HMCS Calgary: Sentinel of the seas

On-board HMCS Calgary: Shipping goods to and through Dubai is becoming increasingly risky for crews and shipping companies in the wake of a rash of piracy incidents in regional waters that might be widening.

Extremely valuable cargo ships transiting the region are being hijacked in a worsening trend in waters off the Arabian Peninsula, warn international authorities.

"Every few days, there's another attack and the numbers are going higher," Noel Choong, Head of the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) piracy reporting centre, said in an interview from Kuala Lumpur.

To witness the high-seas conflict first-hand, XPRESS joined the crew aboard HMCS Calgary, a Canadian warship serving in the Gulf as part of Combined Task Force 150 – a multinational effort assigned to keep waters safe from terrorism, piracy and arms- and drug-smuggling.

Mounting piracy

"In the past two months, there has been a spike in piracy activity," said Commander Kelly Larkin of HMCS Calgary. "We're still seeing them out there operating from mother ships that have been pirated already where companies that owned the ships have just given them up as losses."

A Japanese cargo ship was fired upon but evaded capture recently and four other commercial vessels from Japan, Germany, Iran and Malaysia were seized last week by gun-toting pirates off Somalia in a shipping lane that connects the Middle East and Asia to markets in the West.

According to latest figures, over 30 ships have been hijacked this year and in some instances were fired upon by rocket launchers. Since July 20, the IMB's piracy centre has recorded seven attacks in the region – a new record.

"These past few weeks, we've never seen so many hijackings," Choong said.

He feared the attacks might widen both in ferocity and number since pirate camps are growing bolder and are even better equipped. Hijacked ships are being used as mother ships from which smaller skiffs and inflatables are scrambled for short-range attacks.

"They are expanding their operations," said Choong. "What we might see next is that would-be pirates may join in and there might be a larger wave of pirates. The profit is good."

The IMB has identified two fishing trawlers that are acting as mother ships and in the last few days has identified a third ship, a blue tug boat.

Alarming violence

The violence on the high seas is worrisome, said members of an international naval coalition, which is actively hunting highly-armed pirates round-the-clock to turn the tide through boarding efforts, air reconnaissance and robust patrols by naval vessels.

In June, HMCS Calgary received a distress call from a ship which was under heavy small-arms fire in the Gulf of Aden by pirates in small fishing skiffs. The Calgary's Sea King helicopter crew was sent straight away. A German military frigate, Emden, also sent its military chopper.

Larkin said both helicopters arrived in time to thwart pirates from boarding the ship. The attackers fled.

Piracy attempts on a smaller scale are spreading to the Gulf of Oman, he said, and into the Arabian Gulf, placing smaller cargo ships – wooden dhows that transit between Dubai and Iran – in jeopardy. "The piracy manifests itself in the Arabian Gulf, west of the Strait of Hormuz as well," said Larkin.

Local mariners from Oman, Iran and the UAE "are being attacked by pirates and mugged, roughed-up, beaten and their items and money stolen".

The coalition isn't just fighting piracy but also drug smugglers who are moving drugs from Afghanistan through Pakistan and then shipping them "via the sea to other places. That's why we have this coalition presence".

Making a difference

Crew members aboard HMCS Calgary believe their mere presence in the Gulf and waters beyond is making a difference.

Chief Petty Officer (Second Class) William Slater said: "Just by being here we might be shutting them down."

When boarding parties turn up nothing, crew members still make a difference by giving the crews of the inspected vessels care packages with food and fresh water.

"The packages can make a difference when they're at sea for five days," said Slater.

Chief Petty Officer (First Class) Troy McGregor is the senior cook on ship and believes that an army (and navy) travels on its stomach.

"A good meal can make a difference for those who are boarding and tracking dhows at night," said McGregor.

Leading Seaman Jason Gaede said after three months on this tour, "We're starting to learn the culture of the area and the things that don't fit into the pattern. That is key."

Specifications

HMCS Calgary

SOURCE: Canada Department of National Defence

The maritime coalition

Under the Maritime Coalition, there are three CTFs or combined task forces (CTF 150, CTF 152 and CTF 158) comprising navies of different countries and covering an area around the Arabian Peninsula that comprises 27 countries and three checkpoints including the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab Al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.

SOURCE: UK Royal Navy

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ships have been hijacked this year and in some cases were fired upon by rocket launchers