• Collect $9.5m Largest-Ever Ransom
Somali pirates have said that they had received a record ransom of $9.5 million for the release of MT Samho Dream, a South Korean oil supertanker they hijacked in the Indian Ocean in early April this year.
The 319,000-dwt Samho Dream was en route to the United States from Iraq when it was hijacked 970 miles east of Somalia. The Marshall Islands-registered ship is South Korean-owned, had a crew of five South Koreans and 19 Filipinos and carried 2 million barrels of crude oil. On April 21, Somali pirates had threatened to blow up the supertanker unless a $20 million ransom was paid.
Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, confirmed that the supertanker was free, and that a Singapore-registered ship with 19 Chinese sailors onboard hijacked in June in the Gulf of Aden had also been released.
The Samho Dream, which can also carry more than 2 million barrels of crude oil, it actually had as much as $170 million worth of crude oil.
Before last week’s release of Samho Dream, the largest ever ransom that was paid was in respect of a Greek-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil; the Maran Centaurus, which was seized on Nov. 29, 2009 and released in January 2010 after a ransom of between US$5.5-million and $7-millionwas paid.
Somalia has lacked an effective central government for almost two decades and is awash with weapons. The mayhem on land has allowed piracy to boom in the strategic waterways off its shores linking Europe to Asia and Africa.
The hijacked vessels are taken to the Somali coast and held until money is paid, although negotiations can take months.
“I can confirm Samho Dream is now free, but still in Somali waters,” said Mwangura, who is based in the Kenyan Indian Ocean port of Mombasa. “It is a large ship and it’s unlikely that it can dock in Mombasa, maybe it will dock somewhere along South Africa’s coast or elsewhere to replenish its supplies.”
He told Reuters the ransom paid for Samho Dream would be the highest paid out to the pirates since they started hijacking vessels in the past several years.
“They initially demanded $20 million. What I can confirm is that negotiators tell me they agreed to make the drop with an amount in excess of $9 million. This would be the highest sum paid out to pirates so far.”
It was not immediately clear how much ransom had been paid for the Singapore-registered Golden Blessing. The ship was seized on its way from Saudi Arabia to India.
Mwangura said the actual ransoms would be confirmed later.
“This is the jackpot they have been looking for, it will encourage other youth to join in piracy or the supply of arms and technical ability to pirates,” he said.
Somali pirates are making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships, including tankers and dry bulkers, in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, despite the efforts of foreign navies to clamp down on such attacks.
“We received an amount of $9.5 million early in the morning, now we are dividing the ransom and will abandon the ship (soon),” a pirate who gave his name as Ali told Reuters earlier, referring to the ransom paid for Samho Dream.
“We have abandoned the ship and set it free and it is sailing away, the crew is safe,” he said.
Somali pirates are holding 28 vessels with more than 494 hostages, Mwangura said.
SHIP TALK: A GLOSSARY OF SHIPPING TERMS
MARINE SURVEYOR: Person who inspects a ship hull or its cargo for damage or quality.
MASTER: The officer in charge of the ship. "Captain" is a courtesy title often given to a master.
MEAN LOW WATER (MLW): Lowest average level water reaches on an outgoing tide.
MEAN HIGH WATER (MHW): Highest average level water reaches on an outgoing tide.
MOORING DOLPHIN: A cluster of pilings to which a boat or barge ties up.
STEVEDORES: Labor management companies that provide equipment and hire workers to transfer cargo between ships and docks. Stevedore companies may also serve as terminal operators. The laborers hired by the stevedoring firms are called stevedores or longshoremen.
TERMINAL OPERATOR: The company that operates cargo handling activities on a wharf. A terminal operator oversees unloading cargo from ship to dock, checking the quantity of cargoes versus the ship’s manifest (list of goods), transferring of the cargo into the shed, checking documents authorizing a trucker to pick up cargo, overseeing the loading/unloading of railroad cars, etc.
TOWBOAT: A snub-nosed boat with push knees used for pushing barges. A small towboat (called a push boat) may push one or two barges around the harbor. A large towboat is used to push from 5 to 40 barges in a tow is called a line boat. From the Port of New Orleans, line boats deliver cargo to Mid-America via the 14,500-mile waterway system flowing through the Crescent City. Same as Tug Boat
WAY BILL: The document used to identify the shipper and consignee, present the routing, describe the goods, present the applicable rate, show the weight of the shipment, and make other useful information notations.
CONSIGNEE – The person to whom cargo is consigned as stated on the bills of lading.
CONSIGNOR – The person named in the bill of lading as the one from whom the goods have been received for shipment.
DOUBLE BOTTOM – General term for all watertight spaces contained between the outside bottom plating, the tank top and the margin plate. The double bottoms are sub-divided into a number of separate tanks which may contain boiler feed water, drinking water, fuel oil, ballast, etc. It is now becoming common on all tankers.
