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Yo ho ho, these pirates might kill ya’

 
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Phelps

posts: 4

Jun 21, 2008 21:41    Quote
Points: 0   Vote

Anyone have first hand experience with pirates? For those fortunate to not have been attacked here is some information and a new film on DVD. Let this topic be a forum on the subject.

Phelps

Phelps Hobart

Navy League of the United States

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WHY DO MANY PIRATE ATTACKS GO UNREPORTED?

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By day he's like any other Indonesian fisherman. But at night he becomes a modern Jolly Roger, boarding ships not with swords, but with grenades. Ask him and he'll tell you he's just a man taking care of his family. Ask a victim of his shotgun or long knife-if he's alive-and he's nothing but a dangerous criminal.

Porampo: Pirates of the Malacca Straits, will take viewers on a journey inside the world of modern high seas piracy. This high def documentary focuses on one of the earth's traditionally dangerous waterways where a quarter of the world's ships pass every day. There, sailors may be assaulted by pirates who board with grappling hooks from fast vessels. These robbers seek a bounty of cash from the ship's safe, often victimizing crews at risk of being wounded, killed, or set adrift.

According to the International Maritime Bureau, in 2007 there were 263 reported pirate attacks worldwide, up 10% from the year before. However, the actual number of crimes is likely much higher due to an alleged cover-up by certain unscrupulous shipping companies. It is believed that more than 50% of piracy is not reported, as some companies are desperate to avoid bad publicity and higher insurance premiums. Also, it may cost a vessel upwards of $25,000 USD per day in operational expenses to tie up a vessel during a piracy investigation.

Two men, Michael Rawlins and Robert Duke, Jr., travel through Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, in their quest for modern day pirates. Contacts are made in bamboo huts and money changes hands in taxis. An ex-pirate with the scars of grenades and knives tells his story. Along the way there are interviews with police, fishing villagers, and ship's crews. It all builds to the film's pinnacle: a real nighttime pirate raid in a fast boat through infrared light.

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January 29, 2008

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Yo ho ho, these pirates might kill ya’

Filming modern-day terrorists of the seas - "Porampo: Pirates of the Malacca Straits"

May 12, 2008 - 11:19AM
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Increasing awareness to ultimately bring about positive change takes someone who is willing to step up to the proverbial plate.

Michael Rawlins, producer and director of "Porampo: Pirates of the Malacca Straits," decided to do just that by bringing to light the frequency, dangers and reality of modern day piracy.

To much of Western society, pirates may seem like a thing of the past, chronicled in movies as a swashbuckling, good-looking, Johnny Depp-type figure. But these days a porampo (pirate in Indonesian) is more likely to wield an automatic weapon than a sword. And they don't have to rely on the wind to guide their sails, but make their getaway in high-powered speedboats.

As a Merchant Marine officer for the last 15 years, hearing multiple reports of piracy was almost an everyday occurrence for Rawlins. In general, the Merchant Marines are civilian, but run government-contracted vessels, oil tankers and commercial freighters all over the world.  

Rawlins decided to expose the nature and danger of modern day piracy after a crewmember suggested that he (or someone) should put together some sort of movie to let people know what is happening in some of the most important waters in terms of commercial trade.

"I thought to myself, ‘Well, if not me, then who?'" Rawlins said. "It's been a ‘hot potato' issue for a long time that countries just don't want to deal with."

A Carlinville native, Rawlins graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a degree in broadcasting. He began his career as a broadcast journalist and is no stranger to the film industry. He left the world of broadcasting to travel the world after hearing about the Merchant Marines from a former classmate's father.

Surprisingly, he said there are several people he knows of from Carlinville, a small town of about 5,700, who are in the Merchant Marines.

"My father was in the Navy in World War II and I had always been intrigued by the sea," Rawlins said. "I started talking with a man who had a son in the Merchant Marine, and it sounded really interesting."
Rawlins ended up at boot camp in Maryland, and three months later found himself on a ship.

"At first I thought I would be in for two years, then five and now it's been 15," Rawlins said.

Two years ago, he decided to begin work on the documentary, and the next thing he knew, he was organizing a crew and investigations were under way.

The groundwork began with Rawlins; David M. Crabtree, producer, cinematographer and editor; and logistical coordinator Robert Duke, Jr. traveling through Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Rawlins said contacts were made in bamboo huts and money changed hands.

"We interviewed ex-pirates, policemen, fishermen, villagers and ship's crewmen," Rawlins said.

Without giving too much away, Rawlins said a group of pirates gave him and his film crew a taste of the real thing with a behind-the-scenes-look at what is a way of life in some parts of the world. The film crew used infrared light to capture the experiences on film.

"We were warned that piracy is ruthless," Rawlins said. "A lot of people we tried to talk to would tell us they knew nothing about it - even though we knew they did."

