Captain, this ship has been hijacked

With piracy casting a shadow on the lucrative option of a career in the Merchant Navy, experts speak out about why pirates are becoming bolder, huge ransom demands and whether piracy has taken on a political dimension

Captain, this ship has been hijacked

If Somalia had a tourism board, the board's officialsu00a0 would cringe if they knew what the country on the Horn of Africa is becoming increasingly known for piracy at sea.
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Capt Ramesh Gulati showing the pirates area of operations

Off late, the layperson, many nautical (literally) and metaphorical miles away from sea, hazy about maritime terror, except stereotypes of pirates with eye patches, a bottle of rum and brandishing swords has been hit by a wave of reports on piracy at sea.

Vessels being hijacked, crew, including Indians, being taken hostage and millions of dollars negotiated for in ransom, the script follows what is now becoming familiar lines.

The waters are churning red with the blood of seafarers, victims of well-armed, organised, deadly criminal gangs.

Says Capt. Ramesh Gulati of Crystal Shipping, "Recent incidents notwithstanding, the Merchant Navy profession will continue to lure aspirants because wages are attractive.
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On foreign-going ships, a second officer commands a monthly salary of as much as $3500-4000 (Rs 180,600 approximately) and a Captain around $8000-12000 (Rs 541,680 approximately). Secondly, it is income tax free! Thirdly, one gets enough leave , like about four months on and three months off. And last but not least, one gets to see the world and get paid for it, it is a dream I am sure everyone has."

Gulati says that internecine clashes, total breakdown of law and order are all part of the reason why Somali piracy is growing but, "such incidents have to be aggressively reported."u00a0

Putting a wider lens on Somalia, Gulati says, "When the United Nations and US troops tried to intervene, angry Somalis turned against these peace-keepers for trying to impose a settlement on Somalia's complex political disputes, and hundreds of Somalis have been killed in clashes.

There is so much repression in Somalia because of their flawed economic and political policies.u00a0 This has led to dismal growth in per capita income, falling rates of food production, periodic famines, systematic disregard of basic liberties, institutionalised corruption and ongoing civil wars. So, people try to find some ways of sustenance and piracy at sea is one such way."

Tougher men on board and more aggressive action against pirates is the way to go, says this master mariner as he has been dubbed. He adds, "As I always say, in those days we had wooden ships and men of steel. Today, we have steel ships and wooden men.

We still have old Captains who remember taking sight and direction with the help of a Sextant and positioning themselves by seeing the stars and moon.u00a0 Today we have youngsters using the Global Positioning Systems (GPS)!"u00a0

u00a0Gulati recalls a hijack when he was commanding a ship during his sailing days in the Philippines. He says, "Fortunately, I had a large strong crew and they overpowered the pirates. During those days, pirates were not so ruthless and armed as they are today."

Togetherness is key, says this Crystal shipping honcho elaborating, "The maritime world should get together to have Naval vessels and even Air Force patrol in the affected areas. Severe punishment, even shoot at sight, should be meted out to pirates."

When horse owner Capt. Jamshed Appoo, is not at the race course, he is holding the reins of ships at sea. Capt. Appoo is a crew manager and says that piracy always existed but pirate strongholds keep changing and so do piracy operations that evolve and become more sophisticated. Appoo remembers, "In 1982, the vessel I was on was hijacked in Santos, Brazil while the ship was in the harbour.
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The Brazilian pirates came on board and shot a cadet in the foot. They then shot the fourth engineer in the stomach with a rifle. They took watches and money. In those years, one saw a lot of piracy in Brazil.

The Malacca Straits (The Strait of Malacca is a stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra) were also a huge danger zone. The modus operandi of the pirates was to tie two boats with one rope, the ship would go between these boats and both those boats would come alongside. The pirates would then board the ship from either side."