FORCE MAJEURE – Clause limiting responsibilities of charterers, shippers and receiver of cargo
GANGWAY – The narrow portable platform used as a passage, by persons entering or leaving a vessel moored alongside a pier or quay.
JACKUP – A deck with legs that can be jacked up or down. During operations, the legs rest on the seabed. When the rig is moved, the legs are retracted, leaving the rig floating. A jack up has normally no propulsion machinery of its own.
JONES ACT – Contentious US Merchant Marine Act of 1920, Section 27, requiring that all U.S. domestic waterborne trade be carried by U.S.-flag, U.S.-built, and U.S.-manned vessels.
Australia Clamps Down On 3rd World Registered Ships
The Maritime Union of Australia wants more Federal Government support for safety checks to ensure ships using Australian ports meet high standards.
The union says so-called ‘flag of convenience’ ships that are registered in Third World countries with lax safety and environmental standards are often the ones involved in accidents and disasters.
The union’s national assistant secretary, Warren Smith, says that was the case with the Liberian-flagged grain carrier that hit and sank a tuna boat in Port Lincoln last month.
He says the union wants to see flag of convenience ships used less in Australia.
"I don’t think it’s possible at this stage to ban them and I think that there could be much more stringent controls placed on shipping by Government," he said.
"That means resourcing the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to have its inspectors ready to go down and inspect these vessels."
IMO Develops New Port and Ship Security Manual
The IMO has responded to the difficulties of making security work onboard ships, and has begun the process of developing a “Port and Ship Security Manual” for “Contracting Governments, Ship operators and other persons who have to implement” SOLAS Chapter XI-2 and the International Ship & Port Facility (ISPS) Code.
In details published on the IMO website it seems the Manual is intended to offer, “a consolidated source of guidance” for “security practitioners” in government organizations that oversee implementation of “the Maritime Security Measures” and those in government and industry organizations responsible for implementing those Measures.
At the moment only a Table of Contents has been posted on the IMO website, and while this offers an intriguing glimpse of the guidance on offer we can only guess at how deep the advice will go. Most topics only seem to have been allocated a couple of pages (at most), so unless this is a Taschen style coffee table tome, perhaps the advice will be fairly basic.
Still so long as its clear, concise and makes it easier to make security a reality then it sure sounds like a good idea. The IMO has been in the process of interviewing for a new Maritime Security Technical Officer, and it would perhaps seem we now know what the succesful applicants work load will be focusing on.
WEEKLY PIRACY REPORT
05.11.2010:
1457 UTC: Posn: 05:25.0S – 040:42.0E: around 50nm east of Pemba Island, Tanzania (Off Somalia).
Heavily armed pirates in a skiff chased and fired upon a product tanker underway. The tanker made evasive manoeuvres, contacted the coalition forces and manage to escape the attempt. The skiff was deployed by pirates from one a previously hijacked general cargo ship, which was being used as a mother ship.
05.11.2010:
1322 LT: Posn: 04:38N – 008:22.4E, 10nm south of parrot island, Calabar, Nigeria.
Twenty pirates armed with guns in two speed boats boarded a tug underway. All crew locked themselves into the citadel which had CCTV. Pirates damaged and stole ship’s properties. After pirates left, the crew regained control of the vessel.
06.11.2010:
1953 LT: Posn: 01:01N – 106:41E, around 40nm west of Kepulauan Tambelan, Indonesia.
Six pirates armed with long knives boarded a bulk carrier underway. Pirates entered the bridge and tied the hands of six watch keepers. Pirates took the hostages to the masters cabin, stole ships cash, personal properties and escaped.
07.11.2010:
0140 LT: Posn: 01:42N – 101:27E, Dumai inner anchorage, Indonesia.
Two robbers boarded a product tanker at anchor. Duty watch keepers spotted the robbers and raised the alarm. The robbers jumped overboard and escaped. Port authorities informed.
Aftermath Of Oil Rig Abduction, Nigerian Gets Yet Another Maritime Security Alert
A maritime security alert has been issued as more details emerge on the recent abduction of foreign nationals from an oil rig off the Niger Delta.
Seven individuals including two US nationals, one Canadian, two French and two Indonesians were taken hostage on November 8. The rig, owned by London-based Afren and its local partner AMNI International was attacked by gunmen in speedboats who also injured two crewmembers with small arms fire.
Associated Press reports that an e-mail purportedly from the main militant group operating in the Niger Delta claimed responsibility for the attack, though questions remain about the group‘s ability to launch new attacks in a region vital to U.S. oil supplies.
Meanwhile, the United States government has said that it is working with the Nigerian government to secure the release of its nationals kidnapped after the armed attack.
The State Department Spokesperson, Mr. Philip Crowley, told newsmen in Washington DC that the US government was concerned about the safety of its nationals and hoped for their immediate release.
“We can confirm that of the seven individuals taken from a rig in the Niger Delta, two are US citizens.