Many times they ran into dead ends and thought they were done as far as uncovering enough useable information for the documentary. But eventually, there were people who talked to them - some for a price.

He said Duke has a natural knack for talking to people, and he really got down in the trenches and found a group that was willing to talk.

Rawlins received a call from Duke who said, "It's on brother - NOW."

Rawlins went to the parking lot and got into an SUV without the least idea of where he was going - or how safe it was.

"I think more than being scared, at that point I was confused about what was going on," he said.  

The film crew found themselves at an inlet where a boat of armed and masked men waited.

"They told us to film them and then ‘Get out!'" Rawlins said. "They told us we would be going with them at night, too."

That night a guide took Rawlins and his crew to a boat full of masked men; they boarded and took off into the ocean. Communication was through an interpreter, converting the pirates' Indonesian language to English.

"Basically, it seems there are no pirate brethren," he said. "They're all independent, either as opportunists, regular people trying to feed their families or for political gain."

Most do not think of themselves as criminals in the true sense of the word. Rawlins said they tend to rationalize what they are doing.

"I think the idea of having their story told was appealing to them," Rawlins said. "Maybe it appealed to their ego. They just didn't want to get burned or exposed.

"I was concerned about my crew and equipment, but I just didn't get that nervous for myself until I saw the footage with the infrared light. That looked a little scary."

Through the filming, there was smoke, a lot of yelling and glowing eyes in a mask.

"I wondered what we would do if the police came, and here we were filming armed pirates," he said. "But I tried to check all my emotions at the door and just get the job done that we were there to do."

Rawlins has been to more than 40 different countries and traveled through some of the biggest piracy hotspots in the world as a Merchant Marine officer. He almost made it to Antarctica for the South Pole Run on a special ship commissioned for just that purpose. At the last minute plans changed.

"Maybe someday I'll get there, too," he said. "But I have seen an awful lot of the Caribbean, South and North America, Africa, Europe and Asia, especially in the Far East run between Japan and Korea."

Rawlins is also the author of "The Last American Sailors: A Wild Ride in the Modern Merchant Marine." He has written pieces for Professional Mariner Magazine and City Lights Publishing's "Instant City" series of short stories.

Duke holds a U.S. Coast Guard license as Oceans Master. He has been a professional Merchant Mariner for more than 25 years. Crabtree has a degree from the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television.

The Malacca Strait is a about a 550-mile narrow stretch of water considered one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. It stretches between West Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, serving as the main shipping channel between the Indian and Pacific oceans. More than 50,000 vessels pass through the strait every year carrying more than 25 percent of the world's trade goods including about one quarter of all oil.

Other areas of reported pirate attacks in recent years include waters of the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, South America (Pacific and Atlantic) and West and East Africa.

Some pirates are looking for easy profit, to help make ends meet, robbing ships and crews of money and other valuables. The groups may be made up of everyday citizens with everyday jobs who "moonlight" as pirates. Much of this type of piracy stems from poverty and poor economic conditions.

Another kind of pirate is part of an organized group that may kidnap crews for ransom, and are looking for gain to further terrorism or other political motives. These pirates' operations have been compared to land-based organized crime syndicates.

The high-definition documentary "Porampo: Pirates of the Malacca Straits" takes an inside look at this world of modern high seas piracy.

Rawlins said pirates assault sailors and board vessels with grappling hooks. They often victimize crews who may, in the end, be wounded, killed or set adrift. In some cases, even luxury cruise liners have come under attack, including the 10,000-ton Seabourn Spirit carrying 302 people (guests and crew), attacked by Somalia pirates as it rounded the Horn of Africa in November 2005 (the pirates were prevented from boarding). In April, Le Ponant, a small French cruise ship carrying 30 crew members (no passengers) off the coast of Somalia was seized by pirates (who were later caught).

According to the International Maritime Bureau, in 2003 there were 445 reported pirate attacks worldwide, with 21 sailors killed and 71 missing. But, Rawlins said, the actual number of crimes is likely much higher due to an alleged maritime industry-wide cover up. It is believed that less than 10 percent of piracy is reported because shipping companies are desperate to avoid bad publicity, higher insurance premiums and costly security personnel.

Rawlins said officials at IMB say if the crimes aren't reported, they cannot be tracked.

Rawlins developed Green Ray Films, LLC specifically for the porampo documentary, but the company has already been approached for more projects.  

Toronto, Canada-based Canamedia Productions is working with Rawlins to develop a reality television series, "Pirate Hunters," taking the modern-day piracy exposure a step further, with plans to begin airing in January.

"We're really excited about the television show, and it means we'll be doing more, finding out more, talking to more people," Rawlins said. "It will really help get the message out there."

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