In the year 2012 the Somali pirates invaded watergrasshill
Somali pirates have threatened international shipping with piracy since the beginning of the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s. [1] This list documents ships attacked in 2012: for other years, see List of ships attacked by Somali pirates.
| Image | Flag (owner) | Name (class) | Crew (cargo) | Status | Date of attack | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of release | Ransom demanded | |||||
 |  Spain | Patiño (Replenishment oiler) | about 148 sailors (unknown) | Repulsed attack and captured 6 attackers | 2012-01-12 | unknown |
| n/a | n/a | |||||
| Patiño, a replenishment oiler of the Spanish Navy was attacked by pirates off the East coast of Africa by pirates who mistook her for a commercial freighter. Fire was returned by the warship and the fleeing pirates were captured by one of Patiño's SH-3 Sea King helicopters. [2] | ||||||
 Netherlands | MV Flintstone (Fall pipe vessel) | unknown (unknown) | Repulsed attack | 2012-01-17 | unknown | |
| n/a | n/a | |||||
| The vessel was attacked by pirates, who were engaged by the Vessel Protection Detachment (VPD) stationed on the ship. [3] After a gun battle, the pirates' attack skiffs retreated to the pirate mother ship with injuries to the suspected pirates. The German frigate Lübeck made contact with the mother ship later that day, determining it to be a hijacked Indian-registered dhow, and that the pirates were holding its crew hostage. [3] After three days of pressure from the Lübeck, during which time the German ship fired into the dhow's bow and destroyed the skiffs it was transporting, the pirates transferred to the hijacked Italian tanker MV Enrico Ievoli, leaving the dhow and 15 hostages to be secured by the Lübeck. [3] | ||||||
 Iran | FV Al-Khaliil (fishing vessel) | (Fish) | Ship and crew released | 2012-01-25 | unknown | |
| 2012-02-07 | none | |||||
| FV Al-Khaliil, an Iranian fishing dhow was captured on 25 January 2012 while a security team on board was asleep. Although Somali sources reported that international maritime forces had eventually freed the dhow and seized the kidnappers, [4] the Operation Atalanta website did not confirm such an action. [5] According to Somalia Report the pirates released ship and crew without ransom on 7 February 2012. [4] | ||||||
| Image | Flag (owner) | Name (class) | Crew (cargo) | Status | Date of attack | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of release | Ransom demanded | |||||
 Panama (  United Arab Emirates ) | MV Leila (RORO) | 24 (various, cars) | Released | 2012-02-16 or 2012-02-21 | 16°28′1″N56°9′0″E / 16.46694°N 56.15000°E | |
| 2012-04-10 | $2 million ($250,000 paid) | |||||
| According to conflicting reports, a Panama-flagged roll-on/roll-off vessel owned by a Dubai-based company was captured either on 16 or 21 February 2012 in the eastern approach to the Gulf of Aden. Initially the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa reported a German tanker to be the victim of this attack. On 16 March 2012 a ransom of USD 2 million has been demanded by the pirates. [6] [7] The ship was en route to Somaliland when it was seized and then sailed to Puntland. The pirates demanded that fellow jailed pirates be released from Somaliland for the ship to be released. Negotiations among local elders, businessmen and shipping agents and down a payment of $250,000 eventually led to the ship's release. The ship and crew were released in April 2012. [8] | ||||||
| Image | Flag (owner) | Name (class) | Crew (cargo) | Status | Date of attack | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of release | Ransom demanded | |||||
| Panama ( United Arab Emirates ) | MT Royal Grace (oil tanker) | 22 (no cargo, only ballast water) | Released | 2012-03-02 | 21°27′0″N62°37′1″E / 21.45000°N 62.61694°E | |
| 2013-03-08 | unknown | |||||
| MT Royal Grace, a Panama-flagged oil tanker owned by a UAE-based company was hijacked on 2 March 2012, east of Oman. [9] On 8 March 2013 EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) flagship ESPS Méndez Núnez provided assistance to the crew of chemical tanker MV Royal Grace after the vessel was unexpectedly released by Somali pirates. [10] | ||||||
| Panama (  Hong Kong ) | MV MSC Oslo (container ship) | unknown (unknown) | Capture failed | 2012-03-04 | 15°6′0″N52°9′36″E / 15.10000°N 52.16000°E | |
