Monday 7 November 2011

COUNTER-PIRACY UPDATES



STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA, THE GULF OF ADEN  AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra - 07. November 2011)

PROTECTING AND MONITORING LIFE, BIODIVERSITY AND THE ECOSYSTEMS OF SOMALIA AND ITS SEAS SINCE 1986 - ECOTERRA Intl. 
ECOTERRA Intl. and ECOP-marine serve concerning the counter-piracy issues as advocacy groups in their capacity as human rights, marine and maritime monitors as well as in co-operation with numerous other organizations, groups and individuals as information clearing-house. In difficult cases we have successfully served as mediators, helped hostages to get medical or humanitarian relief and released, assisted in negotiations and helped the families of victims. Our focus to make piracy an issue of the past is concentrating on holistic coastal development as key to uplift communities from abhorrent poverty and to secure their marine and coastal ecosystems against any harm. 

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STATUS-SUMMARY: 

Today, 07. November 2011 at 20h00 UTC, at least 28 larger plus 19 smaller foreign vessels plus one stranded barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least  482 hostages or captives - including a South-African yachting couple, two (or now only one) frail elderly ladies and four aid-workers - suffer to be released.
But even EU NAVFOR, who mostly only counts high-value, often British insured vessels, admitted now that many dozens of vessels were sea-jacked despite their multi-million Euro efforts to protect shipping.
Having come under pressure, EU NAVFOR's operation ATALANTA felt now compelled to publish their updated piracy facts for those vessels, which EU NAVFOR admits had not been protected from pirates and were abducted. EU NAVFOR also admitted in February 2011 for the first time that actually a larger number of vessels and crews is held hostage than those listed on their file. 
Since EU NAVFOR's inception at the end of 2008 the piracy off Somalia started in earnest and it has now completely escalated. Only knowledgeable analysts recognized the link. 
Please see the situation map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA (2011) and the CPU-ARCHIVE 
ECOTERRA members can also request the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor for background info. 

- see also HELD HOSTAGE BY PIRATES OFF SOMALIA

and don't forget that SOMALI PIRACY IS CUT-THROAT CAPITALISM

WHAT THE NAVIES OFF SOMALIA NEVER SEE: 
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/fighting_for_control_of_somali.html 

What Foreign Soldiers in Somalia and even their Officers Never Seem to Realize: 
The Scramble For Somalia 

PEACE KEEPERS OR BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS ? 
SG Ban Ki-Moon (UN) and President Ram Baran Yadav (Nepal) should resign and take the responsibility for 4,500 Haitians having been killed by a Cholera strain introduced by unchecked, so-called UN Peace-Keepers from Nepal into Haiti.

LATEST: 

STILL ALMOST 500 SEAFARERS ARE HELD HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA ! 
ECOTERRA Intl. has been the first group to clearly and publicly state that the piracy phenomenon off the Somali coasts can only become an issue of the past again, if tangible and sustainable, appropriate and holistic development for the coastal communities kicks in. Solutions to piracy have to tackle the root causes: Abhorrent poverty, environmental degradation, injustice, outside interference. While still billions are spend for the navies, for the general militarization or for mercenaries or conferences, still no real and financially substantial help is coming forward to pacify and develop the coastal areas of Somalia as well as to help the Somali people and government to protect and police their own waters.
Updates and latest news on known cases of piracy - see the status section :

OBSERVATIONS CONFIRMED:
TWO EUROPEANS FROM SEYCHELLES HELD HOSTAGE IN SOMALIA
 (ecop-marine)
The observations of our marine observers last week about two male hostages of European ethnicity around Hobyo, who local people said had been captured together with a fishing cruiser from the Seychelles,
 was unfortunately now confirmed by the Seychelles authorities.
The motor-cruiser ARIDE was captured 65 miles west of Mahe last week, a government minister said.
Home Affairs, Environment, Transport and Energy Minister Joel Morgan said no demand had been made by the Somali captors, whose possession of the boat was confirmed through pictures sent to Mahe from a Spanish surveillance plane.
The relatively small motor boat was seen anchored at the Somali port of Hobyo, surprising officials in Victoria because the pirates have been hitherto targeting bigger vessels.
A Seychelles negotiating team was ready to begin talks with the captors, who were yet to make contact with Seychelles by Sunday night, Morgan said.
Morgan, who heads the country's High Level Committee on Piracy, said it was too early to release names of the Seychellois hostages "as the government and the family members have not yet agreed to do so yet".
According to another source there are two 2 Seychellois crew and 2 Caucasian tourists with the vessel held hostage, but this could so far not yet be confirmed.
After the Spanish surveillance plane had spotted the ARIDE off Hobyo, the boat was moved to Dawaco, at the coast of pirate-and kidnapper-infested Harardheere District of Galmudug Regional State, where the two foreigners are now held on land.
If there is a hidden story also with this vessel, like it was given in the case of SY SERENITY, is not yet clear nut often drugs on pirated yachts or smaller motor-vessels have played a role.

TO FREE FOUR THAI SEAMEN AND BRING 14 BURMESE HOME !
PLEASE TELL US YOUR OPINION
Nobody wants to be accused of "helping the pirates to get a ransom", but fact is that neither the vessel owners nor the Thai government are helping the last four Thai seamen from the PRANTALAY fleet to be set free. The hostages are held now for many months as captives on land 
in Somalia under appalling conditions after their vessel was beached. (-see the detailed case profile below in the case section)
The argument that Thailand and especially Bangkok suffer from a flood are only lame excuses for the inactivity of those who are tasked to solve the hostage crisis in far away Somalia for their crew and nationals, while it is in all these cases not advised to try with local or international forces to free the hostages by force. Since they are held in remote, trackless terrain such attempts are even more difficult than on the ocean and it is almost impossible to free the hostages unharmed and without a ransom.
 Local mediation can only be successful, if those who have the duty to free these men would cooperate.
What should in your opinion be done and where could we count on your support?
Please choose the action you believe is the most appropriate and effective to get these sailors free.

a) Call for a legal defence fund and assist the families to hire a lawyer to sue the Thai government and the vessel owner, who have abandoned the four hostages as well as the stranded 14 other crew members from Burma.

b) Call for a worldwide boycott of the Thai Prantalay group and refuse to buy any of their 
UNION FROZEN seafood products until they will have broughthome the four Thai nationals, who are held hostage, as well as the 14 Burmese from that crew, who are stranded in a Somali town without hope to be repatriated.

c) Call out to the Thai Royal family and especially to HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, who is a legal professional and knows the region, ask her to step in to end the neglect of this case and seek her personal help.

d) All three proposed actions simultaneously.

e) Your different suggestion. Please send details

What must be done to free these men?
- Please send you suggestions to office[at]ecoterra-international.org


