. Both Gani and Ekpemefumor were arrested by authorities in June 2016.

While some sources list the Dejikun’s flag status as unknown, others list it as a Cambodia flagged vessel. The last source list the Dejikun as registered by MD Shipping Co in Odessa, Ukraine. The company is the representatives of the Cambodia Maritime Registry in the Ukraine. The company was listed in 2014 by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF / ITF) and the Russian Seamen's Union (SUR) for violating labour and living conditions of seafarers.

Half our planet’s surface falls under no government’s jurisdiction, all in the maritime domain. Poorly governed countries with insufficient maritime security funding, poor domain awareness, geography and corruption all contribute to a shadowy world where phantom ships exists.

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Article

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