A Panama-flagged oil tanker, BW Rhine, has been hijacked off the coast of Togo, with 21 crewmembers taken hostage.

According to its owners, the vessel was hijacked off Togo on April 28. BW Maritime of Singapore said the last contact the company had with the ship’s crew was on April 30. The vessel had moved 115 nautical miles in a southeasterly direction as of yesterday, according to Maritime Bulletin, and was some 85 nautical miles south of Lagos, Nigeria.

The 75 678 deadweight tons tanker was partly loaded with refined fuel and sailed to West Africa from Ventspils, Latvia, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Its depth in the water is 12.6 meters (41 feet) out of a maximum of 14.7 meters, the data show. The 21 crew include Indian, Filipino, Romanian and Chinese nationalities.

Potengal Mukundan, director of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), told AFP that warships and navies from neighbouring countries have been alerted to the hijacking and are searching for the ship.

At this stage it is not clear what the hijackers intend to do with the vessel. Pirates off West Africa generally hijack a ship for its cargo and release the vessel and its crew without ransom.

“Here we have criminal gangs whose main purpose is to steal multi-million cargo, which is gasoline, as it has a ready market. It is very easy to dispose of it. There has been an underground trade in the Gulf of Guinea for decades,” Mukundan told AFP.

The International Maritime Bureau late last month in its global piracy report for the first quarter of this year said that there had been 19 attacks off the Gulf of Guinea, West Africa, with two vessels hijacked. Some 42 crew have been taken hostage, two crew members killed and two kidnapped by pirates.

The IMB said global reported pirate attacks totalled 102 incidents in the first quarter, down from 142 in the same period last year. Somali pirates accounted for nearly half the attacks in the first quarter of this year.

West Africa also remained a worsening piracy hotspot. Attacks in the Gulf of Guinea have increased in recent months as the area, spanning a dozen countries, is a growing source of oil, cocoa and metals being shipped to the world’s markets.

The IMB said attacks off Nigeria reached 10 in the first quarter the same number reported for the whole of 2011. A further attack in neighbouring Benin was also attributed to Nigerian gangs.

“Nigerian piracy is increasing in incidence and extending in range,” said Mukundan. “While the number of reported incidents in Nigeria is still less than Somalia, and hijacked vessels are under control of the pirates for days rather than months, the level of violence against crew is dangerously high.”

I’m working on the third run-through of my historical novel, “Pershing” based on the life story of General John J. Pershing, affectionately known as Black Jack to the troops.

This is in the vein of Jeff Shaara’s approach to writing about historical figures and times. I can only hope I do as well as he.

The book will include characters both familiar and not so much, from Pat Garrett, Gen. Nelson A. Miles, Teddy Roosevelt, George Patton to the unknown like the Apache Kid and the Moro warlord Amil.

Pershing was an international hero who led the Buffalo Soldiers in fighting the Apache in New Mexico, the charge up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War, against the fierce Moro rebels in the Philippines, and the raid into Mexico to kill or capture Pancho Villa.

He was only the second man in U.S. history to reach the rank of General of the Armies; the other man was George Washington.

The cover for the book is a depiction of the battle Pershing led against the Moros on Mount Bagsak for which he was nominated for the Medal of Honer - and he turned down.

I’ve reworked my thriller and modern-day pirate story, “Hunt of the Sea Wolves” that is again available on Amazon. This new version offers a preview of my next novel, “The Soldier’s General” based on the true story of General John J. Pershing. I hope to have it out by June if it’s self published. But I hope to find an agent and traditional publisher.

Somali pirates are threatening to kill South Korean and Indian sailors if those nations do not free pirates they have captured and intend to try in court. Both countries, which have used their navies to attack pirates, refuse to directly deal with kidnappers. A new video showing captured South Korean sailors is re-focusing attention on the hostages.

Pirates who seized a Singaporean-flagged vessel and its crew nearly a year ago say they will not release four South Koreans until their demands are met.

A video broadcast by the independent Somali Channel shows the ship’s master, chief engineer, chief mate and second mate being held at gunpoint on land. They explain that their captors demand millions of dollars in compensation for the families of pirates who were killed last year by South Korea’s navy.

Speaking on the video, one of those kidnapped, Lee Sang-ho, said there are other demands, as well.

Captured pirates to be tried in South Korean court

Lee said the pirates insist that he and his three colleagues will not be freed unless the government in Seoul releases five Somalis taken prisoner in the South Korean navy operation last year. Commandos attacked a hijacked South Korean-operated chemical tanker, killing eight pirates and capturing five. All 21 members of the freighter’s crew were rescued.