-distributed already via our CPU priority list on 06. Nov. 2011:
Taiwanese Fishermen Freed Themselves From Pirates
- retook boat after pirate hijacking in Indian Ocean, Taiwan says
Allegedly seized Taiwanese fishing boat escapes safely: agencyTaiwan says fishermen on a Taiwanese boat fought back against Somali pirates and freed themselves after a hijacking in the Indian Ocean.
Some of the 28 crew on the Chin Yi Wen overcame the hijackers then the boat met up with British anti-piracy vessels nearby. Three crew had minor injuries.
The government news agency said the fight happened about 4 a.m. Sunday Taiwan time (20h00 Saturday GMT). That was some 48 hours after the boat was reported missing.
Lin Shu-yuan and Deborah Kuo from Central News Agency (CNA) reported:
A Taiwanese fishing boat that was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean earlier escaped to safety around 4 a.m. Sunday with the assistance of British anti-piracy vessels, the Fisheries Agency said.
The crew of the Chin Yi Wen managed to overpower the Somali pirates and regain control of the 260-ton Kaohsiung-registered fishing boat, the agency said.
Three crew members sustained slight injuries during the fight, according to the agency, which said it had been in close contact with the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on the hijacking.
The Chin Yi Wen, with 28 crew members aboard — none of them Taiwanese — rendezvoused with UKMTO-authorized British anti-piracy vessels in the Indian Ocean around 4 a.m. Sunday (Taipei time), the Fisheries Agency said in a written statement. The boat has been heading toward Port Victoria in the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles since its escape, the agency said. It is expected to arrive in the Seychelles port within 40 hours, under the escort of British and Seychelles vessels, it said.
Contact with the fishing boat, carrying a crew of nine Chinese, eight Filipinos, six Indonesians and five Vietnamese nationals, was lost Friday, when it was believed to have been seized by Somali pirates.
In the Seychelles, to which the vessel with hull number hull num
ber BH3361 is affiliated in its fishing operations, the Home Affairs, Environment, Transport and Energy Minister Joel Morgan said on Saturday that the crew of the Taiwanese boat that had been seized by pirates on Thursday was expected in Victoria on Tuesday after they overcame the pirates. Seychelles sent an armed vessel to help the Taiwanese ship's crew after the incident.
Many companies from Taiwan, Thailand and other far-east nations had recalled their vessels after the piracy incidences increased in 2008 and the governmental agencies of coastal states started also a crackdown on illegal fishing vessels.
Following the examples of the big tuna hauliers from France and Spain and the big big money, some hard-liners returned - and some got hijacked. Still four Thai nationals from the ill-fated PRANTALAY fleet rot on land and the 26 remaining sailors of the Taiwanese 
FV SHIUH FU No. 1 are held for now almost a year under ever deteriorating conditions for the Taiwanese captains and his men from Taiwan and Vietnam. 
BACKGROUND:FV CHIN YI WEN : Seized 03.11. 2011. At around 08h05 UTC on 3rd November 2011 in position 06:08South-051:04East, which is around 260nm Southwest of the Seychelles and about 595 nautical miles (1,800km) off the southeast coast of Mogadishu, presumably Somali pirates attacked and sea-jacked the Taiwanese fishing vessel FV CHIN YI WEN (aka Chin I Wen) - hull number BH3361 - underway with her 28 crew members as hostage.
Other sources reported the incident at around 21h00 UTC , when the vessel was already in position 06:10S – 051:10E
, while the sea-wolves were commandeering the vessel already towards the Somali coast.  
The long-line fishing boat Chin Yi Wen with a crew of 28, including nine Chinese, eight Filipinos, six Indonesians and five Vietnamese nationals, had been out of contact since Friday and was likely seized by Somali pirates, Taiwan's foreign ministry confirmed on 05. November 2011.
The crew is headed by Chinese captain Ren Hai.
Citing information from the owner of the Ching Yi Wen, registered in Greater Kaohsiung, the ministry said the boat was heading toward the Somalian coast at full speed when it lost contact with the fishing company.The ministry also instructed its missions in South Africa, the the United Kingdom, the United States, France, the European Union, Malaysia, and Dubai to request that those governments help rescue the ship, a statement from the Taiwanese ministry said. Help has also been sought from the U.K. Maritime Trade Organization and other groups, the ministry said. 
The ministry said it has instructed its missions in South Africa,  and Dubai to request those governments help rescue the ship.The seized fishing vessel was last reported heading towards the Somali coast before the fate changed.

©2011 - ecoterra / ecop-marine - articles above are exclusive reports and, if not specifically ©-marked , free for publication as long as cited correctly and the source is quoted.


The maritime articles below are cleared or commented. If you don't find a specific article, it most likely was not worth to be republished here, but if you feel we have overlooked an important publication, please mail it to us.

What you always wanted to know about piracy, but never dared to ask:
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Families of Ghanaian hostage appeals to Prez (DailyGraphic)The family of a Ghanaian who is being held hostage together with others by Somalian pirates is appealing to President Mills to urgently intervene and secure their release.
Mr Francis Koomson, 58, and his compatriots Jewel Ahiable, Prince John Agbo and Edward Kofi Asare, together with 18 other people of Indian, Pakistani and Yemen nationalities who were captured on March 29, 2010, feared they could be executed any moment if the government failed to negotiate with the group on the $1 million demand being made for their release.
A desperate Koomson, who is being used as a spokesperson for the four Ghanaians, told the Daily Graphic in a telephone interview that “hope is running out for us”. He said as the vessel was also taking in water and their captors were threatening to execute them and abandon the vessel whose owner had declined to pay $8 million being demanded by the pirates for its release.
In a frail voice, he told the Daily Graphic that the conditions under which they were being held kept deteriorating.
“I can’t walk or move around since my legs are swollen. Besides, the cabin in which we are being kept is an unventilated one, thus compounding our woes,” he said sobbing.
Mr Koomson said their captors needed the assurance from the government that it would negotiate for their release, saying, “if only we can get a government official to speak to these people, 1 am sure our lives would be spared”.
The 24 crew members on board the RORO vessel, MV Iceberg, were captured within the Somali waters while travelling to Dubai from Oman in the Middle East where they had gone to deliver goods in March, 2010.
An Indian national who could not stand the ordeal was reported' to have committed suicide, while a Pakistani was killed by the pirates to send home their message to the crew.
A 28-year-old son of Mr Koomson, Francis Koomson Junior, who accompanied family members to the offices Of the Daily Graphic, said that although the Foreign Minister, Mr Mohammed Mumuni and the National Security Co-ordinator, Mr Larry Gbevlo Lartey, held a meeting with the family and officials of the Immigration Service and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) sometime in 2010, when the incident first occurred, nothing had been heard from them.
“Several attempts to subsequently meet the minister and Mr Lartey have been unsuccessful,” he said.
A visibly worried Koomson Junior said he feared the fate of his father hung in the balance since the family had no idea as to how to raise the $l million being demanded by the group, of captors and appealed to public-spirited Ghanaians to join in their plea for the President's intervention. 


Taiwan thanks U.K. anti-piracy taskforce for assistance By Christie Chen (CNA) 
Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency thanked Monday the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), an anti-piracy taskforce, for coming to the aid of a Taiwanese fishing boat hijacked by Somalian pirates in the Indian Ocean. It was the first time an international group had dispatched vessels, aircraft and medical personnel to assist a Taiwanese fishing boat hijacked by pirates, Tsay Tzu-yaw, deputy director-general of the Fisheries Agency, told CNA in a telephone interview. Tsay said his agency will remain in contact with UKMTO and will seek help from the group again in the event of similar incidents.
The UKMTO is tasked with providing a point of contact for merchant vessels that come under attack from pirates or are hijacked. The Chin Yi Wen, carrying 28 crew members — none of them Taiwanese — rendezvoused with UKMTO-authorized British anti-piracy vessels in the Indian Ocean a day earlier after the crew members managed to overpower the pirates and regain control of the 260-ton Kaohsiung-registered boat. Three crew members sustained slight injuries but all the crew members and the boat were in safe hands and heading under UKMTO escort for Port Victoria in the Seychelles, said Tsay. 

