Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas

1. Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas PRESENTED BY CAPT. SHYAM JAIRAM INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008

2. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas HISTORY OF PIRACY • Pirates have existed and terrorized shipping from the very earliest days of seafaring history • Piracy was a common thing during the Ancient Greek and the Ancient Roman age. • Oldest Evidence of Piracy dates back to 1350 (BC) at the time of Pharo Echnation • Famous Roman Leader Julius Caesar was also captured by pirates and later set free • Piracy began in the Mediterranean Sea and then in North Europe • Pirates of the Mediterranean were called “CORSAIRS” while those of North Europe were called “VIKINGS”

3. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas HISTORY OF PIRACY • Piracy was a symbol of Adventure, Danger and Fame • A path of life chosen by the brave hearted.. Since Life in the open sea was no place for the weak • It meant total Freedom

4. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas RISE AND FALL OF PIRACY The Ancient Fall Piracy in the 16th & 17th centuries fell into decline for four primary reasons: • Technology • Increased Naval Presence • Increased Government Administration • Uniform Regulation

5. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas The Modern Rise of Piracy Following World War II however, with these four self enforcing barriers to high seas, piracy began to erode. . The SAME four factors have now actually begun to encourage Piracy. • Technology • Naval Presence (Reduced) • Disrupted Government Administration • Lack of Regulation

6. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas HERE IS THE DEADLY MODERN REALITY FOR THE YEAR 2008 ALONE • 100 HIJACK ATTEMPTS • 73 VESSELS BOARDED • 142 VESSELS HIJACKED • 11 VESSELS FIRED AT • 350 CREW TAKEN HOSTAGE • 06 CREW KIDNAPPED • 07 CREW KILLED • 07 MISSING – PRESUMED DEAD

7. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas DEADLY MODERN REALITY • Gone from the pirate's shoulder is that comical parrot : to make room for a rocket propelled grenade launcher, an A.K.-47, an M-16 rifle or an Uzi machine gun. • Piracy and marine fraud is a US$16 billion industry on the rise. • If piracy were a stock, it would have traded well above Mircosoft on world exchanges for the Year 2007. • Who could have imagined that a 17th Century concept could out pace "techno-growth."

8. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas According to the International Maritime Bureau the definition is: • "Piracy is the act of boarding any vessel with an intent to commit theft or any other crime, and with an intent or capacity to use force in furtherance of that act.“ In order to distinguish it from simple Hijacking, a piracy crime requires that : • Two vessels are involved in the incident. • The second requirement is that the crime has been undertaken for private, not political purposes. These can be important considerations when determining coverage under a policy of marine cargo insurance.

9. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas WHERE IS PIRACY So where are the international danger areas? Piracy is often referred to as a "movable crime" because new hot spots tend to pop up all the time while other locations return to relative peace. Let us see the Piracy Prone Areas as per ICC Commercial Crime Services

10. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas LIVE MAP SHOWING PLACES OF PIRACY This map shows all the piracy and armed robbery incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre during 2008. Live Piracy Map

11. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 STRAIT OF MALACCA

12. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 GULF OF ADEN

13. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 GULF OF ADEN

14. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas TYPES OF PIRATES There are generally three categories of pirates: • Standard issue low-life criminal • Sophisticated organized crime group • Semi-Official Military Pirate (and perhaps the most troubling type )

15. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas TYPES OF PIRATE ATTACKS There are essentially three types of pirate attacks. • Pirates board the merchant vessel, rob the crew and escape • Pirates not only rob the crew but steal the cargo (more ambitious & sophisticated ) • Pirate attack is used to create a "Phantom Ship." This is the most sophisticated version of the crime, where pirates take literally everything including the merchant vessel itself

16. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas EFFECTS OF PIRACY ON TRADE Awaiting Environment Disaster What if a vessel carrying millions of gallons of oil or Liquefied Natural Gas is fired at / or collides, sunk or is run aground. A Fully loaded Tanker when used by the Pirates to attack, is like an environmental disaster of epic proportion, just waiting to happen…. A foreign Power could manipulate pirates to undertake a mission of destruction of a port and its city, when a gas tanker is entering the port.

17. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas EFFECTS OF PIRACY ON TRADE • Increase in Insurance Premiums • Additional Cost due to damage • Cost of Ransom • Increase in Transit Time

18. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas EFFECTS OF PIRACY IN THE GULF OF ADEN • 16,000 ships and around 30 percent of the world's oil transit each year. • The World Food Program in Jeopardy

19. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas THERE'S MORE PIRACY THAN YOU THINK • Problem of under-reporting. Only 10 % reported • Collusion of Authorities and penetrations by pirates

20. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas ANTI-PIRACY MEASURES Things on board that can be converted into a weapon to thwart a pirate attack This said, an effective brace of merchant weapons are : • the fire hose, • flare gun and • ship's horn. Used together, an alert crew can startle, blind and hose a pirate group off the deck before an attack takes hold. The key here is robbing pirates of their chief weapon; the element of surprise.

21. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas ANTI-PIRACY MEASURES Diligence and better practices are starting to make a difference: • Substitutes are being found for carrying cash in the ship's safe; • 24 hour radio watches; • Pre-charged fire hoses at the ready; • Anti-pirate watches have accounted for dozens of repelled attacks this year alone • Combined Patrolling by Naval crafts

22. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas ANTI-PIRACY MEASURES On the technology side • Purplefinder Guard Discreet Surveillance and Alarm System (DSAS). • Transas’ monitoring centre • Electric Fences • Acoustic Barriers / Motion Sensors • Ship Lock / Sea Jack alarm

23. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas United Nations Conventions / Resolutions • UNCLOS -1982 • SUA Convention 1988 • Resolution 1816 – June 2008 • Resolution 1838 – Oct. 2008 • Resolution 1846 – Dec 2008

24. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas Conclusion All this said – Whatever the gun, gimmick, or governance, it seems clear that increased public and Government awareness of modern high sea piracy is going to be required before this deadly trend is truly reversed. I want to leave you with a recent statement on this subject by Eric Ellen of the IMB: • "Even where the shoot 'em up TV News is concerned, any highjacked plane whatsoever is considered big news, but when a ship is taken forever, and its crew murdered; no one seems to care."

25. INDUSTRY MARITIME SEMINAR 2008 Thank you for your attention Piracy and Hijacking on High Seas