Global piracy: the hidden side

ISTANBUL — While Somali pirates top headlines with brazen ship hijackings for ransom, many smaller-scale attacks in the world’s oceans — maritime muggings, essentially — go unreported, depriving mariners of information about possible threats to their safety and vessels.

Industry analysts say some owners and masters of commercial boats prefer not to report relatively small losses from piracy, or attempted boardings, because they worry about clean records, costly delays in the event of an investigation in the nearest port, jittery clients who might take business elsewhere, and the likelihood of higher insurance rates if they log an attack with authorities.

The International Maritime Bureau, a leading monitor of piracy, warns that a failure to report even a minor or failed assault at sea makes it harder to raise public awareness and pressure governments to take robust measures against pirates.

“You have to look at the criminal intent. They come at least armed with a knife or a pistol,” said Noel Choong, head of the maritime watchdog’s piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur. “They may not steal anything valuable, but people may be killed for nothing.”

Choong estimated that more than 50 percent of pirate attacks are not reported, but some experts speculate that the figure is even higher. The maritime bureau recorded 239 pirate attacks as of July 1 this year, well over half carried out by Somali pirates; it recorded 116 attacks in the same period last year.

Reporting is especially erratic in the piracy hotspot of Nigeria, where militants in speedboats have staged attacks in their campaign against the alleged exploitation of oil wealth by multinational firms. Some armed groups are believed to use that cause as political cover for thievery and extortion, targeting oil vessels and off-shore installations for economic gain.

“Many of the vessels attacked call regularly at Nigerian ports or operate exclusively within Nigerian waters supporting the local oil industry,” the IMB said in a report. “Owners may feel that it is best to resort to local measures to cope with this crime for fear of reprisals if they report the attacks.”

Peru has seen increased activity by pirates, while Southeast Asian waters, including the Malacca Straits, and the Bangladeshi port of Chittagong are considered anti-piracy successes, with reported attacks sharply down from past years because of patrols and other efforts. Still, attacks on fishing and other local vessels in developing countries are routinely difficult to document.

Some robbers sneak aboard a berthed or anchored ship or yacht at night and vanish after stealing whatever they can: paint cans, mooring lines and electronic equipment. Such petty theft falls under a broad definition of piracy if the criminals are armed.

John Burnett, author of “Dangerous Waters: Modern Piracy and Terror on the High Seas,” said it costs $20,000 to $80,000 a day to run a cargo vessel, and the economic fallout of reporting a crime at anchor or on the high seas can entail a costly layover in a port far from home.

“They have to stop the ship and take days for an investigation, which would probably lead nowhere,” Burnett said. “The captain is frequently pressured not to make a big deal out of it.”

Yusuf Capoglu of Lori Denizcilik, an Istanbul-based firm that ships iron, wheat, coal and other commodities worldwide, said he knew of three or four Turkish vessels that repelled Somali pirate attacks with water jets.

“One of those vessels belonged to us, actually; there was no harm done, so it went unreported,” he said. “Everybody knows these things happen to all of us. But it is the insurance issues we face; insurance companies do not want to work with us once something like that happens to a vessel we have.”

The spectacular nature of attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off Somalia’s east coast makes them all but impossible to handle discreetly. Somali pirates have grown more sophisticated, dispatching armed men in skiffs from “mother” ships and securing ransoms with the aid of Mideast contacts, possibly Somali emigres. Their operations are in a lull because of bad weather and naval patrols.

A French navy helicopter even photographed part of the Nov. 28 hijacking of the MV Biscaglia, a Liberian-flagged tanker that was carrying palm oil through the Gulf of Aden, said Carl Mason, a British security guard on the ship at the time.

The Biscaglia’s three guards did not have firearms due to a shipping company fear of the potential for a deadly fight, and high-pressure water jets and a sonic device designed to incapacitate with intense sound waves failed to deter pirates who corralled the crew. With few means of resistance, the guards jumped into the water and were picked up by a helicopter with a winch.

Piracy reporting in the area is complicated by naval or merchant crew fears that legitimate fishing vessels, as well as boats smuggling people from Somalia to Yemen on routes perpendicular to commercial sea lanes, are pirates on the prowl. The situation can lead to false alarms.

Shipping culture often dictates that a company or captain will stay silent about minor piracy, partly because they don’t think much can be done about it and because a boarding can reflect poorly on their vessel’s security, said Nick Davis of Britain-based Gulf of Aden Group Transits, which provides security to ships.

“You don’t want to stick your head above the parapets,” Davis said. “As long as the crew doesn’t get hurt, you tend to leave it be.”

Associated Press writer Ceren Kumova contributed to this report from Ankara, Turkey.