The captured pirates were brought to South Korea to stand trial for attempted murder and maritime robbery.

The four South Koreans in the video were taken hostage three months later - on April 30 last year - when their tanker was captured.

On November 30, 2011, the pirates released 13 Indonesians, five Chinese and three Burmese crew members from the tanker. They kept the South Koreans as bargaining chips.

At that time, the South Korean foreign ministry said the Singaporean operators of the tanker had paid an undisclosed ransom.

South Korean hostages shown in video

The foreign ministry on Monday said it was not aware of the hostage video until contacted by VOA. Ministry officials asked VOA not to re-broadcast it, or report on the status of the South Korean captives, saying it would “not be helpful for the ongoing negotiating process” with the pirates.

On the video, which the captives say was recorded on March 15, the South Koreans complain their health is not good, they are in pain, suffer from a lack of food and water, and that they are in danger.

The plight of the captives is similar to that of seven Indian sailors held since September 2010. A ransom was paid last April, and the vessel and some of the crew were released.

Last year, Somalia’s ambassador to India requested the return of more than 100 Somali pirates now in Indian jails.

India, South Korea and the United States are among the nations that have have used their navies to confront Somali pirates.

Money, revenge factor into pirates’ motivation

Intelligence and research analyst Tim Hart at Maritime and Underwater Security Consultants in London said that has changed the circumstances. Now the pirates have a new motivation: revenge.

“The ransom is still, obviously, very much at the top of their minds. However, they can focus an awful lot on the political aspect, especially when there has been more offensive actions launched previously,” said Hart.

And that in turn, Hart said, puts hostages in greater peril.

“This political turn, combined with the increased reports about more mistreatment of hostages, shows how that structured model is kind of breaking down and they are getting more and more desperate as their success level falls,” he said.

With armed guards aboard vulnerable ships, and more international military action, the number of successful hijackings has been cut in half in the past few years.

Christian Le Mière, a naval forces and maritime security research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said the recent decision to start attacking pirate bases on land is controversial.

“From a military operational perspective it’s absolutely feasible. From a legal perspective it’s questionable whether there are sovereignty issues at play here that won’t be accepted. But the E.U. [European Union] recently suggesting it would launch on-land operations denotes that there is broader international agreement that such operations might be acceptable to prevent piracy on the high seas,” said Le Mière.

The International Maritime Bureau says, globally, 439 attacks at sea were reported to it last year. Nearly two-thirds occurred off Somalia in the crossroads of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden or in the Gulf of Guinea, along Africa’s west coast.

EU Counter Piracy Naval Forces (EUNAVFOR) have tracked down and stopped a group of suspected pirates who were believed to have tried to attack a Hong-Kong flagged tanker approximately 400 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia.

EU Naval Force warship FS Aconit was called to investigate after the tanker came under attack on 26 March 2012. Aconit was directed onto the fleeing pirates by a Luxembourgish Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA), which have recently completed 3500 Flights Hours with EUNAVFOR.

The MPRA quickly located the suspects who were towing a small skiff behind a larger sea going whaler. TheMPRA provided imagery showing pirate paraphernalia.

In order to conceal the evidence of their piracy activities, it is believed that the suspected pirates had cut loose and sunk the smaller skiff, containing weapons, ladders and a certain amount of fuel.

Aconit’s helicopter intercepted and stopped the whaler, which had 10 suspected pirates onboard, by firing warning shots on 27 March 2012. A team from Aconit boarded the whaler and the suspects have been transferred on board the frigate. Two suspects received medical care by the Aconit’s medical service.

As no pirate paraphernalia was recovered the crew of the Whaler were sent back to the Somali coast with only enough water and fuel for a one-way journey.

The French Navy frigate Aconit’s intervention made it possible to hamper the action of a complete pirate action group, thus preventing them from committing new attacks in the area.

Piracy continued to plague both coasts of Africa in February.

Four fewer attacks were recorded off Somalia, although four vessels were hijacked following a spike in attacks off Oman’s southern coastline, according to GAC’s report for February. The most northerly attack to date was recorded at the northern approach to the Strait of Hormuz.

Attacks doubled off West Africa, where incidents increased in frequency, range and violence. Two crewmembers were killed and three were abducted.