| n/a | n/a | |||||
| An attempted attack on Panama-flagged Hong Kong-owned container vessel MV MSC Oslo failed on 4 March 2012 after a private security team on board the vessel fired warning shots at the pirates. [9] | ||||||
 Bolivia ( Iran ) | MV Eglantine (Bulk carrier) | 23 (Brazilian sugar) | Ship and crew rescued by Iranian Navy commandos. | 2012-03-26 | unknown | |
| 2012-04-02 | unknown | |||||
| Somali pirates captured a Bolivian-flagged ship in the Maldives' Exclusive Economical Zone 193 mi (311 km) northwest off Hoarafushi island. The vessel which was bound for Iran with a cargo of sugar from Brazil is owned by an Iranian company. It was the first such incident to take place directly in Maldive waters. The ship was stormed and recaptured by Iranian naval commandos. [11] [12] [13] | ||||||
| Image | Flag (owner) | Name (class) | Crew (cargo) | Status | Date of attack | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of release | Ransom demanded | |||||
| Panama (  China ) | Xiang Hua Men (Cargo vessel) | 28 () | Rescued | 2012-04-07 | unknown | |
| 2012-04-07 | ||||||
| Xiang Hua Men, a Panama-flagged Chinese-owned cargo vessel with a crew of 28 was captured by a crew of nine pirates armed with AK-47s and a "bazooka". Iranian patrol vessels engaged the pirates and the pirates surrendered.[ citation needed ] | ||||||
| Image | Flag (owner) | Name (class) | Crew (cargo) | Status | Date of attack | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of release | Ransom demanded | |||||
 Greece | MV Smyrni (Oil tanker) | 26 (oil) | Released | 2012-05-11 | unknown | |
| 2013-03-10 | $9.5 million (unknown payment made) | |||||
| MV Smyrni, with a crew of 26, was carrying 135,000 tonnes of crude oil when she was hijacked on 11 May 2012. After ten months of being held in a pirate anchorage off the Somali coast, it is understood that a ransom was paid for the vessel, and on Sunday 10 March 2013, she was released by her armed pirate captors. | ||||||
| Image | Flag (owner) | Name (class) | Crew (cargo) | Status | Date of attack | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of release | Ransom demanded | |||||
 Luxembourg | Bourbon Liberty 249 (anchor handling vessel) | 6 Russians, 1 Estonian (none) | Crew released | 2012-10-20 | unknown | |
| 2012-11-01 | {{{ransom}}} | |||||
| On 15 October 2012, the Bourbon Liberty 249 was hijacked while off of the coast of Pennington, Nigeria. With the collaborating assistance of Nigerian, Russian, Estonian, Luxemburg and French Governments, the ship's crew were rescued. [14] [15] | ||||||
| Image | Flag (owner) | Name (class) | Crew (cargo) | Status | Date of attack | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of release | Ransom demanded | |||||
 |  Malta (  United States ) | Azamara Journey (cruise ship) | 407 () | Attack failed | unknown | |
| Azamara Journey, a cruise ship owned by Azamara Club Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., was approached on 26 November 2012 by several small pirate skiffs off the coast of Oman. After taking evasive maneuvers and firing at least three warning flares, the pirates ceased their attack. [16] | ||||||
The action of 28 October 2007 was part of Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa, the military operation defined by the United States for combating terrorism in the Horn of Africa. The incident occurred when United States Navy units acted to interdict piracy in the region.
Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel and Somali Sea, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding places and has a long and troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. It was initially a threat to international fishing vessels, expanding to international shipping since the consolidation of states phase of the Somali Civil War around 2000.
There were 49 ships reported pirate attacks in the first three months of 2008, up from 41 in that period of 2007. According to the ICC International Maritime Bureau, in those attacks: "Seven crew members were taken hostage, six kidnapped, three killed and one missing – presumed dead." Up until mid-November 2008, more than 90 vessels had been attacked by pirates in the year. At the same time, with a more than 75 per cent increase since the previous year, pirates were holding 13 ships captive in the Somali ports of Eyl and Hobyo.