Why Navies support piracy? Because they have to By Voytenko Mikhail (MaritimeBulletin)
I’m writing a new Study on latest Somali piracy developments and trends, a rather cumbersome undertaking, involving a lot of statistics and facts. I decided to start publishing some extras from the Study, here is the one, from “Navies and Private Security” Section of the Study.
To make it short, I won’t go deep into the history and statistics of navies presence in Gulf of Aden and Indian ocean. Just a few words to illustrate their efficiency will be enough. Navies of such countries, as Russia, China, Korea, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and some others patrol piracy prone waters using different from NATO, EU and US tactics. NATO, EU and US forces patrol dangerous areas, mainly the so-called Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor, in a manner of police cars patrolling crime-infected streets, they have joint command centers and coordinate all their activities. The countries whose navies, so to say, walk all by themselves, chose convoy tactics, they form the convoys of several vessels and escort them through dangerous area. 
Some navies, for example the Russian Navy, provide for each escorted vessel a team of 4-6 mariners, armed with not just AKs, but long-range and sniper rifles. Sailing in such a convoy of course, is absolutely safe. The main problem with convoy system lies in its’ unacceptable, for modern peace time shipping, nature. Owners just can’t afford the luxury of waiting for the next convoy date, world trade and world economy will be disrupted in no time, if every vessel passing Indian ocean will have to wait for a convoy. NATO, EU and US firstly, used convoy tactics also, but they figured out the nuisance of it in a very short time, and changed tactics. One example of effectiveness of convoy tactics – Russian Navy presence in Gulf of Aden dated back to November 2008, from that time and up to April 2011 Navy provided safe passage for about 700 merchant vessels. There are from 100 to 200 vessels transiting dangerous areas of Indian ocean any given day, meaning in two and a half years safety was provided for about a week’s time. We can hardly call it an efficient presence, don’t we? 
Well, tactics of NATO, EU and US aren’t much better, either. They’ve been trying different approaches with the same result – zero. Pirates were hijacking as many vessels as they could handle, numbers didn’t change when navies came in. Navies said they can’t protect such vast areas, there simply aren’t enough ships to cover even Gulf of Aden, not to mention Indian ocean. Very true. But why didn’t navies try alternative, why didn’t they try the only measure giving guaranteed safety, why didn’t they even propose a conveyer-style (flotels in point A and B, boarding and disembarking passing vessels by means of boats and helicopters) protection of each passing vessel with military teams? The answer is given below.
To make it up for their disastrous failure in providing protection, navies, their superiors and maritime organizations, came up with Best Management Practice BMP, guidelines of protection the defenceless vessels and crew from pirates. BMP may not be so pathetic be it not so widely and shamelessly advertised as the best way to ensure safe transit. Now, what’s the core of BMP, what’s all about? It’s nothing more than common sense and some seamen practice, it’s an attempt to defence against armed mob being armless and defenceless. As an illustration – imagine a farm in a Wild West in times of lawlessness and wars with Indians, imagine farmers are given instructions to defend their farms and families first by trying to scare mob off with broomsticks, then retreating to closet, turned into a makeshift safe beforehand, locking themselves in and as a last resort, praying cavalry would come in time. That’s what BMP is all about, nothing more. Seafarers are much more creative, by the way, than the authors of BMP. I’ve received a draft of self-made fire-thrower, concocted by desperate crew in vessel’s workshop out of ordinary spare parts. Crews know that such “arms” are prohibited, and disassemble their “sophisticated”  weaponry before entering ports. 
Still, BMP wouldn’t be so disgusting if not the way in which the guide is enforced upon shipping (with a lot of help and support from insurers, who immediately found very good reasons to reject insurance payment on the grounds of vessel’s lack or inadequate  compliance with BMP) and is advertised in general public. BMP is two pages of instructions, two pages of contacts and three pages of proud authors, from navies to trade unionists and UN, with a personal author for about each word of the instructions. The authors either think everybody is a fool, or don’t care what shipping thinks about the BMP saviour and about those who invented it. They sell the BMP around in a way similar to street vendor’s way of selling to ignorant tourist phoney “Rolex”, claiming it to be genuine. I personally think, that the so-called “leaders” of world shipping aren’t capable of critical self-evaluation, and they just can’t see how cheap and pathetic they look. 
The general stance of navies on piracy got a new light in recent months, when out of sudden, many Navy brass went on air with terse criticism of private armed guards. They went further than mere critics, they declared private guards as absolutely unacceptable measure and keep on saying “it is only a matter of time before a ship with a private security team onboard is taken successfully by pirates”, accentuating their predictions with very strong feelings. Even industry media, the servility itself, mildly reprimanded navies and said that such a stance is a pity, something to regret in times, when all involved parties should cooperate, not fight each other. 
Such, to put it blunt, outrageous behaviour of navies leads us to some interesting conclusions. Why didn’t navies react on private guards in such aggressive manner before, why now? There’s only one plausible answer – because widespread use of armed guards during last several months produces amazingly efficient results. Navies themselves credited guards with 90% successfully thwarted pirate attacks, no vessel with armed guards on board was yet hijacked. Such an outstanding success is a striking contrast to navies inefficiency, or a near catastrophe, if take into account billions of dollars wasted on navies presence, and spurred by navies actions atrocities,  crimes and soaring bloodshed. Navies look very bleak (to say the least) in comparison, anyone capable of arithmetic may easily calculate the difference in money required for armed guards and for navies, appreciate their success percentage, and then start asking navies very unpleasant questions, with the main one – what navies are doing there at all, except wasting tremendous budgets and enjoying themselves?
Campaign against private guards, unleashed by navies, is absolutely inappropriate and tells us not about failings and weak spots of private security, but about the true position of the navies, about their genuine interests, which lie anywhere but not with safety of the shipping. 
Facts:
If navies were genuinely interested in providing safety, they could make shipping safe from pirates long time ago, at least two years ago, by creating multinational forces and providing each passing vessel with military teams;
They know better than anyone that Protection for Each Vessel Strategy is the only 100 percent effective, feasible and cost-effective Strategy under the circumstances;
They know better than anyone that their present tactics are wholly ineffective and what’s worse, their behaviour and actions lead to the escalation of violence and bloodshed, to loss of lives, not their lives, but lives of innocent civilians and pirates;
Understandably, the questions of changing strategies and creating multinational forces are beyond their competence, it’s up to politicians. But they could give a true picture of the whole situation by going public, by for example, making a joint statement by several ships’ captains and operations chiefs, but that requires something they obviously lack, be they what it is generally thought they are to be - men of honor and courage, with higher-than-average sense of social responsibility. 
The success of private security proves in fact, two things:
If private guards are so effective, all the more so could be said for military guard teams, be they chosen as the only measure capable of securing safety for all the shipping (excluding of course, regional shipping), and be they created;
By such a negative and strikingly aggressive reaction to private security success navies and their masters unintentionally, unwillingly, exposed their true objectives. Navies yearn after increased budgets and year-round exercises, politicians want military presence in the area, and piracy has nothing to do with that, we’re talking here about Persian Gulf, that’s the true aim of politicians. 
We’re coming to rather unpleasant, alarming conclusion in appreciating the stance of navies and their superiors – they’re deeply interested in piracy threat and existence, they want to keep status quo as best suiting their interests. Shipping, Somali, regional problems are considered to be irrelevant to their ambitions, civilians and pirates are expendables in their power games. If and when they find it necessary, they’ll make provocations, they’ll commit crimes, they’ll lie and seal with “Secret” stamps very unpleasant true, they’ll support the piracy in clandestine ways, but what I’m talking about, at least half of the abovementioned they already did and keep on doing. They won’t spare any efforts to block any realistic approach to the problem of shipping safety, to resist any solution capable of eliminating the piracy threat. Right now private security seems to be the one, and as such, is considered to be their main enemy, hence their hostile reaction.

