Around the Year Change 2008 – 2009 in Somalia - Horn of Africa Piracy Annals. Part 5
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
January 05, 2009
This reveals only part of the criminal evildoings of the African Gestapo, the racist Abyssinian machine of the pseudo-´Ethiopian´ state, and their international partners. Ecoterra 96th Press Release Update sheds light on this development and several other related issues. I republish it integrally.
96th Update 2009-01-02 22h46:57 UTC
Ecoterra Intl. - Stay Calm & Solve it Peaceful & Fast !
Ecoterra International – Update & Media Release on the stand-off concerning the Ukrainian weapons-ship hi-jacked by Somali pirates and related news.
We also can make sea-piracy in Somalia an issue of the past - with empathy and strength and through coastal and marine development as well as protection!
New EA Seafarers Assistance Programme Emergency Helpline: +254-738-497979
East African Seafarers Assistance Programme - Media Officer: +254-733-385868
Day 100 - 2384 hours into the MV FAINA Crisis - Update Summary
Efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the now over three months long stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA is not yet solved finally, though intensive negotiations have continued.
Are the negotiators for the Ukrainian vessel reluctantly playing for time or are they waiting until the Russians would try to stage a "rescue" attempt for the remaining 2 Russian crew members on the vessel? Observers wonder why possible steps to solve the crisis are not taken faster. Meanwhile a naval task force from Russia's Pacific Fleet led by the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer has joined a Russian frigate on an anti-piracy mission off Somalia, a source in the fleet's headquarters said Friday. "A group of warships of the Pacific Fleet has entered the Arabian Sea to join the Baltic Fleet's escort ship Neustrashimy. They will be jointly accomplishing their mission according to plan", the source said. The Neustrashimy (Fearless) frigate has been operating off the Horn of Africa according to international maritime law and agreements since the end of October to protect commercial ships from pirate attacks. Apart from the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer, the naval task force also includes the rescue tug-boat Foty Krylov and the tankers Boris Butoma and Pechenga. The naval grouping is expected to be joined by the Russian Northern Fleet's Pyotr Veliky nuclear-powered missile cruiser, which is currently on its way to South Africa's Cape Town, following which it will sail to the Horn of Africa.
Ecoterra Intl. repeats its call to solve the FAINA and the SIRIUS STAR cases with first priority and peaceful in order to avert a human and environmental disasters at the Somali coast. Anybody encouraging hot-headed and concerning such difficult situations inexperienced and untrained gunmen or those, who believe they would be capable to try an attempt of a military solution, must be held fully responsible for the surely resulting disaster. The saga and secrecy surrounding MV FAINA must not - like in the MS ESTONIA case, which is the worst naval disaster in Europe since WWII - become the shroud for its 20 seafarers.
Clearing-house:
News from other abducted or newly attacked ships --------
As reported earlier, a Danish anti-piracy warship rushed to the rescue of a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden Friday. It was thereafter reported that it also rescued the five pirates attacking the ship after they were forced into the water, the Danish navy said. The Absalon warship received a call for help from a Netherlands Antilles-registered cargo ship that was being attacked by five pirates in a speedboat Friday morning. "Absalon immediately sent an armed helicopter to the area, and the helicopter fired warning shots at the pirates to get them to stop the attack", the navy said in a statement. "The Dutch trade ship fired emergency flares at the pirate ship, which caught fire. The pirates were seized by a Dutch warship after they were forced to abandon their speedboat when the flares set it on fire. The pirates jumped into the water and were rescued by Absalon crew members", it added. The Danish warship then sank the burning pirate vessel "to ensure that it does not pose a threat to civilian shipping activities in the area". The rescued pirates will remain onboard the Absalon until the navy decides what to do with them, the statement said. Denmark took command last September of the international Task Force 150, which is hunting down Somali pirates and arms smugglers in the northern Indian Ocean. The first time that Absalon detained Somali pirates, it was forced to release them on the Somali coast as Denmark determined it had no jurisdiction to bring the pirates to trial. The second arrest made by the Danish saw the alleged pirates being handed over to Yemen, which has human rights issues and the case faces also other legal complications. It is unclear what will happen to the pirates detained on Friday.
