Pirates attack ships off the Seychelles

No sooner had the Muslim Ramadan and the traditional high seas monsoon weather passed, than Somali pirates struck once again with impunity off the Seychelles, hijacking and holding to ransom a Singaporean containership, a Chinese bulk carrier and their crews. The 1 550teu PIL containership, Kota Wajar, was en route from Singapore to Mombasa when she and her 21-member crew were seized on October 15, 500km north of Seychelles. Four days later, the Cosco bulk carrier, De Xin Hai, laden with 76 000 tons of coal from South Africa (presumably Richards Bay) to Mundra, India, was taken 350 nautical miles north of the Seychelles and 700 nautical miles off the east coast of Somalia. The pirates are threatening to blow the vessel up if any attempt is made to free her and her 25-member crew before a ransom is paid. The pirates also launched attacks on two Ignazio Messina vessels, Jolly Rosso and Jolly Smeraldo (both abortive), on the night of October 21. The Italian line deploys four ships between the Mediterranean, Red Sea, East Africa and South Africa. “Southbound and northbound, there is a risk to them and we have to say it is now intense,” says director, Stefano Messina, as preparations are under way to install armed guards on the ships. The Seychelles, with its maze of more than 100 islands, many uninhabited, provides the perfect hiding place for bandits. Whether the busy Mozambique Channel is next on the pirates’ list of must-do’s, remains to be seen but Helmoed Heitman, South African correspondent for Jane’s Defence Weekly, admits to being “intrigued” over such an eventuality. The South African government appears to be unfazed over any such potential threat, Heitman making the point that it has not acceded to the World Food Programme’s request for assistance, nor the more recent appeal by the European Union. “I do not understand why we, as Africa’s biggest economy, are not doing it,” he says with reference to participating in anti-piracy operations. “It’s a typical African country attitude; whine and whinge but don’t pay your dues.” Concerns about piracy increasing in Seychelles has prompted the island government to ask for, and receive, assistance from the US. The US Africa Command (Africom) is currently setting up base at Seychelles main airport to deploy 3 000km-range Reaper unarmed aerial reconnaissance vehicles, similar to those in use in Afghanistan. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) says even though attacks and hijackings have dropped over the past four months, year-on-year, Somali pirates are more desperate than ever to attack indiscriminately by firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons to intimidate ship masters into stopping.