• October 22 – The couple, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, set off from the Seychelles in their 38ft yacht, Lynn Rival, heading towards Tanzania.
• October 23 – Their last message is posted on their online travel blog. It reads: “Please ring Sarah” – thought to be a reference to Mrs Chandler’s sister.
• October 27 – News of the couple’s disappearance breaks as Combined Task Force 151, an international naval response set up to combat Somali pirate attacks, and NATO and European Union counter-piracy teams join the search.
…A news agency says it has been contacted by a pirate named Hassan, who claimed he had taken the couple captive and ransom demands would follow.
…The European Union Naval Force Somalia (EU Navfor) says it has located a yacht seen towing a skiff – a small boat used by pirates – about 200 miles east of the Somali port of Harardhere.
• October 28 – The Chandlers’ relatives meet Somali Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke in London. He says his government will do everything it can to “see a peaceful solution”.
• October 29 – EU Navfor confirms that the yacht it was monitoring is the Lynn Rival. The Ministry of Defence says the vessel was empty and the Chandlers’ whereabouts are unknown.
…Somali sources say the couple are being held captive after arriving at the pirate stronghold Harardhere.
…Paul Chandler tells ITV News they were kidnapped by armed pirates as they slept aboard the yacht. He says: “I was asleep and men with guns came aboard.” He is clearly not free to speak but says the pair are being “treated well”.
• October 30 – The pirates say they will move the couple back to sea after letting them rest for a night on land.
…Rachel Chandler tells her brother, Stephen Collett, in a phone call: “Please do not worry about us. We are managing.” During the conversation Mr Collett makes a direct appeal to the pirates, saying: “My sister and her husband are blameless tourists, and if you release them it would show your compassionate nature and it would be positive to everyone. Thank you.”
….The BBC receives a phone call demanding a ransom of “seven million dollars”.
• November 14 – It emerges that the crew of a Royal Navy vessel was forced to watch the Chandlers being kidnapped by pirates but military officials insist that the Royal Fleet Auxiliary replenishment tanker Wave Knight, carrying 75 merchant seamen and 25 Royal Navy sailors, could not have acted without endangering the lives of the couple.
• November 20 – The Chandlers appear on Channel 4 News to say their captors are “losing patience” and they could be killed within a week.
• November 27 – First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, the head of the Royal Navy, angrily hits back at criticism of his sailors’ attempts to rescue the Chandlers, saying his team did “exactly the right thing”.
2010
• January 21 – In an interview with ITV News, Mr Chandler says he and his wife are being held at separate locations.
• January 22 – A Special Boat Service plan to rescue the couple is aborted after technical problems and delays in decision-taking in Whitehall, the BBC reports.
• January 23 – Foreign Secretary David Miliband insists the Government will not pay any ransom.
• February 1 – The Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre said it could negotiate the pair’s release. Chairman Nick Davis says: “The door is open for them to be released. Somebody needs to pick up the gauntlet and run with it.”
• March 1 – Mrs Chandler, appearing on Somali television, says she is “very tormented and very, very lonely and worried”.
• March 5 – Somali deputy parliamentary speaker Mohamed Omar Dalha says he is hopeful the couple will be freed within two weeks.
• May 27 – Via an interview with a Somali journalist, the Chandlers appeal to the new government for help.
• November 14 – Reports emerge that the couple have been released in Somalia and are heading to the British Embassy in Nairobi.
It is understood that a large sum of money was paid to the pirates in two installments. Reports have speculated that this figure is as high as $1 million US.
SHIPTALK: A GLOSSARY OF SHIPPING AND MARITIME TERMS
CLERKS: When cargo is unloaded from a ship, a clerk checks the actual count of the goods (number of boxes, drums, bundles, pipes, etc.) versus the amount listed on the ship’s manifest. He will note shortages, overages or damage. This is used to make claims if needed.
COMMON CARRIER: Trucking, railroad or barge lines that are licensed to transport goods or people nationwide are called common carriers.
DECKHAND – Seaman who works on the deck of a ship and remains in the wheelhouse attending to the orders of the duty officers during navigation and manoeuvring.
DECK LOG – Also called Captain’s Log. A full nautical record of a ship’s voyage, written up at the end of each watch by the deck officer on watch. The principal entries are: courses steered; distance run; compass variations, sea and weather conditions; ship’s position, principal headlands passed; names of lookouts, and any unusual position, principal headlands passed; names of lookouts, and any unusual happenings such as fire, collision, and the like.
DECK OFFICER – As distinguished from engineer officer, refers to all officers who assist the master in navigating the vessel when at sea, and supervise the handling of cargo when in port.
DECK HOUSE – Small superstructure on the top deck of a vessel, which contains the helm and other navigational instruments.
