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Safety From Pirates for Boaters and Yacht Owners!
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NEXT time you are headed in your yacht or luxury boat towards a place that is close to a piracy hotspot or high-risk area you must keep in the back of your mind a potential threat from pirates. Although rare, piracy is a real and deadly danger!
Piracy is a major issue around the world. It impacts people traveling by boat in both coastal and international waters!
What is piracy?
Piracy takes many forms. It may include armed robbery, kidnapping for ransom or murder! It can also include crimes of opportunity, such as unlawful requests for payments for anchorage.
All forms of shipping are attractive targets for pirates. This includes commercial vessels, pleasure craft (Such as yachts) and luxury cruise liners.
High-risk areas for piracy
Whether you're traveling by commercial vessel or private yacht, you should be aware of the risk of piracy in some parts of the world. In particular:
-- The Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa
-- The Gulf of Guinea
-- South East Asia
-- The South China Sea
If you need to pass through these waters, you should exercise extreme caution. Consider additional security arrangements, and have contingency plans in place!
If you're going on a cruise through a piracy prone area, ask the cruise company about their security measures!
Piracy is a threat to seafarers, the shipping industry, and coastal states!
Pirates can attack ships, demand ransom and kidnap crew members. Even ordinary yacht owners and boaters are not safe from this menace!
The danger of piracy attacks on ships and vessels in modern times rose from at the start of the 1980s.
Until the early 2000s, the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) were considered particular hot spots. But since 2005, pirate attacks have become more frequent off the coast of Somalia and off the Horn of Africa in the Gulf of Aden.
As you go, stay informed and up to date about activity in your planned passage area. Choose your route carefully.
Make and agree on a plan with everyone on board!
Consider the lunar cycle in your passage planning, moonless nights can be your friend.
If you feel you are being followed;
-- Alter course in an unusual or unpredictable way and monitor the suspect vessels course changes.
-- Establish VHF radio contact with any AIS or radar identified vessels nearby, then agree and switch to HF if possible, understanding that the pirates may be monitoring these transmissions as well. Detail your concern and your vessels particulars.
-- Activate DSC and satellite trackers (InReach, Delorme etc.,), if closely approached.
-- Take a picture of the possible pirate vessel, even if it is long range. Advise any confederates that you have done so. If the pirates are listening they may reconsider!
-- Remove your cameras, media or transfer the photos to a digital stick and protect it in a well-concealed but predetermined location.
-- Go to MAYDAY mode if you believe you will be rammed or boarded. Use VHF and HF, having preprogrammed the USCG distress frequencies and any satellite communications you have. Assign this responsibility to a crew member who is already well familiar with their operation. Consider activating your EPIRB. The threat of serious violence and major damage by ramming is significant in these types of piracy events.
-- At 15 miles most sailboats' sails will NOT be visible from a pirogue, at 10 miles your hull and the lower half of your sails are BELOW the horizon, at 5 miles and NO sails a sailboat is NOT easily sighted. Consider motoring during the day, areas. Consider running “dark” at night (which has its own risks)!
-- If you have a satellite phone, ensure it is programmed with an emergency distress contact such as the ICC-CCS Anti-Piracy Hotline + 60 3 2031 0014. If you are traveling with other yachts, establish and test private MMSI VHF communications. Establish a firm plan between all vessels with clear understanding of what level of assistance each will be prepared to provide the others, and basic parameters of proximity. Understand that in remote locations more boats may be considered as simply more targets!
Maintain a good watch - the ability to detect possible pirates as early as possible! and before they approach you closely may give you a chance to evade or outrun them!
-- Use all the tools you have. Know how to use your radar tracking feature. AIS (receive) will allow you to identify possible “friendlies” in advance if there any are nearby. Maintain a rigorous visual watch (full 360-degree scan, maximum 20 minute cycle).
-- If you are traveling with other yachts, utilize regular (more private) MMSI communications.Avoid known problem areas, understanding that pirate vessels may be using radar to find/track you. Choose your route carefully. Consider the lunar cycle in your passage planning, moonless nights can be your friend. Some choose to go “dark” without any visible lights, this poses its own set of risks!
Sometimes there is a non-threatening first approach in a “friendly” manner to assess your crew and capability. Consider having a crew member take pictures during any apparently “friendly” approach, but then immediately afterward copy/conceal the images. “Friendly” approaches can be followed by a larger invasion with additional reinforcements that are able to overrun and then plunder your boat.
