TYPES OF MODERN PIRATES

[Capt.mino]

There are generally three categories of pirates.

The first type of pirate is your standard issue low-life criminal. These are scum who find it more expedient to just steal your finger, instead of taking the time to remove your ring.

The second pirate type is a more sophisticated organized crime group such as the five gangs thought to control a significant percentage of piracy in Southeast Asia or one of the several triads believed to control this crime in China.

The third and perhaps the most troubling type is the "Semi-Official Military Pirate," examples of which have been seen in China, Indonesia & Somalia and elsewhere.

When you're all alone at sea, it is particularly scary not to know whether that approaching Chinese Coastguard Patrol Boat is:

(a) The Chinese Coastguard on official government business, or

( A real Chinese Coastguard Patrol Boat, but freelancing as a pirate ship to earn some extra cash for the holidays, or

© Actual pirates who have merely painted their vessel to look like one of the real Chinese Coastguards. Either way, not much can be done except to hold your breath knowing that an hour later you will either be dead or alive.

Even if the patrol boat is on official business, that's no guarantee of safety.

Have you had quite enough? Sadly, there will be no happy or just endings to these and so many other stories of innocent vessels caught in the web of International piracy.

How do pirates do it?

There are essentially three types of pirate attacks.

The most common type of attack is where pirates board the merchant vessel, rob the crew and escape. These raids on merchant crews are understood to yield an average US$20,000 haul. Considerable cash is commonly held in a merchant ship's safe for payment port charges and payroll fees.

The second type of pirate attack is a more ambitious one where pirates not only rob the crew but steal the cargo. While simple robbery crimes normally employ pirate crews of 6 to 7 men, gangs of 70 or more may fall upon a merchant vessel when it's cargo that they are after.

Unless the pirate gang is very sophisticated, untraceable cargos are preferred such as timber, wire, metal & minerals.

The time of attack is almost always between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. During those hours, most of the crew is either asleep, on the bridge or below decks in noisy engine spaces. Little attention is paid to the sound of grappling hooks thrown over the stern. Even a vessel making over 17 knots is not safe from expert pirates who come along side at high speed and board in seconds.

Because vessels focus their attention and look-outs forward for navigation ahead &emdash; pirates almost always approach and board from the stern.

These can be pretty sophisticated thugs, using radar and global positioning systems to track their prey. Modern pirates have even been known to carry computer generated cargo manifests which have been obtained in advance for later use during machine gun enforced "shopping sprees."

But with profits from stolen cargo ranging well into the millions of dollars per vessel, pirates can well afford the luxuries of both new technology and proper planning. One favorite scheme is for pirates to literally interview their intended victims at port and then radio ahead to the pirate ship at sea when the time for attack approaches.

Pirates perfected the technique of planting a phoney crew member aboard the victim vessel who would then telephone to relay his ship's position and route. The rendezvous would be deadly.

Another trick is a new twist on what I call the "Little Mermaid" concept. Pirates using prostitutes for luring crews into what I would call "submission" so that their vessel might be more easily attacked and taken.

The terror experienced by lone victims at sea is not an emotion we can readily understand.

Pirate gangs are generally thought to average about 5 attacks a year, always retreating to the safety of a small local port where they are often protected by the locals. Indeed, piracy can be thought of as a cottage industry in areas of Indonesia and the Philippines where agrarian pursuits alone may be insufficient to support the local village economy. Indeed, it should be recalled that the United States Marine Corps. was originally formed to battle the local pirates of Tripoli. History does repeat.

The third type of pirate attack is used to create a "Phantom Ship." This is the most sophisticated version of the crime, where pirates take literally everything including the merchant vessel itself.

The pirate's first step is to locate a suitable ship for use as the "Phantom."

As we have already discussed, pirates can target and capture a ship, but another choice is to simply buy one from another pirate.

Anyway, regardless of how your "Phantom Ship" is acquired, the next steps are to repaint her, rename her and reflag her &endash;

The next step is to find a shipper who is short on time to move his cargo. An excellent victim candidate is anyone with a letter of credit about to expire.

Next, the pirate gang or its bogus shipping agent simply offers up the renamed "Phantom Ship" as carrier, loads the cargo, issues an authentic looking bill of lading to the proper destination port -- and sails off into the sunset.

Obviously, the Pirate diverts the "Phantom Ship" to a different port, selling the cargo either to an existing partner or an innocent buyer. Once its cargo is discharged -- the time has come to again repaint, rename and reflag. What a business!!

[capnwilliam]

Capt. Mino, what sort of remedies if any are being taken concerning these bottom dwellers? Or are the nations of the world still trying to pretend the problem doesn't exist?

Capt. William

[Capt.mino]

Ahoyyyy !! Capt. William !!

Looks like the area of operation of this modern "low life, scum des-honered pirates" are in countrys with a low security in their territorial waters...philipines, Africa...also in the coast of venezuela..and colombia...and Haiti...latin countrys that right now are fighting for democracy..no time to check out who is having fun sailing or navigating in his coastal waters ....and if we are talking about colombia..i will not get impress if someone tell me that the pirates were using a cobra attack helicopter to Board the victims ship....in a land of white powder money...there are no expensive toys for the bad guys!!!

[Patrick Hand]

...Obviously, the Pirate diverts the "Phantom Ship" to a different port, selling the cargo either to an existing partner or an innocent buyer. Once its cargo is discharged -- the time has come to again repaint, rename and reflag. What a business!!

I LIKE THAT ONE........

yah... I know piracy still does exist... and a good pirate like a good mugger is eaiser to just pretend they don't exist.... for example.... a mugger who just takes your money, but leaves you with your credit cards and drivers licence.... hey... whos going to call the police...... but if you get too blood thursty..... they will take a very active interest in stopping you..

sorry to use such a silly quote..... but from Princess Bride... "Once they find a pirates gone soft.... its just work work work" There is a delicate ballance to being sucessfull at such a career choice.......