Pirate Attack

Yes, Oceanographers Can Help Predict Piracy Attacks

The US Naval Meteorology & Oceanography Command named a 2013 Computerworld Honors Laureate for its counter-piracy predictive modelling. The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NAVMETOCCOM) received the award for a modeling capability developed by Naval oceanographers at Stennis Space Center that predicts the likelihood of pirate attacks.

IDG's Computerworld Honors Program selected NAVMETOCCOM as a 2013 Laureate in the field of Safety and Security for its development of its Pirate Attack Risk Surface (PARS). The PARS model produces a forecast of shipping vulnerability due to piracy at a certain latitude, longitude, and time. A few short months before Somali pirates hijacked the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama in 2009, NAVMETOCCOM operators were asked to assist in the fight against piracy, which had been on the rise in the Somali Basin due to government instability in the region. Pirate attacks are a threat to the United States' national security and foreign policy, and they impact maritime safety, disrupt shipping and ultimately cost the world's economy billions of dollars annually. 

 Within two weeks, the command had developed the framework of the first-generation Piracy Performance Surface (PPS) model, which produced maps of probability of attack based on how environmental conditions influenced pirate small boat operations.

Piracy: Attacks Getting Bigger, Bolder

According to data released July 14, 2011, by the International Maritime Bureau, pirate attacks off Somalia and in the GoA/Indian Ocean region climbed dramatically in the first six months of this year. Figures reveal that there were 266 attacks on vessels in this period compared with 196 attacks in 2010. “In the last six months, Somali pirates attacked more vessels than ever before and they’re taking higher risks,” IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said

Chairman Cummings Statement on Piracy Hearing

On Feb. 4, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, released the statement below following today’s Subcommittee hearing on International Piracy and the High Seas: “While the term ‘pirate’ may for many conjure romantic images of swashbuckling adventurers, there is in fact nothing romantic about a poor individual from a failing state waiting in a small skiff to attack vulnerable cargo ships

This Day in Naval History - July 21

From the Navy News Service 1823 - After pirate attack, Lt. David G. Farragut leads landing party to destroy pirate stronghold in . 1944 - Invasion and recapture of begins. 1946 - In first test of adaptability of jet aircraft to shipboard operations, XFD-1 Phantom makes landings and takeoffs without catapults from USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV 42). 1987 - Navy begins Operation Earnest Will, escorting first Kuwaiti tanker convoy in the

Economic Effects of Pirate Attacks

McQuilling Services, LLC, marine transport advisors, released a message addressing the economic impact of pirate attacks on tankers. Excerpt: “The recent pirate attack on the VLCC Sirius Star – 319,430 dwt built 2008 – that took place offshore Kenyan coast, has implied a new magnitude of possible security impacts on the tanker shipping markets. An increasing threat from the Somali pirates is present in that region and the additional insurance premiums are being paid by

LRAD Assisting in Fight Against Piracy

American Technology Corporation (ATC) (NASDAQ:ATCO), a provider of directed sound products and technologies, announced that its LRAD systems are being used in increasing numbers as domestic and international military and maritime security forces escalate their efforts to combat 21st century piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Horn of Africa. American Technology created the Long Range Acoustic Device over eight years ago in response to the attack on the USS Cole.

Seafarer Voices: Piracy on the High Seas

A YouTube video series describing pirate attacks.   Among discussions of anti-piracy measures in the Gulf of Aden and special courtrooms in the Seychelles and Mauritius, the maritime industry has begun to broach a gentler, less politically hot topic in the wake of 237 pirate attacks off coast of Somalia in 2011. What happens to seafarers, held often for months on end, after release from a pirate hijacking? Their untold stories comprise part of a video interview compilation by the

Pirates Attack off Indonesia

Reuters has reported that pirates have attacked three ships, including two U.N.-chartered vessels and a Japanese bulk carrier, in Indonesian waters around the Malacca Strait in recent days, maritime and police officials said on Wednesday. Two attacks occurred on ships carrying relief material to tsunami-stricken Aceh province at the weekend, while a Japanese bulk carrier was targeted, reports said. In at least one of the weekend attacks, raiders were armed with AK-47 rifles

Pirates Reportedly Execute Seafarer, UN Anti-Piracy Action Plan

The United Nations (UN) issued a news release stating that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for a long-term strategy of deterrence, security, rule of law, and development to fight the scourge of piracy off the Somali coast. In announcing the launch of the World Maritime Day theme, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos said: “We were appalled by yesterday’s news that pirates had executed, apparently in cold blood, a seafarer on the Beluga Nomination

Pirates Attack EU NAVFOR Warship

Early the morning of March 17, two small skiffs made a fast approach on the EU NAVFOR Dutch HNLMS Tromp with what appeared to be a pirate attack. The Tromp fired warning shots as they approached and it was this action that alerted the “would be” pirates to the fact that they were trying to attack a well armed Naval warship.  The warship, HNLMS Tromp of the Royal Netherlands Navy, was patrolling the region as part of the ongoing EU counter-piracy mission