I call this pirate tactic (#52), ‘cooking beans’. lol Quite simply, if the crew and captain of the ship goes running into the citadel, the pirates just board the ship and set it on fire. The fire then cooks ‘the beans’ in the citadel, much like how you would cook a can of beans on an open fire (likewise, if the can is not open, those beans could blow up-lol) This tactic is great if a ship doesn’t have armed security and a pirate force is able to take control of the ship.
On a serious note, when a shipping company is so cheap as to not invest in armed security, and instead depends upon someone else to protect them or save them when their ship is set on fire by pirates, then I don’t have much sympathy for them. The lesson here is that running to the citadel or safe room of a ship, basically relinquishes control of that ship to an attacking force. And once on the ship, they can do whatever on your ship in order to get what they want. Pay the money and get armed security on your boat. –Matt
M/V Pacific Express on fire. Photo courtesy of NATO.
Pirates Set Fire to Cargo Ship After Failed Hijacking
September 22, 2011
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that pirates have set the Estelle Shipping-owned cargo ship, M/V Pacific Express, ablaze after they were unable to take control of the vessel.
The IMB reports indicate that the armed pirates were aboard two skiffs about 300 nautical miles east of Mombasa, Kenya, and attempted to seize the vessel. The Cyprus Maritime-managed Pacific Express crewmembers were all able to retreat to the onboard citadel and dispatched for assistance.
In response to the refuge of the crew, the pirates then set fire to the ship in hopes it would thwart the crew from the citadel. The piracy flagship of NATO, Andrea Doria, was sent to answer the request. According to the Italian Navy, the pirates fled the scene when they noticed the Andrea Doria approaching.
NATO security teams then evacuated the 26 crew members who were in the citadel, including a Ukrainian ship master, and 25 Filipinos. The men boarded the Andrea Doria and will be transported to Mombasa.
The M/V Pacific Express had been en route to Mombasa to drop off shipments of steel bars and coils before the attack. There are no reports on the fate of the Cyprus-flagged vessel as of yet.
Story here.