CTF-151 SHIP RSS ENDEAVOUR DISRUPTS MULTIPLE PIRACY ATTEMPTS by CMF
ARABIAN SEA – Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) warship RSS Endeavour of the Republic of Singapore, assigned to the mission-based counter-piracy Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, disrupted two separate attacks by suspected pirates on merchant vessels transiting the Arabian Sea south of Oman, Nov.1. 
RSS Endeavour was conducting counter-piracy operations east of the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden.  The Merchant Shipping Industry Best Management Practices (BMP) encourages merchant vessels to register with the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation (UKMTO) whilst in the high risk area for piracy.  The MV BW BROKER contacted UKMTO at approximately 8:00am and stated they were being chased by a suspicious skiff with seven people on board.  A ladder, which is a tool used by pirates to board vessels, was visible in the skiff and this indicated to the crew that it may be pirates.  (CTF) 151 Commander, Rear Admiral Kaleem Shaukat, Pakistan Navy, authorized RSS Endeavour to take appropriate steps to respond.   RSS Endeavour altered course to intercept the MV BW BROKER and established direct communication with the merchant vessel.  RSS Endeavour also launched one of its embarked helicopters to rapidly provide direct support to the merchant vessel. 
Buoyant with confidence due to RSS Endeavour’s helicopter support, MV BW BROKER used speed , evasive manoeuvring and other BMP measures to prevent the suspected pirates from boarding and they broke off their attack. 
Less than two hours later, at approximately 10:00am, CTF 151 received another report from a merchant vessel under attack from suspected pirates.  MV ELKA ATHINA, in close proximity to the MV BW BROKER, contacted RSS Endeavour via bridge-to-bridge radio and reported that their ship was being approached at high speed by another skiff.  The skiff had five persons on board carrying weapons.  Once again, a helicopter from RSS Endeavour was tasked to investigate and again the suspected pirates were deterred from boarding the merchant vessel.  RSS Endeavour’s helicopter then located the suspected pirate skiff and followed it to its mothership.  
When the suspected pirate skiff and helicopter both reached the vicinity of the suspected pirate dhow, communication was established between the helicopter and the suspected pirates.  The dhow was identified as a known pirate mothership that has previously been responsible for acts of attempted piracy.  RSS Endeavour’s efforts resulted in the suspected pirates abandoning their attack skiff and retreating to their mothership.  RSS Endeavour’s helicopter destroyed the attack skiff and all associated pirate equipment.  
After these successful disruptions, Rear Adm. Shaukat said, “The goal of Combined Task Force 151 is to deter and disrupt acts of piracy on the high seas.  This morning’s disruptions by RSS Endeavour were an excellent fulfilment of that goal.  I commend the Commanding Officer and crew of RSS Endeavour on a job well done, and also thank CMF and the other naval forces in the area that cooperated in this successful disruption.  Thanks to all of these combined efforts this morning, two merchant crews are safe and their vessels were able to continue to their destinations.” 
CTF 151 is a mission based counter-piracy task force that operates in the Southern Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Somali Basin, Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean in order to deter and disrupt piracy, protecting maritime vessels of any nationality and securing freedom of navigation for the benefit of all.

Comment on relaxation of arms rules on British flagged ships (ITF)
Commenting on British prime minister David Cameron’s pledge to more effectively protect ships against pirates, including by relaxing rules on carrying arms, ITF general secretary David Cockroft said: “Somali-based piracy has been allowed to become so successful, savage and wide-ranging that seafarers’ and seafaring organisations’ worries about armed guards have had to be set aside. However, guards can never be anything but a supplement to the sorely-tried existing naval presence, which is now trying to cover an entire ocean. “The ITF, like the International Shipping Federation and International Chamber of Shipping, would like to see on-vessel detachments made up of the ship’s flag state forces whenever possible.” He continued: "Sadly no move is without risks. Pirate gangs are making fortunes out of their crimes. It is easy for them to reach for heavier and heavier weapons and turn to obscene levels of violence to counter defensive measures.” "'We welcome David Cameron's interest in maritime affairs, but we also have to warn him that the current defence cuts are likely to compromise the Royal Navy's ability to fight piracy." ITF seafarers’ section chair Dave Heindel added: “What’s an open secret is the yawning gap in flag state responsibility. While some nations and their armed forces are doing an amazing job, others are shirking their responsibilities.” “Until more countries are prepared to patrol, arrest and prosecute, and to take the fight to the pirates and their bases – which are often fuel dumps and facilities in plain view right on the beaches – the world will continue to be held to ransom, and innocent seafarers to risk imprisonment, torture and, ultimately, death.” 

EU NAVFOR warship FGS KOELN disrupts and sinks Pirate Action Group (EU NAVFOR)
On 4 November 2011, following a coordinated search and detection by a French Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance aircraft, the German warship FGS KOELN, operating as part of the EU NAVFOR, disrupted a pirate action group comprising a whaler and skiff, 50 nautical miles off the coast of Tanzania. 
On detection, the suspect pirates jettisoned their pirate equipment overboard and were stopped. They have been transferred onboard FGS KOELN and the two pirate boats sunk, preventing their use against merchant shipping in the area.