A Chinese cargo ship evaded two pirate boats chasing it in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, state media said, citing officials. Hong Kong-registered Chipolbrok Sun was chased by two pirate speedboats in the Gulf's northern region, Zhai Jiugang of the China Maritime Search and Rescue Centre was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. The captain assembled the crew at the stern to fight off the pirates and contacted the International Maritime Bureau and two warships in nearby waters for assistance, the report said. The Chipolbrok Sun, owned by the Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company, managed to shake off its assailants half an hour after first sighting them, the report said.
With the latest captures and releases now at least 17 foreign vessels with a total of at least 368 crew members (of which 92 are Filipinos) are held in Somali waters and are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) have been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases (incl. the presently held). For 2009 the account stands at 8 attacks with 1 sea-jacking. Mystery pirate mother-vessels Athena/Arena and Burum Ocean as well as not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the hi-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (also not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail. In the last four years, 22 missing ships have been traced back with different names, flags and superstructures.
Directly related news ------
The French navy, as reported earlier, nabbed several gunmen after it received a distress signal on Thursday from the Panamanian-registered cargo ship S. Venus that was being pursued by the bandits. French forces handed over eight pirates to Somali authorities on Friday. The French frigate that captured the pirates was patrolling as part of a European Union anti-piracy naval task force under British command set up last month. "The French navy handed over to us the eight Somali pirates they seized", Abdullahi Said Samatar, Puntland's security minister, told Reuters. "We urge all other countries to fight pirates and then hand them into Puntland". Even though the semi-autonomous region of Puntland has run its affairs for years with relative independence from the chaotic south of Somalia, it has became a base for pirates earning millions of dollars in ransoms. While some analysts say Puntland officials are complicit in the attacks, authorities in the poor, arid region deny any involvement and say 96 pirates are now in jail there. "There is a diplomatic agreement whereby the Somali authorities are committed to prosecuting and punishing (pirates)", Christophe Prazuck, a spokesman for the French armed forces, said. However, newly observed pirates in green uniforms are believed to be returning security guards of Abdullahi Yussuf, who has resigned from being Somalia's president on Monday. Diplomats say trying pirates abroad is seen as problematic by some nations as they may face the prospect of extraditing the guilty to Somalia, where piracy carries the death penalty. France has been particularly active in the fight against pirates and has arrested 29 in four operations since last April, 12 of whom are in France awaiting trial.
Ethiopia has begun its promised troop withdrawal from Somalia. Officials in Addis Ababa say it will be several days before all the troops have gone. Some observers fear that the Ethiopian withdrawal will create a power vacuum. Others see the Ethiopian pull-out as an opportunity for decisive government action after a long period of anarchy in Somalia.
Impacting news from the global village -----
In a speech aired on Arabic news channel Al-Jazzeera, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has warned Israel that it will face "a black destiny" and "the wrath of God" if it launches a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. The Syrian-based leader said the Palestinian people would fight Israeli troops from street to street and were confident of victory. On Friday, tens of thousands of Palestinians demonstrated against the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The protests followed a call by Hamas for a "day of wrath". Anti-Israeli demonstrations were also held elsewhere in the Arab world. Hamas' political leaders also called for vengeance for the death of senior Hamas official Nizar Rayan, who was killed in an attack on his house on Thursday. Israel says the house was being used to store rockets and other weapons. Israel permitted several hundred foreigners to leave the Gaza Strip on Friday, mostly Americans and East Europeans. Meanwhile the Israeli-Argentinian conductor Daniel Barenboim has used the venue of the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's concert to openly criticise Israel's air offensive against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Mr. Barenboim is leading the orchestra in one of the world's most famous classical events for the first time. The conductor founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999, comprising young Israeli and Palestinian musicians.
End of Ecoterra Press Release Update