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The International Maritime Bureau, a division of the ICC Commercial Crime
Services, reports an upsurge of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia and in
Brazilian ports.
At the same, the IMB is concerned about the constant nature of piracy in
Southeast Asian waters. Ships travelling to the affected region are being advised to
be particularly cautious when transiting the waters between the South China Sea and
the Java Sea. These pirates are using relatively heavy weaponry (mortars and
rocket-propelled grenades) against vessels sailing in East African waters. The IMB
advises vessels to remain at least 50 nautical miles offshore when transiting the
coastal regions of Somalia. In recent incidents, the pirates off Somalia pretend to
be coast guards, there have even been such instances with corrupt law enforcement
officials. Their deception often begins with vocal warnings through loudspeaker or
radio, followed by attack with automatic weaponry. It’s believed that some attacks
are aimed at gaining control of a ship in order to seize others, as the pirates' own
craft is usually too small and too slow to really be effective. Recently, the
pirates attacked a British registered racing yacht off the coast of Somalia. The
small pirate craft fired a mortar at the yacht in the Gulf of Aden, and some of the
pirates attempted to board the vessel. Fortunately, the pirates quickly fled when a
container ship and a Canadian Navy vessel came to the yacht's rescue.
These recent piracy problems have been under the observation of the United
States, which is growing increasingly concerned about armed gangs attacking vessels
in the country's ports.
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