Official Indian Government Indian Navy position on piracy (neptunemaritimesecurity)
Admiral Nirmal Verma Draws Attention of Chiefs of Navies to Criticality of United Action Against Piracy
An International Seapower Symposium was held in New Port, Rhode Island, USA under the aegis of the US Naval War College . The theme of the 20th edition of the symposium was "Security and Prosperity through Maritime Partnerships."
More than 110 nations, with 75 heads of Navy and 22 heads of Coast Guard, attended the Symposium. Admiral Nirmal Verma addressed the symposium in its inagural session on 19 oct 2011. Drawing attention of the world leaders of Navies and Coast Guards to the need for united action against piracy, Adm Verma reflected the Indian stand that “the international efforts towards combating piracy would benefit if there were fewer disparate task forces and independent naval operations. India’s relative autonomy of efforts towards combating piracy offSomalia can be traced to its preference for a UN mandated operations which we believe if adopted would holistically enhance the efficacy of operations”.
[NMS Note: The Admiral's full speech follows below:]
CNS’ ADDRESS AT THE 20TH INTERNATIONAL SEA POWER SYMPOSIUM
Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy , Chiefs of Navies and Coast Guards present with us this morning, Admiral Christenson: President of the United States Naval WarCollege- our gracious host, Flag Officers, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is always wonderful to be back at the Alma-Mater. From what I remember, Newport weather has always had the reputation of a temperamental lover – warm, wonderful, or, chillingly cold –most definitely, almost always – delightfully unpredictable. Today has been wonderful so far and let us all share our optimism for the rest of the week!
At the outset, I would like to thank Admiral Jonathan Greenert and all the organisers of the International Sea Power Symposium for affording me the opportunity to speak to this august audience on a subject that has affected mariners since times immemorial and yet is very contemporary - maritime piracy.
The difference today is that piracy at sea which was previously primarily robbery has now morphed into an elaborate network of operations to extract enormous quantities of ransom. Ransom amounts have increased to an average of 5.4 million USD per ship, from just 150,000 USD five years ago. According to a recent study by One Earth Future the economic cost of piracy maybe as high as 12 billion USD a year. This translates into increased operating costs, environmental expenses view rerouting of ships and most importantly, tremendous human costs. Even as we speak, 09 ships with over 300 seafarers of a range of nationalities, including 53 of my own countrymen are presently hostages in this contentious conflict. Lethal force and physical abuse are increasingly being used by pirates to leverage ransom negotiations.
The roots of Piracy are diverse; predominantly, political instability which has created a void of governance and economic opportunities ashore resulting in the manifestation of this menace at sea. Also worth reflecting upon, are the Somalian claims that the origins of piracy can be traced back to illegal fishing by other countries and dumping of toxic waste in their EEZ. Given the complications involved, no single response will solve the problem. While there may be some ambiguities about what we can or should do, there is no doubt that the fundamental prerequisite to any solution is the collaborative engagement of a wide range of maritime nations and littoral states. In this context I would highlight the work of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) under the aegis of the United Nations, which we believe is doing sterling work for coordinating international cooperation particularly information sharing. In the similar vein are the efforts of the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) initiative and that of UK Maritime Trade Operation (UKMTO) which functions from Dubai. These engagements have facilitated an agreement between independently deployed navies like Japan and India to coordinate their anti piracy operations, so that international shipping has more flexible options for escort schedules. 
Beyond piracy’s complex genesis, it is interesting to highlight the metamorphosis of pirate activities. Despite multinational efforts, the number of incidents and net effects of piracy are on the increase with seasonal variations on account of the monsoons and geographic shifts dependent on the presence of naval units. The international efforts off the Gulf of Aden have resulted in piracy spreading to other areas of the Indian Oceanwhich had not experienced these attacks earlier. Some of these areas have been not too distant from India’sLakshadweep and Mincoy group of islands and naturally therefore this has been a cause of concern to us. It has become evident that pirates are changing their modus of operations as they have been observed to use hijacked merchant vessels as mother ships. This has given them an extended reach of over 1000 nautical miles from the Somali coast. 
Given their changing tactics and operations, it is as Clausewitz would tell us imperative to strike at their centre of gravity, ‘the hub of all power and movement, on which all else depends’. To my mind, their Centre of Gravity is the elaborate network of financers that fund operations and facilitate revenue collection. A recent UN report revealed that of the ransom paid in each incident of piracy only 20% reaches the pirates, while financers and sponsors hive off 50%. The question that begs to be answered is that how do they manage to divert funds in so unfettered a manner? Therefore, there is a need to build a strategy beyond multinational maritime counter piracy operations to facilitate tracking of the fiscal trail. 
It is important that our efforts be cultivated before what is at present a relatively benign problem of piracy, develops a nexus with radical terrorism which has a cancerous potential. 
Moving on to what we are doing and some thoughts about what it is that we can collectively achieve.
What we are seeing today is a hitherto unprecedented, full and willing cooperation between a wide range of navies to combat piracy by providing credible deterrence thereby enhancing commercial confidence and facilitating the freedom of navigation in the global commons. 
What is required is the collaborative engagement of both major maritime powers as well as the littoral states. The importance of littoral states towards a viable solution was best amplified by the success of the South-East Asian countries to combat piracy. While it is obvious to highlight that Somalia is a failed State, in stark contrast to the economically vibrant Southeast Asia, nevertheless, Somalia does have comparatively stable neighbours who could contribute to a regional response and international efforts could provide impetus to the fledgling Somali Coast Guard. Larger maritime forces could facilitate training of local navies and coast guards. 
We in India are particularly concerned about the safety of mariners in the Indian Ocean since we are geographically centred aside the major shipping routes in the region. Units of the Indian Navy have been tasked to carry out escorts in the Gulf of Aden, irrespective of their nationality, since October 2008. So far, of the nearly 1800 ships that have been escorted by the Indian Navy in the Gulf of Aden, more than 80% have been flying flags other than Indian. I had mentioned about the shift in the areas of operations of the pirates closer to our island territories and consequently we have had to increase our anti piracy deployments. This resulted in four pirate mother ships being intercepted by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard earlier this year. Consequently, there has been a reduction of piracy incidents in the area and we intend to maintain this posture to assure international shipping.
Subsequently, we also noticed a shift in the ISLs in the Arabian Sea as merchant vessels attempt to avoid piracy prone areas. Some of these new routes are 15 to 20 nautical miles off our coast and there have now been instances wherein regular fishermen have been mistaken as pirates. In this cycle of ‘cause-effect-cause’, there is a real danger of innocent casualties on account of mistaken identities. We have therefore issued advisories on this aspect.
If piracy is to be deterred, the present ‘risk versus reward quotient’ must be inverted exponentially by the development of appropriate laws and Rules of Engagement. These require both national and international consensus which can be facilitated by an exchange of the first hand operational experience of navies presently involved in anti piracy operations, beside ideas from legal and academic circles as well as the expertise and local knowledge of the regional players.
Naval forces have been facing a major dilemma about apprehending pirates at sea, due to the inadequacy or ineffective legal mechanisms to prosecute pirates who have been arrested. It is estimated that 9 out of 10 apprehended pirates benefit from the 'catch and release' policy followed by most navies till now. In India we are presently faced with the challenge of prosecuting over a hundred pirates apprehended by the Indian Navy and held in our country. We have moved to make new and effective domestic laws, and we hope to have these in place. I am sure similar challenges are being experienced by other countries as well and if we can share experiences in this regard, it will be a positive step in our collective fight against piracy. 
While many of these are policy issues that may take time to craft consensus, there are operating procedures that can be adopted immediately. 
The Best Management Practices that have been published suggest a variety of planning and operational practices for ship operators and masters of ships transiting through high risk areas. This is a noteworthy initiative which includes suggestions such as having high freeboards, proceeding at high speeds, use of barbed wire and water cannons, employment of sentries and establishing ‘citadels’ or ‘safe rooms’ onboard. One measure that is increasingly gaining preference is the use of armed security guards. In this context the maritime community has to be cautious of cases of mistaken identity which I had alluded to earlier. 
To mitigate such risks we have been using acoustic devices that have long range capability with built inphraselators that facilitate passing instructions in Somali language. 
Towards minimising the possibility of situational escalation we have resorted to a rather unique measure of using our ship’s life rafts. Once the mother ship has been forced to stop, the pirates and crew are made to leave the mother ship and get on the life rafts released by the naval ship. This ensures that the pirates cannot carry arms; after which, they can be brought onboard for further investigation.
The shipping community could consider installation of mechanisms to disable their engines once it becomes evident that pirates are succeeding in gaining control. This may discourage their attempts to commandeer the vessel with of course the attended risk of force escalation by the pirates on account of their frustrations. This reemphasises the importance of establishing a citadel onboard.
Finally, I would conclude with the reflection that, the international efforts towards combating piracy would benefit if there were fewer disparate task forces and independent naval operations. India’s relative autonomy of efforts towards combating piracy off Somalia can be traced to its preference for a UN mandated operations which we believe if adopted would holistically enhance the efficacy of operations. Our Prime Minister in his speech at the UN General Assembly last month called upon the comity of nations to evolve a comprehensive and effective response to the problem of piracy and has assured the world of India’s readiness to work with other nations in this regard.
With these thoughts I conclude my remarks. 

Indian cargo vessel sank in Gulf of Aden (MaritimeBulletin) 
An Indian cargo vessel MSV SHIV SAGAR sank off Oman southern coast, in Gulf of Aden, on Nov 5, presumably in rough seas. 6 crew saved and 9 missing, among them the master of the vessel. Vessel was en route to Salalah. Not much details of the vessel available.
MSV Shiv Sagar had AIS equipment but no IMO number, length 65 meters, beam 12 meters, flag India, MMSI Number 419001446.

Piracy in the Indian Ocean - the impact on seafarers By Veeresh Malik (matescabin.blogspot)
For the last few years I have on more than a dozen occasions and now rising rapidly, met with family members of seafarers stuck in piracy and similar captivity episodes, as well as with seafarers who have returned from such episodes. This does not include the list of people who have been victims of criminalisation of seafarers.
Let me be very clear - some common threads go through all of them:-
  • Most of them do not wish to be identified. The fear is as much from the long arm of the pirates, which are said to extend to within the established routes in India, to a fear of the unknown in as much as they have to content with social pressures as well as other pressures from various "authorities".
  • A few have suffered tragedies - in three documented cases, the Indian seafarers have died as a direct consequence. A few more have lost their marital relationships. Yet some more are so traumatised that they are simply unable to function, leave alone go back to sea.
  • The less said about support from the employers or the authorities after release, the better, because in most cases it simply does not exist. Forget compensation, even wages on service during period onboard are subject to the whims and fancies of those who would hold up full amounts due for minor clarifications.
+++
Here, is one of the first most graphic reports on the subject, by the Master of the mv RENUAR, a Panamax bulk carrier which was following every rule in the book to keep pirates at bay - except strong citadels and armed guards.
http://piracy.lloydslist.com/captive-an-experience-never-forgotten/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb1VAgYkUiY
In the Master's own words:- ""The ship was 550 miles off India, 1050 miles off the Somali coast and close to the Maldives. It was heading north on a course given to it by the UK Maritime Trade Organization’s centre in Dubai, where it had been sending daily position reports, when it ran straight into a waiting pirate mothership. Capt Caniete had been putting the crew through ant-piracy drills, the ship’s railings were covered in barbed wire and the fire hoses rigged to pump water over the side of the ship at the press of a button. Dummy watchkeepers had been rigged around the side of the ship to make it look like they had more than the 25 crew onboard. But it was not enough on a large, slow drybulk vessel with a low freeboard.""
Do take a look at the enclosed video. Some pictures are traumatic and viewer discretion advised.