Usually a pirate attack is carried out using small crafts which are supported by bigger vessels, also known as mother ships. This tends to restrict their operations to moderate sea state. Sea state 3 and above are difficult to operate small crafts. So keep the sea condition in mind while preparing for the piracy zone.
Check Ship's Freeboard
As usually seen, pirates try to board the ship using the lowest point above the waterline as it is easy for them to climb. On the basis of past experience, it is said that the ships having a minimum freeboard greater than 8 meters have better chances of escaping a piracy attempt. However, it is to note that a large freeboard would not be of any help if the ship has easy access points to climb the ship. Special protective measures must be provided to these access points.
Important: Prepare to Keep Ship’s Speed More Than 18 knots!
A ship's speed is considered one of the MOST effective ways to prevent a pirate attack. According to sources, there have been NO reports of ships having more than 18 knots getting highjacked. As it is DIFFICULT for pirates to board at high speeds, ships are recommended to proceed at full speed or at least 18 knots during their transit through high risk area.
Refer to important websites such as NATO shipping center to get the latest information regarding pirate attack speed capability.
Keep Non-Lethal Weapons Ready
Keep all the non-lethal weapons handy and ensure they are in proper working condition. Crew members must know how to operate non-lethal weapons during emergency situations and learn about different anti-piracy weapons used on ships.
Note: Several countries have started allowing armed guards on board ships to keep pirates away.
Check Fire Pumps and Engines
Check all fire pumps are working properly as they will be required to run fire hoses during pirate attacks. Also ensure that the engines are working properly as the ship will be required to transit at full soeed through the high risk zone.
Secure Doors and Hatches
Doors and hatches providing access to bridge accommodation and machinery spaces should be properly secured to prevent pirates from them. If required additional means must to taken to properly secure doors and hatches for additional protection.
Prior to entering high risk areas, procedures for controlling access to accommodation, machinery spaces and store rooms should be set out and practiced.
Controlled and Restricted Entry: As discussed in the above point, it is important to secure different entry points in the ship, as it will be practically not possible to shut all for few entry/ exit points are required for watch and other important ship operations to continue. It must be ensured that any emergency exit cannot be opened by outside and if pirates do gain access to the upper deck of a vessel they will be tenacious in their efforts to gain access to the accommodation section and in particular, the bridge.
Use Physical Barriers If Available
If possible use physical barriers such as razor wires and electrified fence along the periphery of the ship to prevent pirates from boarding. Also keep water cannons, ballast / fire pumps, and fire hoses ready.
Use all kinds of barriers that are available to prevent pirates from boarding the ship!
Also, check if all the alarms and deck lights are working properly or not.
Yachts can be protected from pirates using a variety of methods, including:
-- Exterior lockdown systems: Wireless smart locks can be fitted to the yacht's exterior doors, allowing for remote control and access.
-- Anti-piracy curtains: Hoses are hung over the sides of the yacht, and seawater is sprayed through the nozzles to prevent pirates from climbing on board.
-- Water cannons: A powerful stream of water can be used to blow away pirates trying to board the ship.
-- Long-range acoustic devices (LRAD): These devices emit pain-inducing sound beams at invaders.
-- Underwater sonar detection systems: These systems detect movement below the surface.
-- Safe rooms: These rooms can be used to provide a secure space for crew members.
-- Armed guards: Armed guards can be on board to act as a visual deterrent.
-- Evasion: Avoiding pirates can prevent them from attacking the yacht.
-- Molotov cocktails: These are empty bottles filled with gasoline and burning cloths that can be used against pirates.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS;
-- Do NOT resist the pirates. Cooperate, make it easy for them to take what they want (which will encourage and speed their departure). Give up your wallets (with reasonable amounts of cash) and the sacrificial stash(s) which are made up of Inexpensive (imitation) high-end watches, cheap jewelry, (in a nice case) old (perhaps nonworking) cell phones or laptops, perhaps a single smartphone, low-value foreign currency.
-- Expect for your radios to be taken/disabled.
-- Attempt to limit the numbers of pirates who get below (may not be possible).
-- After they have left, assess and treat any injuries or damage to the boat. Retrieve your well concealed permanent backup stash. Re-establish contact with anyone you were able to reach beforehand, if possible. Then, make a full report on arrival, to authorities.