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Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea affects a number of countries in West Africa as well as the wider international community. By 2011, it had become an issue of global concern. Pirates in the Gulf of Guinea are often part of heavily armed criminal enterprises, who employ violent methods to steal oil cargo. In 2012, the International Maritime Bureau, Oceans Beyond Piracy and the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Program reported that the number of vessels attacks by West African pirates had reached a world high, with 966 seafarers attacked during the year. According to the Control Risks Group, pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea had by mid-November 2013 maintained a steady level of around 100 attempted hijackings in the year, a close second behind Southeast Asia. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea continues to be a concern to the shipping industry, which is affected significantly. At the same time, governments in the region generally highlight that the fight against piracy requires a broad understanding of maritime security throughout the Gulf of Guinea.
The MV Golden Nori is a Japanese chemical tanker that was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia on 28 October 2007. In news reports, she has at times been mistakenly referred to as the Golden Nory and Golden Mori. At the time of the hijacking the 23 person crew was composed of citizens of South Korea, the Philippines, and Myanmar. One of the South Korean crew members successfully escaped soon after being taken hostage.
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 areas. It was initially a threat to international fishing vessels, expanding to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War, around 2000.
See also: 2007 in piracy, other events of 2008, 2009 in piracy and the list of 'years of Piracy'.
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.
The MV Karagöl is an oil/chemical tanker owned and operated by the Istanbul based Turkish company YDC Denizcilik A.Ş., sailing under Turkish flag. The marine company is also partnered by the ruling AK Party's Istanbul deputy Hasan Kemal Yardımcı.
The Republic of Korea Navy Somali Sea Escort Task Group, also known as "Cheonghae" Unit was established by the Republic of Korea Navy to protect civilian ships near the coast of Somalia under Combined Task Force 151. The naval task force is named after the historical 9th-century Korean military base Cheonghaejin.
MV Samho Jewelry is a Norwegian-owned and South Korean-operated chemical tanker. She was hijacked by Somali pirates on January 15, 2011 and rescued six days later by South Korean Navy commandos.
Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden was a naval operation by the Republic of Korea Navy against Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea. The operation was spurred by the pirates' seizure of the South Korean chemical tanker Samho Jewelry. In response, the South Korean government sent a destroyer and 30 naval commandos to retake the ship and rescue its crew. After trailing the tanker for several days and fighting a preliminary engagement that neutralized four of the pirates, the South Korean forces retook the ship by force on January 21, 2011 in a successful boarding action that resulted in the deaths of eight and the capture of five out of thirteen pirates.
ROKS Choe Yeong is a Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyer in the South Korean navy. The ship is named after Choe Yeong.
M/T Irene SL is a Greek-owned and -operated VLCC or supertanker. It was pirated presumably by Somali pirates on February 9, 2011 approximately 350 miles Southeast of Muscat, Oman in the Arabian Sea.
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.
Operation Ocean Shield was NATO's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA), an anti-piracy initiative in the Indian Ocean, Guardafui Channel, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. It follows the earlier Operation Allied Protector. Naval operations began on 17 August 2009 after being approved by the North Atlantic Council, the program was terminated on 15 December 2016 by NATO. Operation Ocean Shield focused on protecting the ships of Operation Allied Provider, which transported relief supplies as part of the World Food Programme's mission in the region. The initiative also helped strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states to assist in countering pirate attacks. Additionally, China and South Korea sent warships to participate in these activities.
The following lists events that happened in 2009 in Somalia.
References
- ↑ "South Korean navy pursues hijacked oil tanker". BBC News. Retrieved 8 April 2010.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ↑ "Samho Dream on auction, but crew salaries were settled" Marine News China. 26 February 2012
- ↑ Marinetraffic.com Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Vessel - Latest shipping news and in depth articles - TradeWinds". www.tradewindsnews.com.