Can we trust Somalia Report News Agency? By Voytenko Mikhail (MaritimeBulletin)
Soon there will be few people around (except maybe, shipping) who wouldn’t know about new News Agency Somalia Report. In my new Study of Somali Piracy latest developments, and the pivotal changes in security, which took place during current year, there will be a special Section researching media and its’ grim role in piracy escalation. But Somalia Report publications already demand immediate respond, being, to put it mild, too superficial. 
In their latest Weekly Piracy Report they gave a story on m/v Blida ransom, in which they said, that the real figure paid was $2.6 million, not $3.5 million claimed by pirates right after release of the vessel. “…pirates negotiated and agreed to a $2.6M ransom, the maximum allowed under the war-risk insurance carried by the ship…” – said Somalia Report. But as far as I know, war-risk insurance doesn’t cover ransoms and hijacks. Then, there is the statement made by Algeria authorities, in which they said no ransom was paid at all. There was some ransom, obviously, and I think it was less than $2.6 million, not to mention $3.5 million. Why it is important? Because each Somalia Report Weekly Report includes updated ransom statistics like the latest one:
So far, known ransom payments in 2011 amount to $85.6 million for the release of 19 vessels, and another four vessels were released without any estimates  being given for ransom payments. Given that the average payment is around $4 - $5 million, another $18 million could easily be added to the estimated known ransoms paid. This would be a total of $103 million in ransoms paid to date with two months remaining in the year.
I don’t know how did they lose 2 more vessels, as in current year 25 vessels were released for ransom (incl. Blida), not 23. But more important are the figures – where did they get 4-5 million as an average ransom? They get it from pirates words, based on average of all ransoms claimed by pirates. Here and there Somalia Report itself finds faults with ransom volumes as claimed by pirates, Blida case is not the first. But nevertheless, Agency and its’ founder and main expert Robert Young Pelton don’t see any reason to doubt general picture, even less so – pirates statements. I’ll give a much more detailed analysis of Somalia Report deficiencies in my Study, here I’ll only say that Somalia Report already positioned itself as one more ally of the pirates, along with IMO, Round Table maritime organizations, UN, ITF, politicians and navies. No wonder pirates call Somalia Report any time they need go public, knowing that anything they say won’t be scrutinized and will be taken on trust, without criticism and analysis. Somalia Report is said to be a commercial project, started by professional journalists and writers. Journalists and non-fiction writers are people who write about everything knowing nothing, scratching the surface of the events and the problems without insider’s professional understanding. Nothing wrong with it, as long as it doesn’t harm people. Somalia Report is already harming shipping safety by giving false ransom figures and by publishing dilettantish articles. 
There are much more unpleasant things than dilettantism, though. A few days ago I  gave an interview to Radio Freedom (Radio Svoboda) of Georgia, whose 15 citizen are held by pirates on board of a tanker Olib G, together with 3 Turkish nationalities. Georgian media asked my opinion after Somalia Report proudly published “exclusive for Somalia Report” pics of the crew, provided by pirates, and together with pics, $9 million ransom demand from pirates, accomplished with threats to crew’s lives. I said in interview, that $9 million is simply not realistic, that shipowner already declared a bankruptcy, that I don’t think shipowners have to pay any ransom at all, let alone millions Somalia Report is constantly talking about, and that Somalia Report should know better, than publishing tabloid articles with “exclusive” photos. States, international organizations and politicians are responsible for shipping being defenceless against pirates, and as such, they should at least buy out their citizen, but to understand that and many other things, Somalia Report must be professional edition, not one more tabloid aimed at monopolizing Somali piracy news and profiting from it. Somalia Report doesn’t understand (or just doesn’t care) why pirates statements and claims should be handled with much caution in any given case. Somalia Report doesn’t see the direct correlation between pirates senseless demands and official and media recognition of pirates as the only unquestionable source of information on ransoms talks and ransoms volumes.
We may trust Somalia Report with the news, but not with their statistics and analysis. Somalia Report is rapidly turning into one more vulture feasting on piracy. 

Accused pirate’s attorney wants charges dismissed  
The attorney for a Somali man accused of being the highest-ranking pirate the U.S. has ever captured wants all charges against him dismissed, saying that the U.S. doesn’t have the proper jurisdiction to prosecute and that even if it did, Somalia is far too dangerous a country to travel to and mount an adequate defense. 
Mohammad Saali Shibin faces a litany of charges in the February hijacking of the yacht Quest, which resulted in the deaths of all four Americans on board. They were the first Americans killed in a wave of piracy that has plagued the Indian Ocean in recent years. 
Unlike the other 14 men charged in the case, Shibin never set foot aboard the yacht. Instead, prosecutors say he acted as a land-based negotiator who researched how much ransom to seek for the Americans. 
He also faces a series of charges in securing ransom of a German merchant vessel. An indictment alleges Shibin received $30,000 to $50,000 for negotiating a ransom for the Marida Marguerite estimated in the millions. 
If convicted of piracy of either vessel, he faces a mandatory life sentence. He also faces hostage taking, kidnapping and weapons charges, among others. 
Shibin attorney James Broccoletti wrote in a federal court filing Tuesday that the piracy charges should be dismissed because Shibin didn’t engage in robbery at sea. He also wrote that the U.S. needed to extradite Shibin if it wanted to prosecute him. Shibin was apprehended in Somalia. 
“Additionally, the United States cannot establish jurisdiction over someone who is `found’ in the U.S. solely through our government action of seizing and bringing him here _ especially when there is no connection of the U.S. government to the offender, the victims, or the victim ship,” he wrote. 
The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment. It has not yet filed a response. 
Broccoletti writes that Somalia has a functioning judicial system that could prosecute Shibin for the crimes he’s been charged with. However, he also acknowledged the chaotic nature of Somalia _ which has become a pirate haven _ in a detailed filing that lays out all the reasons it is unsafe for him to travel there. 
He contends that his inability to travel to Somalia, gather evidence and interview witnesses would result in an unfair trial. 
“The historical setting to Somalia’s state of chaos, its continued corruption and violence, make it clear shy Somalia is one of the poorest and most volatile countries in the world. Travel to any region of Somalia is clearly not a viable option for any American citizen, much less anyone associated with the American government, at this time or the foreseeable future,” he wrote.

From the SMCM (Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor): (and with a view on news of events with an impact on Somalia)
The articles below - except where stated otherwise - are reproduced in accordance with Section 107 of title 17 of the Copyright Law of the United States relating to fair-use and are for the purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions held by ECOTERRA Intl. 
Articles below were vetted and basically found to report correctly - or otherwise are commented. 
Somalis say:
NO TO UN-TRUSTEESHIP OVER SOMALIA AND NO TO AU AND IGAD MILITARIZATION 
NO foreign or local military governance on land or foreign naval governance on the Somali seas.
NO to any threat infringing on the sovereignty of Somalia, especially concerning the 200nm territorial waters, given since 1972, and the 200nm EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone / UNCLOS) already in place since 1989 as well as the 350nm continental shelf zone.
NO to any Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in relief food or Genetically Engineered (GE) seed supplies. 

