Pirate attack in the Strait of Messina, Italy

Created by doina. Last modified on 2007-03-27 10:19:22
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Topic: Piracy Reports 2005

Reggio di Calabria, July 07 2005.

British sailor John L. has asked us to relay the following information.

He is presently cruising single-handed from Greece to Naples, on his Najad 390. As he was entering the Strait of Messina, he was met by strong Northerly winds and decided to head for the port of Saline Joniche. This massive Industrial port is generally described as unusable in the guidebooks. An opening has, however, been created in the harbour wall, allowing vessels to enter and anchor in the basin. This harbour is especially important to smaller vessels, as it breaks up the circa 66 Mile long run from Rocella Ionica to Reggio di Calabria. So on 30.06.2005 John enters the harbour and anchors as the only yacht in the center of the basin. At approximately 2200 hrs he notices footsteps on deck, and as he climbs into the cockpit, is met by four young men. One of them holds a pistol to his head, and demands money. John hands him about 400€ in cash, which does not satisfy the pirates. As one of them holds him at gunpoint in the cockpit, the other three search his vessel, and, after finding some computer peripherals, demand his notebook. He did not bring it on the voyage, however, and they have to settle for his CD collection and other valuables. He presumes the worst as he notices them fumbling with a role of masking tape to bind him. In the confusion he manages to jump overboard and dive and swim to shore, where he hides among the rocks of the harbour wall. The pirates obviously feel quite safe and start to search for him. When one of them is only about 10 Meters away, John leaps back into the water and swims to a small, open fishing boat. He slips inside, finds a fishing knife and a sturdy tiller, and waits. About 30 minutes later a fishing boat anchors in the harbour, and he swims over to them. Together they lock up his vessel and head to the Police station, where he spends the night before heading on to Reggio di Calabria in the morning.

We have since heard of several more incidents, in which yachts were harrassed in Saline Joniche. On 28.06. 2005 and 05.07.2005 yachts had to fend off a small boat with 3 to 4 young males aboard. At times they claimed to be the Harbour authority and demanded mooring fees, in the other incident they simply demanded money in a very agressive manner. Fortunately, both crews managed to either chase them off by alerting the police, or leaving the harbour as they were approached late at night by the dinghy.

Vessels transiting the Strait of Messina should certainly avoid the port of Saline Joniche, or enter only in groups.

Regards, Maria and Markus, S.Y. Columba