Pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden, shrugging off recent military and political developments aimed at curbing their activities, hijacked the MV Longchamp, a German tanker bound from Europe to the Far East with a cargo of LPG. The tanker was seized before dawn on Jan. 29 by seven pirates in a corridor patrolled by EU naval forces off southern Yemen, about 95 km from the port of al-Mukalla.
German firm Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, which manages the Bahamas-flagged vessel, reported that crew members—12 Filipinos and an Indonesian—were safe and that no ransom demands have yet been made.
This month there have been 15 attacks on vessels and three ships seized, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center. More than a dozen warships from the US, UK, France, Germany, and Iran now patrol Somali waters, and China and South Korea have ordered warships to the region to protect their vessels and crews.
In addition, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Jan. 28 ordered the Japanese navy to prepare ships to join the international fight, as the island nation depends on shipping for oil and other imports. Hamada said his dispatch order was an interim measure until Parliament passes a formal law outlining the ships’ activities in their mission.
The decline in successful attacks since foreign navies rushed to the busy sea lane had raised optimism that piracy was being curbed, but the outlaws are finding ways to evade the warships. They pay “partners” in other countries for inside information on ships’ routes, timetables, guards, and other information, and thus know which vessels are unguarded and when and where to strike them. Success has made them bolder.