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afrol News, 30 January - Pirate attacks make the waters off Somalia "among the most dangerous in the world," a new report shows. Vessels are now warned against stopping or slowing down along the Somali coast, as this almost certainly means they will be boarded by armed militia. - The risk of attack to vessels staying close to the coastline from Somali armed militias has now increased from one of possibility to certainty, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has said in a new report about the vulnerability of shipping to terrorist attacks and piracy. The Bureau warns that "any vessel, not making a scheduled call in a Somali port, which slows down, or stops close to the Somali coast will be boarded by these gangs." They had extorted substantial sums from owners for the return of the vessel and crew, it was reported. The IMB annual piracy report for 2002 says that attacks like the one in the Gulf of Aden last October, when the French tanker Limburg was rammed by a boat packed with explosives, were difficult to prevent. "No shipboard response can protect the ship in these circumstances," the report said. IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan commented: "In some parts of the world it is all too easy to board a merchant vessel unlawfully. Against the current concern in respect of maritime terrorism, it is vital that coastal states allocate resources to patrolling their waters more effectively. Failing this, we do not foresee a reduction in these incidents." In Somalia, however, there is no central government in control of larger land areas, let alone Somali waters. This power vacuum is exploited by armed gangs, hijacking everything from small fishing boats to large vessels. Only since January 2002 there have been four high-profile hijackings of commercial vessels off Somalia. Unaccounted for are the large numbers of smaller fishing boats attacked and extorted for their values. The IMB's standing warning for Somalia says:" Ships not scheduled to call at Somali ports should avoid anchoring near or passing close to the Somali coast. If not they will, repeat, will be seized by one of the warring factions from shore. The northern and north-eastern Somali coast is particularly risky." Most pirate attacks in 2002 had however been noted in Indonesian waters (102) and off Bangladesh (32). Highest numbers for African waters were registered in Nigeria (14 assaults), Eritrea (11) and Somalia (6). The relatively low number for Somalia is connected to the much reduced traffic in Somali waters.
Sources: Based on IMB and afrol archives
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