Somalia's Horrors By Isaac Chotiner (TheNewRepublic)
No one seems to know what can or should be done about the absolutely awful situation in Somalia, but some of the remarkable journalism that western publications have produced from the country deserves to be recognized. At the very least, it can serve to make people more aware of the humanitarian nightmare that is unfolding, and the aid groups who are still active in the country.
Amid the worst famine in six decades, the country is currently experiencing brutal fighting between the Shahab, an Islamist militia who claims allegiance to Al Qaeda, and a very shaky Transitional Federal Government (TFG). With the support of western countries and the African Union, the TFG has worked to extend its control of the country outside of Mogadishu (the Shahab controls some territory in the south). The TFG is having trouble enforcing the law and its mandate, and it is riddled with corruption, and incompetence, and accusations of committing atrocities. (Be sure and read Esther Breger's excellent TNR story about the former prime minister of the country here).
The Shahab, however, can quite easily be deemed much worse than the TFG. As The New York Times reported yesterday:
People told me the Shabab were trying to prevent anyone from leaving and that Shabab fighters had even set up special camps where thousands of exhausted, hungry and sick people were corralled at gunpoint, an ideal breeding ground for disease, especially because the Shabab have also banned immunizations. It’s the perfect storm to kill countless children. Measles, typhoid and cholera are already beginning to sweep through the camps. Epidemiologists predict that the fatalities will shoot up and thousands of people will perish when the heavy rains come in November and December, spreading waterborne diseases.
Meanwhile, Kenya, which had tired of violence spilling over its borders (and which might also have murkier motives) invaded the country to wipe out the Shahab. And on Wednesday The New York Times and others reported that Eritrea (the longtime enemy of Ethiopia, which has also taken an active role in Somalia) may be funneling weapons to the Shahab. As has happened in other African civil wars, neighboring countries have played the role of exacerbating and fueling violence.
Much of the best reporting on the country has come from Jeffrey Gettleman, the NYT's East Africa Correspondent, and the author of many of the above links. (His piece for TNR on the country's pirate problem is well worth reading). His story two days ago, which appeared in a special "Giving" section of the newspaper, concerns the efforts of aid groups to provide relief for Somali citizens despite the Shahab's attempts to ban western aid (not to mention, as Gettleman writes, "Western music, Western dress, soccer, [and] bras"). Gettleman notes that even in government controlled areas, the drought and the bloodshed is leading to terrible suffering, but his piece is also helpful because he explains how some Islamic and even western charities are circumventing this insanity.
Inside Somalia, many aid groups are embracing the approach of cash transfers by cellphone as a way to get around the Shabab and deliver aid directly — and discreetly — to poor people. It is early days yet, but it seems to be working. Muslim charities, like Islamic Relief and several Turkish aid agencies, are playing an increasingly large role in this crisis, because the Shabab continue to allow them much more access to drought zones than the Western groups. Somali organizations, like Saacid, are also helping feed people, though the local charities are often undermanned and underfinanced.
Still, the charities listed in Gettleman's article could use many more western donations than they are currently receiving. Anyone who doubts the severity of the crisis should also read this excellent report, from Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in The London Review of Books, which describes the aid crisis in real detail.
A number of the articles about Somalia have claimed that the reason the United States has not engaged in a larger debate on the country is that people are still scarred by the Black Hawk Down episode of two decades ago. Maybe. But Africa has never loomed large in western consciousness, at least not since the end of the colonial era (with the exception of the struggle to end apartheid). The only thing westerners can do now is read the reports emanating from the country, and contribute money to aid agencies, which despite hurdles remain one of the few hopes for Somalia's people.

U.S.American Drone Attack Kills 24 More In Somalia 
US terror drones kill 24 more in Somalia (AzeriNewsAgency)
At least 24 Somalis have been killed in a US assassination drone attack near the country's border with Kenya, APA reports quoting Press TV.
The remotely-controlled drones launched an aerial attack on the town of Kuda along the coast of Kismayo, a strategically-
important port city located some 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu on Saturday evening.
The attack followed two similar US assassination strikes against Bardera city and Burdhubo town in the southern Gedo region. At least 75 people were killed and over 80 others wounded in the two strikes.
Somalia is the sixth country where the United States has used the aircraft to launch deadly missile strikes. The US military has also used the drones in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Iraq, and Yemen.
On October 28, Washington admitted to flying unmanned aerial vehicles from Somalia's western neighbor of Ethiopia.
"The US has unarmed and unmanned aircraft at a facility there (Ethiopia) to be used only for surveillance as part of a broad, sustained integrated campaign to counter terrorism," said the Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby.
The confirmation came a day after The Washington Post revealed in a report that the US flew 'armed' drones from an airfield in Ethiopia's southern city of Arba Minch. ...
Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia remains one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally-displace d persons in the world.

The politics of aid in Somalia
Al-Qaida is fighting to win hearts and minds in Somalia  
Al-Qaida targets Somalia drought victims with cash handouts
 By Jamal Osman in Ala-Yasir in southern Somalia (TheGuardian)
Link to this video  
Unit arrives at camp as FBI reports up to 30 US nationals have joined al-Shabaab militant group, linked to al-Qaida
Men claiming to be al-Qaida operatives are moving into the humanitarian vacuum in Somalia, distributing aid and cash to drought victims in an attempt to win hearts and minds, a Guardian investigation can reveal.
On a visit to the sprawling Ala-Yasir camp in the south of the country, the Guardian saw an al-Qaida unit handing out rice, flour, oil, dates and milk as well as Islamic books and clothes to some of the more than 4,000 people made destitute by this year's drought.
This was the first time the group has spoken publicly in Somalia, and the first time it has distributed aid. The unit's leader was introduced to the Guardian as al-Qaida's official envoy to Somalia.
Representatives of al-Shabaab, the militant Islamist group trying to seize power in the country, called him Abu Abdullah Muhajir, and said he was a white American. It was impossible to verify his identity or nationality.
Al-Shabaab is closely affiliated to al-Qaida and, after the killing of Osama bin Laden, the group vowed to avenge his death. A number of US citizens are known to have joined al-Shabaab in Somalia, including a suicide bomber from Minneapolis who attacked African Union troops in Mogadishu on Sunday.
Reading from a prepared statement, in American-accented English, Abu Abdullah Muhajir told the crowd: "To our beloved brothers and sisters in Somalia: we are following your situation on a daily basis. And, though we are separated by thousands of kilometres, you are consistently in our thoughts and prayers."
He then handed out the contents of bags full of Somali shillings to the equivalent of $17,000 (£10,600). The al-Qaida unit also brought along a fully staffed ambulance. Al-Qaida regards the young boys stuck in the camp after being driven from their villages by the drought as potential recruits. The boys gave Abu Abdullah Muhajir a rapturous welcome: "God is great! God is great!"
Osman Hassan, 16, clutched dates, milk and the Qur'an, gifts from al-Qaida. He said: "I pray for them to win over their enemies."
Muhammad Barre, nine, said: "I ask God to make al-Qaida victorious over their enemies."
After a decade-long war that has hobbled al-Qaida in eastern Afghanistan, the west's main concern is that the movement may be able to regroup in Somalia, which has had no functioning central government for more than two decades. The Ala-Yasir camp was set up in response to the worst regional drought in 60 years, which has affected (according to the latest UN report on Somalia) 4 million Somalis. It is located in the southern part of country, an area controlled by al-Shabaab.
Al-Shabaab members run the camp, having banned some of the international agencies from distributing aid.
The UN World Food Programme says it pulled out of the area because of threats to staff, and demands of informal taxes by the group. Al-Shabaab denies the claims.
Among the dozens of men accompanying the American visitor were several other foreigners, including some with English accents.
Also with them was a member of al-Shabaab calling himself Abu Omar, who was directing the food distribution.
He said he was British, but it was impossible to confirm this independently.
"It's a religious obligation. It's a duty upon us," he said. "I mean, we left our countries. I left, we left our jobs [and] ... all these places just to come here and help our people. I'm an aid worker, basically … typical aid worker, as you say in the west."
Link to this video   
Jamal Osman: Al-Qaida and the politics of aid in Somalia


Emirati volunteers celebrate with Somali children at camps (WAM)
Emirati volunteers shared Somali children's Eid Al Adha celebrations at the camps at the Somali-Kenyan borders.
They organised entertainment, health, and educational programmes for the children. 
Mouza Al Otaiba, member of Board of Trustees of the Zayed Giving Initiative, said Emirati Volunteer Ambassadors have presented a special example of humanitarian volunteering through their involvement in the Eid Al Adha celebrations and other charity programmes. 