Unlike earlier years, Capt. Appoo now thinks that piracy is much more organised. "It is a big game," says Appoo, who adds that, "Somali pirates now have negotiators, money gets siphoned off to banks and a lot of people are involved, not just the pirates one sees on board."
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United we stand even at sea, that is the mantra that Appoo touts for combating the problem saying that, "The Navy of every country needs to come together to cordon off the coast, it is one way to take control."

Agrees Capt. Prafulla Paralkar, Marine Consultant with Essar Projects (India) Limited, from his Mumbai office, "The approach to tackle piracy has to be regional.u00a0 Every country in the affected region has to make it a joint responsibility to co-ordinate vigilance, patrolling and combat piracy.

The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard have been active in patrolling areas, which are operating havens for pirates. Somali pirates are operating off the coast of the Lakshadweep Islands, which are distinctly far from the Somali Coast/Gulf of Aden, their normal area of operations."

Paralkar though says that despite piracy, the Merchant Navy would continue to draw aspirants as, "It is a very good career opening for youth.
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The entry to the officer cadre is after successfully completing graduate level examination (in nautical science for deck officers and Marine Engineeringu00a0 for engineering branch). Remuneration is good and you can reach the top of the ladder in about eight years time. You could be either commanding a vessel or be chief engineer in this time span."

Paralkar punctures the popular belief that this is a great avenue through which tou00a0 see the world explaining, "The money is good but one must realise that maritime operations have changed from earlier times. Now, turn round time in port for cargo operations is very minimal.
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Maybe a few hours in a port for tankers or container vessels! So, I don't know whether anyone is in a position to say, 'Join the Merchant Navy and see the world in that sense'. The trend these days is to reach the top of the ladder in about eight years, so you make your savings and shift for shore assignments which are less lucrative from the monetary point of view."

It is this prospect of earning big money warns Sadaf Aboli, Youth Congress president from Mumbai who interacts with several students, that attracts young people but, there are dangers that could hijack career prospects like, "One must beware of bogus institutes and fraudulent teachers. I have seen students, especially from places like Rajasthan and Jharkhand paying lakhs as fees and then getting gypped by these institutions." Paralkar says, "Anybody joining a pre-sea training institution, has to verify its credibility."

Paralkar concurs with others when he says thatu00a0 "Piracy at sea has existed since the olden days! One could generally link piracy to poverty or the economic condition of the nationals.
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But in recent times, apart from the sporadic pirate attacks, there are organised pirate gangs belonging to an oraganised crime syndicate. Another category that has emerged in recent times are political pirates associated with terrorist or secessionist groups.u00a0

Kersi Khambatta, Mumbai resident, formerly a Merchant Navy captain who changed his career after 16 years, and now is into maintenance of yachts, says, "The money is good in the Merchant Navy but it is it is mentally very tough and there has always been piracy in different parts of the world.

Earlier, pirates would come on board armed with knives and the motive was plain and simple robbery. Now, Somali piracy has its genesis in a different problem, the pirates feel deprived of their livelihood and absolutely desperate, hijacking vessels demanding ransom."

From motives to modus operandi and even area of operations, piracy is in flux but getting more lethal by the day. Exit: the image of eye-patch wearing pirate demanding money, Enter: an AK-47 wielding criminal, with no qualms about putting lead into innocent heads.

About the Merchant Navy

The Merchant Navy is a non-combatant commercial fleet, which deals with transporting cargo and also passengers, by sea. The Merchant Navy fleet is therefore composed of passenger vessels, cargo liners, tankers, carriers as well as other special types of vehicles.
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The excellent pay and promising promotional opportunities make the Merchant Navy (both navigation and marine engineering) career lucrative and exciting in spite of all the hard work life and long absence from family and home. The Merchant Navy is the backbone of international trade, carrying cargo across the globe.u00a0 Nearly 90 per cent of the world's cargo is transported through ships and shipping is by far the cheapest and cleanest mode of transportation of goods.

Yachts not safe too

On Sunday, February 20 reports came in that pirates had boarded an American yacht off the coast of Oman, three days after the boat's owners split off from the relative safety of a sailing group traversing a dangerous section of the Indian Ocean, according to the group, the Blue Water Rally.

