DUBAI // A senior ship's officer whose captain was shot dead in a gun battle with Somali pirates called yesterday for merchant crews to be weapons-trained and armed to fight off attacks. Captain Maqsood Khan, spokesman and security officer for the UAE-owned cargo vessel MV QSM Dubai, said the incident last week had rocked the UAE shipping community. It is thought to be the first time the captain of a Gulf-owned ship has been killed on duty.
"Arms should be allowed on board. The crew should be trained to fight back," said Capt Khan. "The pirates know that the crew is unarmed and that is why they attack us. Taking pirates to the international court and filing cases against them is of no use." Though many ships hire armed security guards, it is a legal grey area and is too expensive for many ship owners. Capt Khan was speaking for the first time about the attack on the ship last Wednesday, when pirates from the Puntland region of Somalia stormed the vessel and took control after a fierce gun battle in which Captain Syed Jafar Jafrid was shot dead. The crew found him lying in a pool of blood, Capt Khan said.
"When the naval forces got on board, the pirates panicked and fired indiscriminately," he said. "It was a fierce battle. Captain Jafri was shot from close range. I think they shot the captain in anger." The vessel, with 24 crew and a cargo of sugar, was travelling from Brazil to Somalia when it was captured. "We had taken all precautions and stayed far away from the Somali coast," Capt Khan said.
"But the pirates knew where we were and attacked us in the Gulf of Aden where all the naval forces are present." "This is a shock for the UAE shipping industry," said Capt Khan. "It was a shocking and tragic incident. The captain was my batchmate and had been working in this company for two years now." About 80 sailors from the mixed naval forces boarded the vessel, surrounding and arresting the seven pirates.
Capt Jafri, who was 61, was from Pakistan; his body will be sent to Karachi via Dubai in the next couple of days, said Captain Khan. Experts said incidents in which the crew or captain of a UAE-hijacked ship have been harmed are rare. "The captain has been held hostage and even injured before, but to my knowledge this is the first case where they shot and killed the captain," said Riad Kahwaji, the chief executive of the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. "This murder is an indication of the threat of piracy. It is a dangerous issue, and in no way less than terrorism. There were no casualties in previous instances, but that cannot be considered as a norm. These men are armed and dangerous."
Mr Kahwaji said that experts are looking at the possibility of arming ships. "International marine laws do not allow merchant ships to carry weapons. However, there are views among experts these days that suggest training and arming of crew members. If not arms, they could be trained on how to handle such situations." Discussions are also under way about whether armed private security guards should be stationed on ships. While such security is used by some shipping firms, its legality is a "grey area", experts said. In March, private security guards on board the UAE-owned cargo ship MV Almezaan shot deand killed a pirate attempting to hijack the vessel off the coast of Somalia.
However, some experts, including Peter Lehr, a piracy expert from St Andrew's University in Scotland, argue that arming ships would only exacerbate the problem. "The more weapons you have on board merchant vessels, the higher the risk that violence at sea increases," he said. Mr Kahwaji pointed out that the problem needs to be tackled on the ground in Somalia, rather than at sea. "A big question has been put to the international community, and they have to solve it by going on the land and taking joint efforts to solve the problem from there." said Mr Kahwaji.
Joint patrolling efforts by international navies and NATO forces have helped only marginally in curbing the threat. "The patrolling has resulted in pirates moving from coastal areas to the deep ocean. This is an indication that pirates now have mother ships moving in the deep sea. Larger efforts are needed, which should be a joint efforts by all countries," Mr Kahwaji said. Dr Theodore Karasik, director of research and development at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, said UAE authorities should take steps to protect its ships. "The UAE ships, boats and dhows are coming under increasing attacks, causing a threat environment. Something has to be done by UAE authorities," he said.
The International Maritime Organisation has repeatedly called for multilateral cooperation among countries to curb attacks by pirates. An IMO report on piracy in Somalia states that the number of attacks off of East Africa rose increasingly as 2008 progressed. There were 135 attacks during the year; pirates seized 44 ships, and more than 600 sailors were kidnapped, said the report. @Email:pmenon@thenational.ae