Pirates ‘guided by sat-phone spies in U.K.’
The Somali pirates preying on shipping in the Gulf of Aden and more recently the Indian Ocean are zeroed in on their targets by well-placed informers in London, a world center for shipbroking and insurance, using satellite phones, according to a European military intelligence report.
The document, which was obtained by Cadena SER, a Spanish radio station, says the “consultants” in London help the pirates select their targets, providing data on the ships’ cargoes and courses.
An international armada of some 27 warships from 16 countries patrols the seas off Somalia, but the modern-day buccaneers are still able to strike. The attacks have eased off over the last few months because of the annual monsoon season.
But that is coming to an end, and the shipping industry is bracing for a new surge of pirate attacks. The U.N. International Maritime Bureau reported this month that there had been a dramatic surge in piracy in the waters of the Horn of Africa — 138 pirate attacks so far this year, with 33 vessels hijacked. Last year the pirates attacked more than 100 ships.
