Pirates give Indian authorities sleepless nights

The pirates adopt a simple modus operandi. Operating in groups of 6 to 8 from small boats, they strike at night, when the ship is anchored 3 to 4 nautical miles away from port, while awaiting clearance for entering the harbour from the Port Authorities. Armed to theirteeth with knives, guns and other weapons, they climb aboard after scaling the side of the ship with a rope. With arms and ammunition not allowed on merchant navy ships and only limited sentries manning the forward and aft sections, the crew finds itself equipped with weapons like crowbars and kitchen knives which do not pose much of a defence for the attackers.

In a recent case of piracy, the barge of a merchant navy ship Dubai Moon sailing from Dubai to Nagapattinam was looted off Quilon on February 14, while under tow. The ship was carrying construction material for the company’s power plant in the town. By the time the distress signal was answered by authorities in Kochi, the pirates decamped with the goods. A complaint has been lodged with the local police. Sources say that piracy cases in India have risen from 5 in 1992 to 14 in 1999, with South-Asian and South-East Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, the Malacca Straits and Bangladesh topping the chart in piracy cases.

ICG authorities claimthat though the Port Authorities are directly responsible for all such pilferage and thefts which take place within the port limits, the ICG offers a helping hand when required.

Sources claim that the ICG created history when they captured Alondora in October 1999 . The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) had issued a world wide alert for the missing merchant vessel. The ship was carrying aluminum ingots worth US $10 million and was suspected to have been hijacked on her passage from Indonesia to Japan. A reward of US $200,000 was announced by the IMF for any information on the vessel. The ship had by then been repainted and renamed MV Mega Rama.

Tipped by a merchant traffic vessel, the ICG shadowed Alondora inside the Indian Zone for two days. The pirates were overpowered by the crew which boarded Alondora. Fifteen pirates were apprehended, but not before they set the ship afire.