Somali Pirates Board Cargo Ship as Regional States Plan Security Effort
Reports are coming in of a new security incident off the coast of Somalia involving an unnamed cargo ship that was boarded. It is the latest in a series of ongoing incidents that have led the member states of the Djibouti Code of Conduct sponsored by the International Maritime Organization to initiate a new security task force.
The security officer of the unnamed cargo ship reported the company’s vessel had been boarded on Monday, August 17, approximately 4.5 nautical miles south of Maraya on the southern coast of Somalia. According to the information, at least eight pirates boarded the ship and took control. The crew is reported safe, and the EUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA is investigating the incident and monitoring the situation.
As the incident is inside the territorial waters of Somalia, the international groups monitor and coordinate with the local authorities.
The incident comes as four other ships continue to be held for approximately four months, despite multiple international efforts to free the crews through negotiations. Pakistan, which has 10 citizens held since April 21 among the 17 crew on the tanker Honour, highlights the dangers of attempting law enforcement operations to free the hostages because of the “very highly explosive cargo” aboard the vessel, according to a Foreign Office spokesperson.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar of Pakistan last week, according to newspaper reports, “ordered officials to intensify diplomatic engagement with Somali authorities, international organizations, and other partners to secure the sailors’ release.” Egypt has issued similar instructions to its diplomats, but reports cite infighting among the pirate groups, which are complicating any negotiations.
The Palau-flagged MT Honour 25 is one of four vessels held, with the spokesperson for the Djibouti Code of Conduct initiative reporting last week that the seafarers aboard the Honour, Sward, Eureka and Asna continued their captivity. The organization repeated calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all seafarers currently being held hostage.
The organization was adopted in 2009 to combat piracy and armed robbery against ships, and since 2017 has expanded its scope to address a wider range of illicit activities, including illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, arms and drug trafficking, illegal trade in wildlife, crude oil theft, human trafficking and smuggling, and illegal dumping of toxic waste. To date, 19 states have endorsed the amendment (Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, France, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, the Republic of South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Yemen) and a total of 22 states are participating.
The organization highlights that the underlying conditions that enable piracy in the region have not been fully eliminated despite the progress in reducing incidents. After the resurgence of activity, the group in July began discussing new initiatives and has now agreed to launch a Combined Task Force, which it says can coordinate maritime operations in support of the existing international efforts.
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They pointed to the success of a similar operation for the Gulf of Guinea region and agreed to adopt a similar regional approach. The precise composition of the Task Force, including the types and number of maritime assets that could be contributed by participating states, has not yet been determined, but will be discussed at a workshop to be held in Kenya between September 7 and 9. They will consider the proposed task force's geographical scope, operational requirements, composition, responsibilities, and resource implications, as well as its relationship with existing regional and international maritime security mechanisms.
The international patrols of the region are continuing. Vessels operating in the area are being advised to maintain heightened vigilance, particularly within 150 nautical miles off the Somali coast between Mogadishu and Hafun.