At least 263 crewmembers are currently being held, with many facing detention periods of over 300 days, at a current average of 169 days. No vessels were released for ransom from Somalia in February. Average ransom amounts are approximately US$4.8 million. However, for the first time, Somalian pirates have demanded the release of prisoners awaiting trial in exchange for a vessel.

Risk of piracy remains high along Africa’s East Coast as pirates will be emboldened by latest hijackings, GAC said. Attempted attacks and suspicious approaches likely in all areas, with heightened risk in the northern Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden.

GAC also warned mariners to expect more frequent attacks off Nigeria and Benin, perhaps at distances greater than 120 nautical miles off the Nigerian coast.

The German warship FGS Berlin, on patrol with the European Union Naval Force off Somalia, has engineered the release of an Indian flagged dhow and crew, disrupting a Pirate Action Group and destroying two attack skiffs.

On February 28, FGS Berlin received a distress call from a merchant vessel reporting that they had successfully repelled a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden. FGS Berlin dispatched one of its helicopters to the position and quickly located a skiff and an Indian flagged and crewed dhow.

The crew of the helicopter established that the dhow had been pirated and the crew of 25 Indian nationals were held hostage. The suspected pirates threatened to kill crewmembers if Berlin took any action against the dhow.

The following day FGS Berlin destroyed the two unmanned skiffs towed by the dhow, without which pirates cannot mount any attack against merchant shipping, the EU Navfor said.

The pirates escaped to the Somali coast, leaving behind the dhow and its crew. Once a team from FGS Berlin investigated the situation on board the dhow, four crewmembers were given medical treatment. After food and water was delivered to the Indian crew, the dhow continued to her next port of call.

Meanwhile, last week the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that pirates attacked a ship at the northern end of the Strait of Hormuz, marking the nearest ever attack to the waterway. Armed security guards onboard the container vessel fired warning shots at three pirate boats, deterring the attack on February 25.

Cyrus Mody, an IMB manager, told Bloomberg that the attack “is a sign of concern if they are moving so deep into the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.”

As of January 31 there have been 37 pirate attacks around the world this year and two successful hijackings. Of these, Somali pirates were responsible for 13 incidents and both successful hijackings. They are holding ten ships and 159 hostages, according to IMB figures.

I’m waiting to see if Amazon’s KDP can help stop the piracy of the Kindle version of my novel “Hunt of the Sea Wolves.” A so-called free ebook site has made available thousands of downloads of my book, stealing money from me & Amazon.

If anyone has a book published on Kindle, this can happen.

So, I wait to see what KDP copyright office is going to tell me if anything can be done to stop the thefts. Meanwhile, my book continues to be downloaded. Today, to the tune of almost 9,000 downloads.

Pirates opened fire on a Dutch cargo ship a few miles from the Nigeria’s Port Harcourt, kidnapping the ship’s master and an engineer and stealing cash, a security source and anti-piracy group AKE said on Wednesday.

An AKE statement said the ship, a “Dutch-owned, Curacao-flagged refrigerated cargo vessel”, was attacked on Tuesday around 4.10 p.m. (1510 GMT), the latest in a string of pirate attacks in the oil-exporting Gulf of Guinea.

“Eight armed men boarded and opened fire towards the bridge, stole cash and crew’s possessions, and kidnapped the master and chief engineer before escaping. A third crew member was left unaccounted for,” it said.

“It is likely the two crew members abducted will be held for ransom onshore.”

Pirates off the coast of Nigeria tend to raid ships for cash and cargo rather than hijacking the crews for ransom like their counterparts off the coast of Somalia, but onshore kidnapping is a major business in Nigeria, especially in oil producing coastal areas like Port Harcourt.

A security source working for an oil company in Port Harcourt gave the same details, adding that there were 14 crew on board. One crew member was injured, he added.

“Vessels in the area are advised to maintain strict watch rotas and exercise vigilance at all times,” AKE said, adding that 13 attacks had been recorded off West Africa in 2012 so far, seven of which occurred off Nigeria.

Pirates shot dead the captain and the chief engineer on a cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria on Feb. 13. (Reporting by Austin Ekeinde in Port Harcourt; and Jonathan Saul in London.

Pirate attacks off Africa’s west coast in the Gulf of Guinea are increasing and becoming more violent, sophisticated and systematic, the U.N. political chief said Monday.

Undersecretary-General B. Lynn Pascoe told the U.N. Security Council that the International Maritime Organization received 45 reports of piracy incidents involving seven west and central African nations in 2010 — and 64 reports of attacks involving nine countries last year.

Read more at http://wapo.st/yD7K9Z