Dryad Maritime Intelligence have today confirmed the first piracy attack of 2014 which saw an attack launched by Somali pirates south of Salalah in the late hours of January 17. With the aid of a dhow as mother ship, the pirates attacked the transiting vessel with small arms fire. In was reported that the on board security team took appropriate action and repelled the attack with a graduated response, culminating in an exchange of fire. The pirates ignored deterrence and continued their approach, firing at the ship. A robust response from the embarked team was eventually enough to encourage the pirate skiff to return to the safety of its dhow mother ship, allowing the merchant vessel to continue safely on its transit, reporting the incident to relevant authorities. Members are reminded that Somali pirates still have the capability and intention to attack anywhere and that the use of dhows as mother ships remains a tactic. As at the end of last year Somali pirates are now often pressing home their attacks and exchanging fire in order to identify the numbers of armed guards on board. In In the last three months there have a number of examples where there have been significant exchanges of fire or large numbers of warning shots needing to be fired. It is vital that owners electing to use armed guards use a minimum of 4 armed guards as advised in GUARDCON, as using undermanned teams are a significant risk in these situations. Source: Maritime Security Council