On September 2, 2008, the French yacht Carré d'As IV and its two crew were captured in the Gulf of Aden by seven armed Somali pirates, who demanded the release of six pirates captured in the April MY Le Ponant raid and over one million dollars in ransom. On September 16, 2008, on the orders of President Nicolas Sarkozy, French special forces raided and recovered the yacht, rescued the two hostages, killed one pirate, and captured the other six. The pirates were flown to France to stand trial for piracy and related offenses; ultimately, five of them were convicted and sentenced to four to eight years in prison, while a sixth was acquitted. The incident marked the second French counter-piracy commando operation of 2008, as well as the first French trial of Somali pirates.
MV Faina was a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship operated by a Ukrainian company that sailed under a Belize flag of convenience, owned by Panama City-based Waterlux AG, and managed by Tomex Team of Odessa, Ukraine.
MV Manifa is an oil tanker formally owned and operated by Vela International Marine. With a length overall of 330 m (1,080 ft) and a capacity of 2.2 million barrels (350,000 m3) of crude oil, she is classified as a very large crude carrier or VLCC. Vela is based in the United Arab Emirates and is a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian state oil company Saudi Aramco. Sirius Star is one of Vela's 24 tankers, of which 19 are VLCCs. Since her launch, the ship has been registered in Monrovia under the Liberian flag of convenience. She has since been reflagged to Saudi Arabia
The MV Delight is a Hong Kong-flagged grain carrier. It was attacked and hijacked in the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Yemen in the Horn of Africa by Somali pirates on 18 November 2008 at 2 p.m. The Delight, chartered by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, was carrying a cargo of 36,000 tonnes of wheat, and was heading for Iran's Bandar Abbas port. The 25 crew members are from India (7), Pakistan (2), Philippines (7), Iran (7), Ghana (2). The ship was released on 10 January 2009.
The MV Yasa Neslihan is a bulk cargo ship owned and operated by the Istanbul based Turkish company YA-SA Denizcilik A.Ş., a subsidiary of YA-SA Holding A.Ş., sailing under a Marshall Islands flag of convenience. She joined company's fleet on November 14, 2005.
MV Tygra is a container ship currently operated by the Waterman Steamship Corporation and owned by Element Shipmanagement SA of Piraeus, Greece. She was previously owned by the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group and operated by Maersk Line and Maersk Line Limited.
Abduwali Abdulkadir Muse is a convicted Somali pirate. He is the sole survivor of four pirates who hijacked the MV Maersk Alabama in April 2009 and then held Captain Richard Phillips for ransom. On 16 February 2011, Muse was sentenced to 33 years and 9 months in U.S. federal prison.
The MV Horizon-1 was a dry bulk cargo ship owned and operated by the Istanbul based Turkish company Horizon Denizcilik İç ve Dış Ticaret A.Ş..
Savina Caylyn is an oil tanker of the Italian shipping line Fratelli D'Amato. On 8 February 2011, she was hijacked by Somali pirates some 500 miles (800 km) off the Indian Coast and some 880 miles (1,420 km) off the Somali Coast. The 17 Indian and 5 Italian crew members of the Italy-registered vessel are reported to be unharmed, but taken hostage.
The MV Iceberg 1 is a Panama-flagged roll-on/roll-off cargo ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates on March 29, 2010. It was the longest-held hijacked ship until the Puntland Maritime forces released it and 22 crew members on 23 December 2012.
The following lists events that happened in 2009 in Somalia.
Piracy kidnappings occur during piracy, when people are kidnapped by pirates or taken hostage. Article 1 of the United Nations International Convention against the Taking of Hostages defines a hostage-taker as "any person who seizes or detains and threatens to kill, to injure, or to continue to detain another person in order to compel a third party namely, a State, an international intergovernmental organization, a natural or Juridical person, or a group of people, to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition tor the release of the hostage commits the offense of taking of hostages ("hostage-taking") within the meaning of this Convention." Kidnappers often try to obtain the largest financial reward possible in exchange for hostages, but piracy kidnappings can also be politically motivated.