Gulf-based Godfathers said to be the power behind pirates

Organised piracy syndicates operating in Dubai and other Gulf states are laundering vast sums taken in ransom from vessels hijacked off the Horn of Africa.

Investigators hired by the shipping industry have told the Independent around US$80 million ($141 million) has been paid in the last year alone - far more than previously admitted.

But while some of this money has ended up in the pirate havens of Somalia, millions have been laundered through bank accounts in the United Arab Emirates and other part of the Middle East.

The so called "godfathers" of the illicit operations, according to investigators, include Somali and Middle Eastern businessmen, as well as people of other nationalities from the Indian subcontinent. There have also been reports that some of the money from piracy ransoms has gone to Islamist militants.

The security company Idarat Maritime, which specialises in maritime protection, is working with a leading Lloyd's underwriter to formulate safeguards for shippers.

Christopher Ledger, a former Royal Marine officer and a director of the firm, said: "There is evidence that syndicates based in the Gulf, some in Dubai, play a significant role in the piracy which is taking place off the African coast.

"There are huge amounts of money involved and this gives the syndicates access to increasingly sophisticated means of moving money as well as access to modern technology in carrying out the hijackings."

Investigators have discovered that the pirate gangs are exploiting information available to the shipping industry to plan their attacks.

"Front" organisations are believed to have signed up to the Lloyd's List ship movement database, and sources such as Jane's Intelligence to ascertain what protective measures are being undertaken by the shippers.

In addition, they have bought equipment to monitor radio traffic and a highly effective set of agents in a number of ports.

A few well-funded pirate syndicates have experimented with a "stealth" paint such as AR 1, invented by a German scientist living in the UAE, which is credited with making pirate boats difficult to spot on the long-range radars of cargo ships.

Andrew Mwangura, a piracy expert in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, says the young Somalis who are fighting and dying in the hijackings are just the front men of larger syndicates.

"They are just the small fish. The big sharks operate out of places like Dubai, Nairobi and Mombasa."

Mwangura says what began as a localised response to illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters has evolved into organised crime.

He says the profits have drawn in "high ranking figures" from the semi-autonomous Puntland region and members of the now defunct transitional Government of Somalia.

"We strongly believe that Mombasa and the UAE-based Somali businessmen are also part of the network."

Neil Roberts, a senior official with Lloyd's Market Association and the secretary of the "war committee" of Lloyd's and the insurance industry, said: "We are certainly seeing a lot of sophistication in the way piracy has developed. Attacks are being carried out 650km to 950km out at sea.

This shows the pirates have access to pretty detailed information of ship movements. They certainly have access to the internet and information which is helping them. The question of UAE connection is certainly talked about in the industry and people have been looking into it."

There are also concerns that some of the money may have ended up with Islamist militants - both in Somalia and abroad. However this has not been publicly acknowledged because shipping companies would be breaking laws on funding terrorism by paying ransoms.

- INDEPENDENT

DATE WITH JUSTICE:

WAGING WAR ON THE HIGH SEAS

SURVIVOR ARRIVES
The sole surviving Somali pirate from the hostage-taking of an American ship captain arrived in New York yesterday. Abduhl Wali-i-Musi is the first person to be tried in the United States on piracy charges in more than a century. He was flown from Africa to a New York airport and taken into custody ahead of a court hearing today. His mother Adar Abdirahman Hassan appealed to President Barack Obama for his release. She says her son was coaxed into piracy by "gangsters with money."

SHIPS TARGETED
Somali pirates in speedboats opened fire on two cargo ships in the latest hijacking attempts in the Gulf of Aden.

Two Nato warships - one Canadian, the other British - scrambled helicopters in defence of the Chinese-owned, Panama-flagged MV New Legend Honour. The pirates escaped.

Pirates fired rockets at the Maltese-flagged MV Atlantica 50km off Yemen's coast. Two boats with about six pirates each attacked the ship and one skiff attempted to board it. The ship took evasive manoeuvres and escaped.

FREIGHTER FREED
A group of pirates freed a food aid freighter, the Lebanese-owned, Togo-flagged MV Sea Horse captured on April 14, after receiving US$100,000 from two Dubai-based Somali businessmen. Somali clan elder Abdisalan Khalif Ahmed said the pair had been contracted by the World Food Programme to deliver the food.

Somali pirates have freed a tanker the MT Stolt Strength and its crew of 23 Filipinos after holding them hostage for more than five months, Sagana Shipping Inc, of the Philippines, reported. It was not known if a ransom had been paid.

CULPRITS RELEASED
Nato forces have helped fend off several attacks in recent days, but have released the culprits because they had no jurisdiction to arrest them. In some cases, neither the pirates nor their targets were nationals of Nato countries. In Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said they will seek authority for Nato to arrest pirates.

- AP