No advance info goes to Somalis - IMB

11:23 PM Fri 22 May 2009 GMT

'Pirate Corridor that transiting yachts are advised to use in convoys after notifying the coalition' .

Rumours have been circulating in the long range yachting fraternity for some time that the whereabouts of vessels is relayed in advance to Somali pirates, and this has given cause to sailors to avoid calling in at ports near the pirate zone, for instance in Eritrea, Oman or India. This was today denied by the International Maritime Bureau in a press release primarily aimed at commercial shipping:

The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB), in consultation with the International Chamber of Shipping, INTERTANKO and BIMCO, today dismissed a number of recent press reports claiming that pirates off the Somali coast target vessels in advance, allegedly making use of a network of international contacts.

Vessels attacked so far have included a range of vessel types from fishing boats and coastal dhows to bulk carriers and a supertanker. The vessels have been of many diverse flags, crewed by different nationalities, with various cargoes on board destined for a wide range of ports.

Pirates have even attempted to attack naval units mistakenly believing them to be merchant vessels. Pirates target vessels that are easy to board and in their vicinity. If an attack is successfully repelled they move on to another vessel.

All the evidence indicates that these are primarily opportunistic crimes. The suggestion that vessels are targeted in advance using shore based intelligence is spurious.

IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan commented: "Such unfounded speculation is mischievous and unhelpful. It unjustly detracts from the good work done so far by the international naval forces and other agencies and diverts attention from the important task of providing a practical response to the difficult challenges in the region."

Further allegations have been made in the press that London-based information channels have been utilised to provide intelligence to the pirate gangs. There is no evidence to support these allegations. Further, there is no information in the public domain that would enable pirates to precisely locate a targeted vessel at sea and then to mount a successful attack off the Horn of Africa.

The IMB is part of the ICC Commercial Crime Services, which is a specialised division of the International Chamber of Commerce, the world business organisation. The IMB's world-wide Piracy Reporting Centre is based in Kuala Lumpur.

by Sail-World Cruising

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No advance info goes to Somalis - IMB

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