Paper On Piracy

15 merchants vessels highjacked by pirates;
138 merchant vessels boarded by pirates;
11 merchant vessels fired upon by pirates
35 merchant crew members badly injured;
Over 400 merchant crew members taken hostage by

pirates; and
Over 75 merchant crew members murdered in cold

blood.
Piracy flourished in the 1500 and
1600’s in the waters off the Gulf of
Mexico and the Caribbean.
The first application of
international law actually involved
anti-pirate legislation. This is due
to the fact that most pirate acts
were committed outside the
borders of any country.
The International Maritime Bureau
(IMB) of the International Chamber
of Commerce in London, seeks to
record and measure the frequency and
severity of Pirate attacks
1998 202 Pirate incidents
The Modern Rise
Four factors have actually begun to

encourage modern piracy.
1. Modern Technology
Technical advances have reduced
crew size.
Technological advances have also

improved the pirate’s weapons
of speed, shock, surprise, fire
power and rapid escape.
2. Reduced Naval Presence
The trend is for smaller world
Navies. Dramatically decreased
international ocean patrols have
left merchant vessels virtually
unprotected on the sea frontier.
3. Disrupted Governmental
Administration
The financial inability of some
governments to afford effective Naval
assets are factors which have simply
encouraged pirate attacks.
This situation becomes even more
confused and dangerous when you
consider the number of countries which
have extended their territorial waters
out to 200 nautical miles, but failed to
plan for a corresponding maritime
patrol ability.
4. Lack of Regulation
In some quarters there has been
erosion of the view that piracy is a
serious international crime, or even
a crime of which anyone should
take notice. There is no political
will to smash high seas piracy.
So what are the areas where Piracy
takes place?
Piracy is often referred to as a

"movable crime" because new hot
spots tend to pop up all the time
while other locations return to
relative peace.
1,2. Both sides of the Malacca Straits.
3. Chittagong (Bangladesh).
4. India
5. Brazil
6. West Africa
7.East Africa (Yemen and Somalia.)
8. The Phillipines
9. The Arabian Peninsula
10. The Coasts of Venezuela &
Columbia.
11. The Caribbean
TYPES OF PIRATES
There are generally three categories

of pirates.
The first type of pirate is your

standard issue low-life criminal.
The second pirate type is a more
sophisticated organized crime groups
or gangs
The third and perhaps the most
troubling type is the "Semi-
Official Military Pirate,"
examples of which have been seen
in Somalia, Indonesia &
China.
TYPES OF PIRATE ATTACKS
There are essentially three types of pirate

attacks.
The most common type of attack is
where pirates board the merchant vessel,
rob the crew and escape. These raids on
merchant crews are understood to yield
an average US$20,000 haul.
The second type of attack pirates rob the
crew and steal the cargo. While simple
robbery crimes normally employ pirate
crews of 6 to 7 men, gangs of 70 or more
may fall upon a merchant vessel when
it's cargo that they are after.
THE PHANTOM SHIP
The third type of pirate attack is used

to create a "Phantom Ship." This is
the most sophisticated version of the
crime, where pirates take literally
everything including the merchant
vessel itself
.
Pirates can target and capture a ship, but
another choice is to simply buy one from
another pirate.
A few years ago, one could visit a hotel
overlooking Manila Bay and ask to see a
pirate known as "Capt. Changco." For a
mere US$ 350,000.00 he would have a ship
seized for you and its crew thrown
overboard on the high seas.
Fortunately, the good captain has been
caught and executed.
The next steps are to repaint her, rename
her and reflag her- it being very
convenient to obtain temporary
registration through a registration office at
your local Consulate.
We then need to find a shipper who is

short on time to move his cargo. An
excellent victim candidate is anyone with a
letter of credit about to expire
The pirate gang or its bogus shipping
agent offers up the renamed "Phantom
Ship" as carrier, loads the cargo, issues
an authentic looking bill of lading to the
proper destination port -- and sails off
into the sunset.
This "Phantom Ship" practice is
estimated to cost shippers at least
US$200 million dollars a year.
"Pre-Planned Stowaway Trick."
The pirates perfected the technique of planting
a phoney crew member aboard the victim
vessel who would then telephone to relay his
ship's position and route. The rendezvous
would be deadly.
"Little Mermaid”
Pirates using prostitutes for luring crews into
“submitting” so that their vessel might be more
easily attacked and taken.
Awaiting Enviromental Disaster
On 16 January 1999 the VLCC M/T
Chaumont was attacked by pirates while
underway in Philip Channel which is the
narrowest part of the Strait of Malacca.
The fully loaded vessel steamed at full
speed for over 70 minutes with no one on
the bridge in command.
An environmental disaster of epic
proportions was avoided, but no one is
quite sure how.
If M/T Chaumont had been a liquified
natural gas carrier, an unimaginable
event could become plausible -- the equal
of a hundred thousand tons of TNT
exploding upon the right collision
conditions. Worse, imagine if a foreign
power were to manipulate pirates to
undertake such a mission by design, such
as when the vessel is entering a port.
Modern definition of Piracy
"Piracy is the act of boarding

any vessel with an intent to
commit theft or any other crime,
and with an intent or capacity to
use force in furtherance of that
act."
Fighting off the Pirates!
1. Traditional methods
24 hour radio watches
Pre-charged fire hoses at the ready;
Anti-pirate watches
Acc. doors that will not open from the
outside.
2. Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD
3. The Inventus UAV (Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle)
• Secure ship : A non-lethal
electrifying fence surrounding the
whole ship, specially adapted for
maritime use. A 9000Volt pulse
which gives a nonlethal shock as
well as sets off a loud siren alarm,
and puts on lights
The ShipLoc System
One particularly effective system is known
as "Shiploc" which uses a hidden personal
computer aboard ship to monitor position
by satellite 24 hours a day. Should anyone
breach a fiber optic network stretched
around the vessels perimeter, an automatic
signal is provided both to the ship's crew
and authorities ashore.
THE SAGA OF THE ALONDRA
RAINBOW
October,1999 The Panama Flag vessel
ALONDRA RAINBOW reported missing by
Japanese owners with cargo of Aluminium
Ingots worth 14 million dollars.
Renamed MEGA RAMA
Apprehended by CGS TARABAI and INS
PRAHAR off Cochin
February 2003 : Sessions court sentences
April 2005 : High court acquits
4. Lack of Regulation
In some quarters there has been
erosion of the view that piracy is a
serious international crime, or even a
crime of which anyone should take
notice. There is no political will to
smash high seas piracy.
Thank you for a patient
hearing!

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15 merchants vessels highjacked by pirates;

138 merchant vessels boarded by pirates;

11 merchant vessels fired upon by pirates

35 merchant crew members badly injured;

Over 400 merchant crew members taken hostage by

Over 75 merchant crew members murdered in cold

Four factors have actually begun to

Technological advances have also

Piracy is often referred to as a

There are generally three categories

The first type of pirate is your

There are essentially three types of pirate

The third type of pirate attack is used

We then need to find a shipper who is

"Piracy is the act of boarding

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