A 2010 incident ended well but the threat of piracy is growing, especially off the coast of SomaliaBy Peter A. Buxbaum, AJOTThe vulnerability of project cargoes and vessels to piracy was brought into the spotlight on October 24, 2010, when the “Beluga Fortune” was attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean. Early in the day, Beluga headquarters in Bremen, Germany received a call that a pirate attack was imminent. That call activated the Beluga Task Force to coordinate steps on shore. Various law enforcement and other agencies of the German government were notified, including the Department for Foreign Affairs. The families of the sixteen German, Russian, and Filipino crew members were informed of developments by Beluga human resources officials. Meanwhile, German defense forces and the European Union’s anti-pirate operation coordinated the deployment of the warships and aircraft. A day later the crisis was over. One day after being captured and seized by pirates the vessel and her crew were free again without the payment of ransom. Niels Stolberg, president and CEO of Beluga Shipping GmbH attributed the favorable outcome to training provided to Beluga crewmembers as well as the rapid intervention of naval forces which had a warship alongside the Beluga vessel within hours of the attack. Those moves, said Stolberg, “offered the pirates no other opportunity than to give up their dream of a million dollar ransom and to go on the run.” With the crew unhurt crew and only little damage to the vessel the multipurpose heavy lift project carrier was able to continue her journey to the port of destination, Richards Bay, South Africa. Stolberg noted that Beluga shipping trains its crews for just such contingencies. “We provide our seafarers with the greatest possible safety and security on the vessels,” he said, including ongoing practice of stressful situations and rehearsal of well-considered behavior during a pirate attack, all of which we have been training in seminars and workshops for many years.” The crew responded in kind during the crisis, said Stolberg, by notifying the company of the imminent attack, switching off the main engine, cutting off the fuel supply, blocking the bridge, and keeping on-site military aircraft informed by radio. As a result, the pirates were unable to take control of the vessel. The crew also retreated to a “panic room” which was installed on the vessel for just such a purpose. “We are very proud of our team on board,” said Stolberg, “and are affirmed in our strategy that investments into safety and security are nothing else than well placed funds.” The Beluga Fortune incident raises bigger questions, such as whether project cargo vessels are at particular risk for hijackings and piracy. “We have not seen hijackings and piracy particularly directed to project cargo vessels,” said John Barnwell, global cargo product leader at Alianz Global Corporate and Specialty, a provider of marine insurance and among other risk management products and services. “However, heavy lift vessels might make an attractive target for pirates because they move slower and could be easier to board.” It its clear, however, that maritime piracy is on the rise. “There have been multiple incidents of piracy in certain areas of the globe,” said Kevin Wolfe, Alianz’s global head of project cargo. A recently-released report from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) indicated that more people were taken hostage at sea in 2010 than in any year on record. Pirates captured 1,181 seafarers and killed eight in the course of 53 hijack incidents. The number of pirate attacks against ships has risen every year for the last four years, the IMB noted. Ships reported 445 attacks in 2010, up 10 percent from 2009. While 188 crew members were taken hostage in 2006, 1,050 were taken in 2009 and 1,181 in 2010. “These figures for the number of hostages and vessels taken are the highest we have ever seen,” said Pottengal Mukundan, director of the IMB’s Piracy Repor