KISMAYO RESIDENTS CELEBRATED EID DESPITE WAR THREAT, WHILE IRAN DELIVERS RELIEF (Asha Noor)
Thousands of residents on Sunday attended Eid-ul-Adha prayers at the Wamo stadium in Kismayo, despite the tense situation due to the invasion by the Kenya Army, Air-force and Navy into Southern Somalia.
The prayers were led by the head of Al-Shabaab for Lower and Middle Juba Regions, Sheikh Abukar. After praising the Mujahediin and the local society, he sent a stern warning message to Kenya.
Arab charities had provided for slaughtered goats and the roasted meat was distributed to all the families to celebrate the day.
"It was a very nice, happy and peaceful day in Kismayo," Halima Haji, a single mother of four, jubilated.
Observers reported that the civilian population was not worried about the Kenyan army troops for the moment, because the reports they get state that the foreign soldiers are stuck in the mud around Beles Qoqaani, since the area received a substantial amount of rainfall. 
"We also are not afraid of the American and Kenya air-strikes, though they already have killed many civilians, but especially on a day like this," stated resident Abdulkadir over a crackling phone line, "we would die as Martyrs and enter paradise."
However, members of the local fishing co-operatives confirmed that for the moment they could not go out fishing, because the Kenyan Navy had already killed 43 Somalis (24 the Kenyan government admitted) and seven Kenyans in naval strikes across the border. Though Kenyan TV station KTN interviewed family members of the killed fishermen in Kenya, the Kenya Navy has so far not acknowledged that they killed their own nationals while they stated they attacked al-Shabaab fighters.
"On both sides of the disputed boundary families of fishermen suffer now, because their men can not go fishing, which is their main source of income," Abudi, a Bajuni fisherman, confirmed. The coastal communities of the Bajuni were cut right in the middle by the establishment of the colonial boundary, which was manifested by colonial Kenya under the British crown but even after Somaali'as independence in 1960 never recognized by any Somaali government.
Despite the fact that Kenya claimed to have established a naval blockade for the harbour of Kismayo, on Sunday also the first ship with humanitarian aid from Iran arrived at the port, which in the 1980's had been rehabilitated by the USA to serve their warships.

Kenya: Request for Blockade on Kismayo
Daily Press Briefing, Department of State, November 1, 2011. 
Question: Would the U.S. support a request for international assistance (NATO or some other international org) to blockade Kismayo? 
Answer: We are aware of the request from Kenya and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to impose a blockade on Kismayo. Blockades are generally difficult to enforce and may have unintended consequences in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. This proposal must be discussed with international partners, particularly the African Union and UN Security Council and carefully considered in the context of the overall strategy for restoring peace and stability in Somalia. 
(3PA: The African Union has appealed to the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone and a blockade in Somalia in both 2010 and 2011.)


- FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD (with an influence on Somalia and the water wars) : 
"We're fighting terrorists, pirates, and militias. What happened to the days when we fought uniformed armies?"
SEE ALL THE ARTICLES BELOW LIKE A PICTURE, A COLLAGE AND LET THE MAIN COLOUR SINK IN. THEN LISTEN TO THE FINE TUNES AND DETAILS AND COME TO YOUR OWN CONCLUSION. WE TRY TO BALANCE THE FALSE PICTURE IMPLANTED INTO YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS BY THE MAINSTREAM'S RULERS - THE POWERS THAT BE.  .- / .- / .- .- .=
Kenya: Grenade attack on church in Garissa kills two (bbc)
Two people have been killed in a grenade attack on a church in an eastern Kenyan town.
At least three others were injured after the grenade was thrown into the compound of the East African Pentecostal Church in Garissa.
Another bomb was placed near a military base in the town earlier on Saturday, but failed to detonate.
Police suggested the attack could have been carried out by Islamist extremists sympathetic to Somalia-based al-Shabab.
Accusations 
Ibrahim Makunyi, head pastor of the church in Garissa, said a house near the entrance of the church that belonged to a church elder had been bombed.
"One of the dead is a member of the choir, and the other is the son of the church elder," he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.
Kenyan police chief Leo Nyongesa said that a woman and her two grandchildren were also injured, AP reports.
Mr Nyongesa said another bomb was thrown at a busy taxi circle frequented by military officers also on Saturday, but failed to explode.
Kenya sent its troops into Somalia last month to establish a buffer zone following a spate of kidnappings blamed on al-Shabab. 
Al-Shabab denies involvement and accuses Kenya of planning a full-scale invasion of Somalia.

SCO: An Indispensable Mechanism In Eurasia 

SCO, an indispensable mechanism in Eurasia By Liu Yue (XinhuaNewsAgency)
-Against the backdrop of a sluggish global economy, the gross domestic product of all SCO members achieved sustainable growth, benefiting 1.5 billion people, thanks to strengthened economic cooperation within the bloc.
-A decade after its founding, the SCO has acquired growing appeal and more countries have shown interest in joining in its activities, drawn by the SCO's philosophy of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and respect for cultural diversity.
BEIJING: The 10th prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is slated for Monday in Russia. After a decade of development, the SCO has become an indispensable mechanism in Eurasia.
Since its establishment in 2001, the organization has achieved great progress and got rich experience in maintaining regional security and stability, promoting prosperity in member states and developing international relations.
The past decade witnessed fruitful consultations and cooperation despite obvious differences among SCO members in politics, economics, culture and other fields.
The member states have maintained close contact under the SCO framework and enhanced political mutual trust and deepened cooperation in various fields.
With regular high-level conferences and successive joint military drills, the nations have boosted defense and security cooperation, and have effectively combated the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as drug trafficking and transnational organized crime.
Against the backdrop of a sluggish global economy, the gross domestic product of all SCO members achieved sustainable growth, benefiting 1.5 billion people, thanks to strengthened economic cooperation within the bloc.
The SCO members will further take advantage of their economic complementarity and tap their cooperation potential in finance, energy, agriculture and other fields to maintain economic growth.
The SCO has also contributed to regional peace and development. The unrest in West Asia and North Africa this year as well as terrorist and narcotic threats from Afghanistan have highlighted the urgency to strengthen regional security in Central Asia.
Meanwhile, the SCO has actively cemented relations with the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and other organizations to promote prosperity in the region.
The existence of the SCO is conducive to a more balanced and multi-polar world.
The organization's persistent strikes on terrorism are in the interests of the whole world.
Economically, the SCO, which includes the two major emerging countries of China and Russia, will play a more important role in the world economy.
A decade after its founding, the SCO has acquired growing appeal and more countries have shown interest in joining in its activities, drawn by the SCO's philosophy of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and respect for cultural diversity.
The success of the SCO is not a threat to countries outside the bloc, especially to some Western countries that are traditionally wary of the emergence of any major international organizations not directly under their influence.
As China and other SCO countries have long said, their cooperation is open, transparent and not directed against any third party.

SCO Expanding From Regional To International Force
SCO enjoys rising international status: Chinese ambassador (XinhuaNewsAgency)
-The SCO, founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Currently, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are SCO observer states while Sri Lanka and Belarus are dialogue partners.
-SCO members have been top targets for China's foreign investment projects. That's as the trade volume between China and other SCO states has soared from 12 billion U.S. dollars to 90 billion over the past decade.
Meanwhile, China has promised to offer 12-billion-dollar preferential loans and has organized investment trips to other SCO countries, signing deals worth over 8 billion dollars.
MOSCOW: Withstanding various tests and challenges during the past 10 years, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has started to enjoy thriving cooperation and rising international status, said Chinese

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