Illegal South-korean Fishing Vessel Held In Somalia

ILLEGAL SOUTH-KOREAN FISHING VESSEL HELD IN SOMALIA (ecop-marine)

The owners as well as the international navies have been keeping mum until today, when the British mastered Maritime Security Centre MSC(HOA) notified the case based on a statement by South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. But maritime observers working in Somalia with ECOTERRA Intl. had earlier confirmed that the vessel is already held off the Central Somali coast off Harardheere (Xarardheere), from where today some movement again southwards was observed.

Also in Kenya local fishing co-operatives as well as the associations of deep-sea anglers had complained since long about the detrimental activities of this specific vessel, which is persistently using illegal gear. While in the mostly unprotected waters of Somalia their clandestine deals usually were covered with a handful of dollars into the palms of some unscrupulous businessmen, local “authorities” or impoverished local fellows, they apparently also enjoy “protection” from certain cadres in Kenya, while fishermen contacted at the Kenya coast today actually jubilated that this vessel had been finally captured by the Somalis.

The pirates haven’t contacted the ship’s agent in the southeastern South Korean port city of Busan for any possible negotiation, Yonhap news agency said. The fisheries company that owns the ship shut down its Busan head office due to financial troubles in 2007 and has been operating only with the Keummi 305, it said.

Today, 17. October 2010, 16h00 UTC, still at least 26 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 474 hostages or captives – including an elderly British yachting couple and the 5 new hostages from Somaliland – suffer to be released.
Request the Somali Marine & Coastal Monitor from ECOTERRA Intl. for background info and see the updated map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA.

SITUATION:

- YOU ARE PERSISTENTLY BEING LIED TO WITH IMPUNITY
- TRENDS
- SOLUTIONS PENDING
- ECOTERRA STATEMENT and
- THE WISH-LISTS FOR THE NAVIES, THE  UN AND BAN KI-MOON
READ ALL AND UNDERSTAND

THIS INFORMATION IS ALSO A WARNING TO VESSELS TRAVERSING THE SOMALI BASIN TO BE AWARE OF LARGER VESSELS BEING USED AS LAUNCHING PAD AND DECOY FOR PIRACY ATTACKS .
All vessels navigating in the Indian Ocean are advised to consider keeping East of 60E when routing North/South and to consider routing East of 60E and South of 10S when proceeding to and from ports in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.
The Indian Government has issued a NOTICE on 30th March 2010: All Indian-flagged motorized sailing vessels are - with immediate effect - no longer permitted to ply the waters south and west of a line joining Salalah (Oman) and Malé (Maldives).
NOTIFICATION BY THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT
- Issued by The Directorate General of Shipping, Mumbai.
DIRECTIONS 31. March 2010
The Directorate has issued directions prohibiting the trading of mechanized sailing vessels south and west of the line joining Salalah and Male, with immediate effect.

CASES NOT COMPLETELY CLOSED:

- please see: Status of not yet resolved Maritime Incidences off Somalia

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 26 seized foreign vessels (28 sea-related hostage cases since yacht SY LYNN RIVAL was abandoned and taken by the British Navy) with a total of not less than 474 hostages (incl. the British sailing couple as well as 5 local employees held for an exchange with pirates imprisoned by Somaliland), are accounted for. Despite a directive by the Philippine government that no Pinoy seafarers should ply these dangerous routes there are now 62Filipinos currently held captive by pirates: 18 on board the MT Motivator, three on board the FV Tai Yuan 227, one on board the MV Iceberg 1, 19 on board the MT Samho Dream, and 21 on board the MV Voc Daisy . The cases 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 too. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) had been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases for Somalia and the mistaken sinking of one sea-jacked fishing vessel and killing of her crew by the Indian naval force. For 2009 the account closed with 228 incidences (incl. averted or abandoned attacks) with 68 vessels seized for different reasons on the Somali/Yemeni captor side as well as at least TWELVE wrongful attacks (incl. one friendly fire incident) on the side of the naval forces.
For 2010 the recorded account around the Horn of Africa stands at 169 incidences with 138 attacks by Somali sea-shifta resulting in 52 sea-jackings on the one side and the sinking of one merchant vessel (MV AL-ABI ) by machine-gun fire from the Seychelles’s coastguard boat TOPAZ (11 Somalis now jailed for 10 years in the Seychelles) as well as the wrongful attack by the Indian navy on an innocent Yemeni fishing vessel on the other. Sea-jacked MV AL-ASSA – without its original Yemeni crew – was used as pirate vessel and likewise sunk with Somali captors released on land.
The naval alliances had since August 2008 and until May 2010 apprehended 1090 suspected pirates, detained and kept or transferred for prosecution 480,  killed at least 64 and wounded over 24 Somalis. (Actual independent update see: LIST). It must, however, be noted that most navies have become since the beginning of 2010 less than transparent and do neither report properly to the Somali government nor through their media outlets on the real number of casualties and injuries.
Not documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (although 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 – like the S/Y Serenity, MV Indian Ocean Explorer.Present multi-factorial risk assessment code: GoA: ORANGE / IO: ORANGE  (Red = Very much likely, high season; Orange = Reduced risk, but very likely, Yellow = significantly reduced risk, but still likely, Blue = possible, Green = unlikely). Piracy incidents usually degrade during the monsoon season and rise gradually by the end of the monsoon. Starting from mid February until early April as well as around October every year an increase in piracy cases can be expected. With the onset of the monsoon winds and rough seas piracy cases decline.
If you have any additional information concerning the cases, please send to office[at]ecoterra-international.org – if required we guarantee 100% confidentiality.
For further details and regional information see the Somali Marine and Coastal Monitor and the updated map of the PIRACY COASTS OF SOMALIA. See the archive at www.australia.to and news on www.international.to

© This compilation may be reprinted and republished as long as the content remains unaltered, and ECOTERRA Intl. is cited as source.