The yacht, the S/V Quest, was overtaken by pirates on Friday, according to U.S. officials. Owners Jean and Scott Adam and two other people on board, Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle, had been traveling with yachts participating in the Blue Water Rally since their departure from Phuket, Thailand, the rally group said Sunday in a statement on its website.

But they broke off on February 15 after leaving Mumbai, India, to take a different route, the group said.

More nations join the fight

Recently, South Africa deployed its first frigate to the Mozambique Channel to join the international fight against Somali pirates. It is for the first time that South Africa has taken action after a number of countries, including India, sent assistance to counter the threat to international shipping from Somali pirates. Following international pressure on the key regional player to step up its role in the fight against piracy, South Africa deployed SAS Mendi to Mozambique Channel off the coast of east Africa, local media reports said.u00a0

The scene in Somalia

Piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War in the early 21st century.[1]u00a0 A United Nations report and several news sources have suggested that piracy off the coast of Somalia is caused in part by illegal fishing and the dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters by foreign vessels that have, according to Somali fishermen, severely constrained the ability of locals to earn a living and forced many to turn to piracy instead.

United, we fight
The military response to pirate attacks has brought about a rare show of unity by countries that are either openly hostile to each other, or at least wary of cooperation, military or otherwise.

Theater for violence
Capt. Rameshu00a0Gulati

In the 1960s and '70s when I was at sea, petty thievery was rampant. These bandits would board the vessel at anchorage in mostly all African and Asian ports, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, and would be armed with bamboos and knives.u00a0

Their sole intent was mostly to ransack the ship's stores for tobacco and alcohol.u00a0 In a major harbour like Bombay this was commonplace, and little was done to protect the ships or the crew.u00a0 If any ship's officers tried to restrain them, they were harassed and threatened with dire consequences if the crew complained when they stepped ashore. Authorities turned a blind eye and turned a deaf ear to such complaints.

The Yellow Gate police station officers in the middle of the sea bringing back Somali pirates caught
near the Lakshadweep Islands. These pirates have been brought to Mumbai

The maritime world has recently witnessed a massive spurt in piracy at sea. Can you imagine a huge tanker loaded with millions of dollars worth of oil was taken hostage by a few armed pirates? Also the demand for compensation for their release has been rising and after covert negotiations the owners have no other alternative, but to settle after lengthy bargaining.

These gangsters are shamelessly open with an exorbitant lifestyle. They flash around in expensive cars on land. They own beautiful villas and live lavishly, they have the most sophisticated weapons, satellite phones and well-trained bodyguards. This is peculiarly overlooked by the countries administrative systems, who I am quite certain are well aware who these criminals are.u00a0

Acts of piracy and terrorism at sea are on the rise, but there is little evidence to support concerns from some governments and international organisations that pirates and terrorists are beginning to collude with one another.u00a0 The objectives of the two crimes remain different -- piracy is aimed at financial gain while the goal of terrorism is political.

"The maritime environment will likely remain a favourable theater for armed violence, crime and terrorism given its expanse, lack of regulation and general importance as a critical conduit for international trade," said Peter Chalk, senior political scientist at RAND, a non-profit research organisation.

Chalk said one study's findings suggest US policy makers focus too much on responding to worse-case terrorist scenarios rather than crafting policies to combat lower consequence (but more probable) attacks that could strike cruise ships or passenger ferries. Just as seriously, the U S government has paid comparatively little attention to combating piracy, despite its proven cost in terms of human lives, political stability and economic disruption.

Maritime terrorism -- attacks against vessels, sea platforms, ports or other coastal facilities -- has also experienced a modest increase, particularly over the past six years when several attacks and plots have been attributed to al-Qaeda and affiliated jihadist networks. These incidents have raised concerns in the West, especially in the United States, that terrorists are now actively seeking to extend their operational reach beyond land-based attacks, Chalk said.