Piracy Incident Report: Kenya

Robbers armed with long knives, boarded a tanker, from a boat using a hook and line. They were spotted by a duty crew, who alerted the C/O. The alarm was raised and the crew notified. The robbers proceeded to steal mooring ropes and escaped. The incident was reported to Port Control and the local agent.

Allmode Comment:

Although incidents have taken a noticable decline in the high risk area, robberies at anchor are still occurring and it is important for vessels not to become complacent and not have the necessary security measures and procedures in place. Once a few robberies have been carried out successfully, then others will follow. Although the last reported robbery from a ship occurred back in October 2014, it does not mean that they will not make resurgence. Thieves in Mombasa tend to be armed with knives and are looking for ship’s stores.

However, the security for the port has seen significant improvement with the Integrated Security System being installed last year, which consists of around 600 CCTV cameras, automated access controls, a biometric registry system, vehicle registration recognition and other modern security measures.