FENDER PILES: The wooden or plastic pilings on the outer edge of the wharf function like the fenders on a car. They are there to absorb the shock of a ship as it docks at the wharf and to protect the structural pilings that actually support the wharf. Fender piles are also called sacrifice piles since they are designed to be discarded after they are broken.
FLEETING: The area at which barges, towboats and tugs are berthed until needed. The operation of building or dismantling barge tows.
HARD AGROUND – A vessel which has gone aground and is incapable of refloating under her own power.
HATCH – An opening, generally rectangular, in a ship’s deck providing access into the compartment below.
HAWSER – Large strong rope or cable used for towing purposes and for securing or mooring ships.
LANDLORD PORT: At a landlord port, the port authority builds the wharves, which it then rents or leases to a terminal operator (usually a stevedoring company). The operator invests in cargo-handling equipment (forklifts, cranes, etc), hires longshore laborers to operate such lift machinery and negotiates contracts with ocean carriers (steamship services) to handle the unloading and loading of ship cargoes.
MASTER: The officer in charge of the ship. "Captain" is a courtesy title often given to a master.
MARITIME: (adjective) Located on or near the sea. Commerce or navigation by sea. The maritime industry includes people working for transportation (ship, rail, truck and towboat/barge) companies, freight forwarders and customs brokers; stevedoring companies; labour unions; chandlers; warehouses; ship building and repair firms; importers/exporters; pilot associations, etc.
Anxiety As More Seafarers, Ships Fall Into Pirates’ Hands in 2010
Despite an international naval effort to secure ships sailing across the world’s most important sea-lanes, the number of ships being hijacked and crew kidnapped appears to be on the rise.
The number of ships successfully taken so far this year this year already stands at 40 against 47 in the whole of last year, while the number of crew kidnapped stands at 790 and is expected to exceed last year’s number of 867. Some have been rescued, leaving the number still captive at just over 435.
Somalian gangsters were responsible for 44 per cent of all 289 piracy incidents on the world’s seas in the first nine months of 2010, according to figures from the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
Pirates have responded to the international naval operation by heading east and south into seas not patrolled by the anti-piracy force and are using oceangoing fishing vessels to carry out attacks further from their own coast.
An attack was reported in October 350 nautical miles west of the Indian port of Mangalore. In July, a chemical tanker was hijacked in the southern Red Sea in the first recorded attack in the area.
Each hijacked ship and its crew will bring the pirates holding it a ransom of anywhere between £1.5 and £3 million pounds. The 435 sailors now in Somalia are those for whom deals have not yet been negotiated, or work for owners who either cannot or will not pay the ransom.
Chatham House, the foreign affairs think tank based in London, estimates that piracy is now a £100 million dollar industry in Somalia.
The US, Britain, Europe, China, India and several other countries started joint naval operations in 2008, in a bid protect the 25,000 ships which transit through the Indian Ocean sea-lanes each year, carrying much of the world’s trade and energy supplies.
The naval mission has had some successes. Last month, German and British naval forces rescued the Beluga Fortune and its 16 crew. The Danish navy’s Esberne Snare also destroyed a pirate mother-ship.
But, despite a decline in the number of failed attacks since the mission began, the number of successful hijackings has held steady.
In November 2008, Somali pirates hijacked the Saudi oil tanker Sirius Star, carrying 2m barrels of crude oil worth £68m, in the Indian Ocean. The supertanker and its 25-strong crew were released after a ransom of £2m was reportedly paid on behalf of the ship’s owners in January last year.
Somali pirates seized a yacht being sailed by French couple, Chloé and Florent Lemaçon, in April 2009. When negotiations broke down, the French stormed the boat and the pirates opened fire. Florent Lemaçon was killed during the operation, as were two of the five pirates.
The same month, pirates attacked the container ship Maersk Alabama, taking the captain, Richard Phillips, hostage and holding him in a lifeboat at gunpoint. After five days, Mr Phillips was freed by the US navy, who killed three pirates in a night attack. The ship was targeted for second time last November, but private guards on board repelled the attack with gunfire.
WEEKLY PIRACY REPORT
15.11.2010:
0805 UTC: Posn: 14:03N – 049:08E, Gulf of Aden.
A pirate skiff was observed two nautical miles abeam of a chemical tanker underway. The skiff increased speed to 22 knots and approached the chemical tanker. At a distance of around five cables the onboard armed security team fired warning shots. The skiff reciprocated by firing two shots. The onboard team returned fire the skiff aborted and moved away.
16.11.2010:
0315 LT: Posn: 07:08.5S – 112:39.5E, Berth no.5, Gresik port Surabaya, Indonesia.
Two robbers armed with knives boarded a bulk carrier at berth while the other two robbers wait on a boat. Duty crew sighted the robbers on the forecastle stealing ships property and raised the alarm. The robbers escaped with stolen stores.
