Hunt of the Sea Wolves

Even though pirate attacks have diminished this past month and the U.S. media seems totally unaware of the threat, the international press is still reporting that piracy remains a concern at least for those who must sail through the dangerous waters of Somalia and Nigeria.

From the International Herald Tribune:

 Pirate attacks have increased sharply worldwide in the past three months — especially in Somalia and Nigeria — an international maritime watchdog agency said.

There were 85 attacks on ships in the April-June quarter, up from 66 in the same period a year earlier and compared to only 41 in the previous quarter, which ended in March, the International Maritime Bureau said in a report.

Although the number of 126 attacks in the first half of 2007 remained close to 127 in the same period last year, the spike in the second quarter is worrying, the London-based IMB said through its piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Despite a sustained decrease in acts of piracy over the past three years, the statistics for the second quarter of this year suggest that we may be seeing a reversal of this trend,” IMB director Pottengal Mukundan warned in a statement.

“Somalia and Nigeria remain very dangerous, high-risk areas with large numbers of violent kidnappings and hostage takings.”

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/12/asia/AS-GEN-Pirate-Attacks.php

From ABC Radio Australia:

The Sri Lankan naval says it has destroyed two suspected Tamil Tiger boats off the island’s northwestern coast, killing at least six rebels.

Officials say naval patrol craft intercepted the boats, believed to belong to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, off the coast of Mannar.

There were no immediate reports of naval casualties. The navy has stepped up patrols in the shallow waters off Mannar following reports of rebel gun-running in the area.

It’s interesting that only a month or so ago the Philippine government was saying the Abu Sayyaf was on its last legs. Now the government is mounting up a major offensive comprised of 5,000 to go after the al Qaeda linked killers and kidnappers.

   The military is particularly ticked off after the Abu Sayyaf ambushed and beheaded a number of Filipino marines.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=79229

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday ordered continued operations in south provinces of Basilan and Sulu against Abu Sayyaf bandits.

 President Arroyo gave orders when she met with the military top brass and local government officials in Zamboanga City to discuss government action against the attackers of Marine troops in Basilan, according to Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr.

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6225801.html

From Marine Log:

The UN Security Council may request the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia to allow naval ships to pursue pirate vessels into Somali territorial waters.

In some past incidents, coalition warships have watched helplessly when hijacked vessels have reached Somali waters. 

A recent increase in the frequency of attacks by pirates has seen a dramatic reduction in the use of cargo vessels to move food assistance to Somalia from ports in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa.

http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMVII/2007jul00111.html

From Peoples’s Daily Online:

The Malacca Straits recorded zero incidence of pirate attacks on ships in the second quarter of 2007 compared with 3 attacks in the same time of last year, local media reported on July 23.

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6216449.html

 A series of explosions at a facility that sells liquefied natural gas sent flaming debris raining onto highways and buildings near downtown. At least two people were injured, hospital officials said.Authorities evacuated a half-mile area surrounding the Southwest Industrial Gases, Inc. facility, and shut down parts of two of the area’s busiest highways, Interstates 30 and 35.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6804472,00.html

A cargo ship with 21 UAE-based sailors on board has been missing for more than three weeks leading to fears for the crew’s safety. Worried relatives of the men on board the MV Infinity Marine 1 are now bombarding the boat’s owners in a desperate quest for information fearing the boat has sunk or been hijacked by pirates.

http://www.7days.ae/showstory.php?id=55301

From The Gazette:

Andrew Webb, who sketched out possible terrorist attacks on a liquefied natural gas tanker docked at the proposed Rabaska LNG port, believes the complacency of Rabaska’s promoters makes the project vulnerable to attack.

He recalled that engineers designed New York’s World Trade Centre to withstand an aircraft crashing into it, only to see the Twin Towers crumble to the ground almost six years ago after hijackers flew wide-bodied jets into both the structures.

Webb said his warning that terrorists could take over an LNG tanker at the Rabaska port should be taken seriously.

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=acbb12d5-ced7-49ad-93e1-21d3b13a07de&k=79079

People’s Daily Online: 

Somali pirates who hijacked a Danish cargo ship with five sailors on board are demanding 1.5 million U.S. dollars for the release of the vessel and the seamen, a Kenyan maritime official said on Sunday.

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6221490.html