Although yesterday's events surrounding the attack on the Maersk Texas were confusing to say the least, they again highlight the difficulties faced not only by naval forces and government bodies in securing genuine intel in the HRA, but also those faced by maritime security companies who are trying to provide their teams in the region with accurate, up to date intel on pirate actions.
Today, the mist has begun to clear and the IMB's Piracy Reporting Centre carries details of the attack. According to the report, the Duty Officer onboard an unnamed cargo vessel (believed to be the Texas), noticed a group of 10 skiffs at a distance of 2nm from his vessel at 0900 UTC in position 25:29.6N – 057:16.8E, around 28nm WSW of Bandar-e-Jask, Iran.
The forward skiff broke off from the group and approached the ship at a speed estimated to be between 20-25 knots. Master and onboard security team were informed by the D/O. The alarm was raised, fire hoses and SSAS were activated. UKMTO and naval forces were informed. The cargo ship increased speed and began evasive manouevres. As the skiffs closed to within 500 metres, the onboard armed guards fired warning shots. The skiffs ignored these and continued closing whilst weapons were sighted in the skiffs. As they closed to within 300 metres, the guards again fired warning shots and noted that the skiffs retured fire towards the ship. Eleven additional skiffs were sighted on the port side, moving towards the cargo vessel. As the guards fired warning shots, these skiffs stopped advancing and moved away. The skiffs on the starboard side continued their pursuit and then after 12 minutes after the initial approach, they broke off and moved away towards a large dhow nearby. No damage was reported and no injuries to crew.
Source: ICC Commercial Crime Services (CCS)