The Crime Desk: A ship carrying Bangladeshi goods and 23 sailors and crew have been captured by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, Somali pirates have again become rampant. In between, this world-famous bandit was somewhat silent for several years. Analysts believe that they are making headway again in the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean, with the opportunity for international forces to be more busy with the Houthis in the Red Sea.
On Tuesday (March 12), these bandits took a Bangladeshi ship named ‘MV Abdullah’ hostage along with 23 sailors. The crew said in an audio message that they are already moving the ship towards Somalia. This terrible terrorist group has also demanded a ransom of 5 million dollars. In failure, the sailors are threatened to kill Sabai one by one.
Somalia was born in 1960 after breaking out of Italian colonial control. For more than two decades, war-torn Somalia had no effective government. At this time, the country with the longest coastline in Africa had no coast guard or force to protect its waters. As a result, the presence of foreign fishing boats in this region is gradually increasing. Local fishermen were also suffering. As a result, they turned to banditry. A recent statement by the Indian Ocean Commission has also seen this as the reason behind the piracy of that time.
Moreover, income from piracy is many times higher than from fishing. However, fed up with their violence for a few years, the European Union, the United States, India, and related countries increased their military presence on that route. As a result, by the year 2012, banditry had come to a standstill.
European naval operations commander Rear Admiral Duncan Potts told the BBC at the time that they had effectively broken the ‘business model’ of maritime piracy.
Nabik Sajjad’s parents do not stop crying after calling. Nabik Sajjad’s parents do not stop crying after calling.
Recent Attacks
Somali pirate activity has increased in recent months. The European Union Navy, or EUNAV for Atalanta, provides maritime security along the coast of East Africa. According to them, at least 14 ships were hijacked off the coast of Somalia in the three months from November last year to January this year.
Among them, the fishermen and sailors of an Iranian-flagged fishing boat and a Liberian-flagged Central Park were rescued. The US Navy was involved in the Central Park rescue operation. They later said it was clearly banditry, and the attackers were probably Somalis.
In December, a Maltese-flagged vessel, the MV Rouen, was hijacked. Control of the ship is still in the hands of the attackers. 17 crew members are held hostage.
According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), it was the first successful hijacking in Somalia in six years. IMB is an influential non-profit organization dedicated to combating maritime crime.
Massive campaign by the Indian Navy
They managed to free 19 hostages in three raids in one week in January. Among them, 11 are Iranian nationals, and the rest are Pakistanis. According to the Indian Army, “all of them were captured by Somali bandits.”
According to the report by the BBC’s reality check team, only in 2018, there were 112 cases of maritime robbery in East African waters. The latest victim is the Bangladesh flag ship MV Abdullah. Pirates took control of the ship with 23 crew members on Tuesday, en route from the African country of Mozambique to Dubai with coal.
What is the purpose of bandits? How is the income?
From 2005 to 2012, the World Bank estimated the amount of money pirates in the Horn of Africa had collected. According to that estimate, the pirates extorted between three and a half and four hundred million US dollars by holding the crew hostage.
Highlighting these statistics, the lecturer at the Federal University of Nigeria, Samuel Weyole, said that the main goal behind the robbery can be thought of as ransom. At least this is the main reason behind recent events. Bandits seized an oil tanker in 2011. Two hundred million dollars worth of fuel was on board. Two captured Filipino crewmen were killed.
Source: BBC