“We are working with Nigerian authorities to secure their prompt release and there’s an investigation already underway,” he said.
Militants in Nigeria‘s oil-rich Niger Delta began a campaign of kidnapping and pipeline bombings in 2006, upset over pollution and the region‘s widespread poverty, despite 50 years of oil production. Violence in the region dropped after a government-sponsored amnesty programme last year offered militants the promise of job training and cash payouts. However, some have become disillusioned and others remain armed in the delta‘s winding creeks.
The region‘s main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, has said it would carry out new attacks in the region after claiming responsibility for an Oct. 1 car bombing in the nation‘s capital, Abuja, that killed at least 12 and injured dozens more.
An e-mail message purportedly from the militants early Tuesday morning claimed it carried out the attack. However, the message came from an e-mail account previously not associated with MEND and did not offer any details about the attack, such as how many people were taken hostage.
“All the abducted expatriates are well and in our safe custody,” the e-mail read.
Current ransom demands vary from between $10 000 to $2 million. Hostages are most likely held on land until ransom is paid. The average time in captivity is 120 to 180 days.
Japanese Company Develops Fuel –Efficient Bulk Carrier
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (MES) has developed a 66,000 dwt geared bulk carrier named ‘neo Supramax 66BC’ as the first type of ship developed to reduce CO2 emission by 30%.
This new design is an enlarged version of MES’s best selling 56,000 dwt type Handymax bulk carrier (over 150 orders received) and development of the ship’s design was preceded by many discussions with owners and the operators together with research into more than 600 ports all over the world. This 200m long ship will have a service speed of 14 knots, a 36m beam and a shallow draught of 12.9m, taking into account present trade patterns of the 56BCs and the widening of the Panama Canal, due to become operational in 2014. Hatch openings of the new ship design are optimized to meet the existing cargo handling equipment at various ports.
Although this ‘neo Supramax 66BC’ is larger than 56BC, it achieves a lower fuel consumption thanks to a newly developed energy-saving hull form. MES has two types of specification, one is the ‘premium model’ and the other is ‘standard model’. The premium model achieves the reduction of CO2 emission by about 21% on tonne-mile basis. Furthermore, CO2 emission will be reduced up to about 30% by applying optional software and hardware.
In addition, MES is proceeding with developments on measures to meet SOx and NOx emission controls and requirements for future installation of ballast water treatment systems.
…As EU Ports Reduces Port Dues For Low Emission Ships
Six European ports have launched an initiative aimed at cutting emissions from ships with some terminals offering discounts on port dues to cleaner vessels from January next year, officials involved said.
A progressive global cut in nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulphur oxide (SOx) and particulate matter entered into force in July this year, although reductions will be staggered until 2020. The emissions standards were adopted by United Nations’ shipping agency, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), in 2008.
The European ports of Le Havre, Bremen, Hamburg, Antwerp, Amsterdam and Rotterdam have developed an environmental ship index (ESI) which calculates a vessel’s green performance and aims to encourage owners to speed up emissions cuts on a voluntary basis, port officials said.
‘We look at the requirements of the IMO and that is our starting point,’ said Fer van der Laar, European managing director of the International Association of Ports and Harbors.
‘Anything above that we will reward,’ he told a news conference at the launch of the initiative in London.
A ship’s efficiency performance will be measured according to a baseline and then awarded points from zero to 100 according to how much more efficient the ship is compared with the IMO emission standards.
NOx cuts will depend on the performance of a ship’s main and auxiliary engines, while SOx cuts will be determined by the sulphur content of the fuels used.
‘Some ships really perform a lot better and they have cleaner engines and use cleaner fuel. So we want to reward them for doing that,’ said Tiedo Vellinga, director environmental monitoring with the Port of Rotterdam.
‘The more ports that participate in this, the more we can bring about a change in behaviour,’ he added.
Participating vessels will receive a certificate detailing their environmental performance.
From Jan 1 next year, the Dutch ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam as well as Moerdijk and Dordrecht will be the first to offer discounted port dues to ships performing better than the legal norm.
Mr Vellinga said it was up to the individual ports to decide what financial incentives to offer for the scheme.
‘Ports in Europe are not allowed to agree and make agreements on port dues and we think every port should put the emphasis on where they want to put it,’ he said.
Mr Vellinga said a few hundred vessels of all sizes were expected to sign up to the initiative when the ESI goes live on Jan 1 next year.
The ESI also aims to reward vessels for cutting greenhouse gas emissions through the monitoring of and reporting of CO2 emissions.
IMO discussions over cutting CO2 emissions from ships remain deadlocked and delegates failed to reach agreement on technical and operational proposals last month.
Mr Vellinga said while the ESI did not want to ‘run ahead of the IMO’, early adoption of CO2 cutting measures by vessels was being encouraged.
‘Then we can use our system to reward earlier compliance,’ he added.
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