16.11.2010:
0205 LT: Posn: 01:01.7N – 106:40.0E, west of Kepulauan Tambelan, Indonesia.
Eight pirates armed with long knives boarded a bulk carrier underway. Pirates stole ships cash, crew personal properties and escaped.
16.11.2010:
0245 UTC: Posn: 05:09N – 066:42E, Around 370nm west of Maldives islands, Indian Ocean, (Off Somalia).
Armed pirates in a skiff launched by a mother vessel, chased and fired upon a tanker underway. Tanker took evasive manoeuvres and managed to evade the attack. No injuries to crew and no damages to the tanker.
16.11.2010:
0637 UTC: Posn: 04:01.7S – 039:57.5E. 10 nm NE of Mombasa pilot station, Kenya, (Off Somalia).
Six pirates wearing masks, armed with guns and RPG in a skiff fired upon a drifting bulk carrier with intent to hijack. Ship increased speed and took evasive manoeuvres. The pirates aborted the attempted boarding due to the barbed wire and electrical fencing around the ship. No injuries to crew. Port control informed.
BIMCO Raises Alarm Over ‘Liquefiable’ Cargo
The BIMCO Secretariat has received information that solid bulk cargoes described as either “crude iron ore” or just “ iron ore” and declared as “Group C” cargoes are being offered for loading at the Indonesian port of Sampit.
Group C cargoes under the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC ) Code are cargoes that would neither liquefy nor possess chemical hazards .
However, when samples of these cargoes were tested at a laboratory in the United Kingdom, it was found that the cargoes were in fact “Group A” cargoes ( i.e., a cargo which may liquefy if shipped at a moisture content in excess of its Transportable Moisture Limit (TML)). For the samples in question, the moisture content exceeded both the TML and the Flow Moisture Point (FMP) and the cargoes could not be accepted for carriage in accordance with the IMSBC Code. Although presented for shipment from the same port, the cargoes differed in particle size and distribution, indicating that they originated from different sources and/or were produced in different manner.
In addition to the misdeclaration of the cargo, no information was provided by the shippers regarding the FMP and TML of the cargo. It has also been reported that no suitable testing laboratory facilities are available in the area capable of determining the FMP and TML.
The Secretariat has been further informed of recent industry reports of similarly misdeclared cargoes of iron ore fines being offered for loading at other Indonesian ports including Padang and Lhoong in Sumatra and Sebuku Island off Kalimantan.
Based on the laboratory findings, cargoes from Indonesia described as “crude iron ore” or “iron ore” should be regarded as being iron ore fines and should be treated as if they are Group A cargoes and carried in accordance with IMSBC Code requirements for such cargoes. A certificate of declaration on the moisture content and TML should be provided by the shipper prior to loading. Having said that, members are advised to exercise great caution when contemplating the carriage of these Indonesian cargoes and if in doubt, to contact their P& I club for advice and detailed guidance.
How To Survive Piracy Attack: By EU
Piracy has become so common off the coast of Somalia that the European Union has produced a survival guide to help crews cope with an attack.
The two-page document, which echoes the advice contained in the Shiptalk “Surviving A Piracy Attack” guide, has been developed by EU naval forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden. It outlines how to deal with the experience of being held hostage and stresses the importance of talking about what happened and accepting medical and psychological help.
The EU warns that piracy in the Somali region is different from that in other areas where the motive is robbery because the perpetrators’ main aim is to capture a ship and its crew for ransom, which will result in a protracted period of captivity. However it adds that since Somali pirates consider their activities to be a business they are reluctant to harm their captives. “To date the level of violence against ships’ crews is relatively low when compared to other regions around Africa,” the document says.
Some of the advice sounds prosaic: “Be patient – be aware that the ransom payment process is very stressful for the pirates and they may be more agitated than normal,” and “Remain calm: if your ship is pirated, a calm, co-operative approach to the pirates will assist in reducing the level of violence.”
While in captivity, the EU suggests that captives reassure the pirates that they will “not be a cause of concern”, while trying to negotiate the best possible living conditions and maintaining “a positive physical and mental exercise routine to help pass the time productively”.
Pirates in the region may be taking a local drug known as khat, the document says, which may make them unstable. Captives should avoid confrontation with pirates in these circumstances and resist the temptation to take drugs themselves.
After their release, survivors are advised to monitor their moods and behaviour. “Remember you have been through a difficult and stressful experience. You will need to ensure you deal with the emotional, physical and psychological effects of your experience,” the document says. It adds: “Be open about your experience, accept whatever assistance is available.”
The EU’s advice is displayed on the website of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, which has an ongoing campaign and petition against piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Its own advice is for vessels with a speed below 18 knots to stay out of the region because they are unlikely to be able to outrun pirates. Larger ships sailing through the area are advised to use measures such as CCTV, alarms, razor wire and water sprays to detect and deter pirates.
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